"new" church of Saint Matin in Rusová

The "new" Church of St. Martin in Rusová, part of the Kryštofovy Hamry municipality in the Krušné hory (Ore Mountains), survives today only as exposed foundations in a vanished village. Built in 1939 to replace an older Gothic church, the building stood for barely three decades before it was torn down in 1971, when Rusová fell within the protective zone of the Přísečnice reservoir.

Why did the church disappear along with the village?

The Přísečnice reservoir was built between 1969 and 1976 to secure the water supply for the brown-coal mining region of northern Bohemia. Rusová, once home to several dozen residents, ended up inside the area the authorities decided to clear of settlement - in practice this meant evacuating the population and demolishing the buildings, the church included. Ironically, the church itself was a relatively young structure, having replaced an older Gothic predecessor only three decades before its own demolition.

What is left to see on site?

Only the exposed foundations remain, visible next to road 244 at the point where it meets the route connecting Vejprty and Výsluní. A small memorial stands nearby, marking the site of the lost village and its church. There is no tower, roof, or standing wall - just a modest outline in the ground - but for anyone tracing the flooded villages of the Ore Mountains, it is a meaningful stop.

How do you get there, and what should you expect?

Rusová sits at roughly 780 metres above sea level, in a sparsely populated, hilly part of Kryštofovy Hamry - the 2021 census recorded no permanent residents in this part of the municipality. Access is via road 244; the easiest approach is a short stop while exploring the area around the Přísečnice reservoir or the hiking trails of the Ore Mountains. It helps to know the background beforehand, since apart from the memorial there are no information boards on site - the foundations are easy to walk past without realizing what they are.

Frequently asked questions

Can you still go inside the church? No - the building was fully demolished in 1971, and only ground-level foundations remain today.

How is this different from the "old" St. Martin's church in Rusová? It is a separate site. The "new" church was built in 1939 to replace an earlier Gothic building, and it stood roughly 300-400 metres from where the remains of that older church are found.

Why did the village of Rusová stop existing? Because of the construction of the Přísečnice reservoir (1969-1976) - the village fell within its protective zone and was evacuated and demolished.

Are there other traces of the former village nearby? Yes - the area around Kryštofovy Hamry preserves scattered ruins and memorials to vanished settlements, including other churches from the same region.