Saint Giles church in Chvalkovice

The Church of Saint Giles in Chvalkovice is a modest but historically layered church in the Náchod district of the Hradec Králové region in eastern Czechia. Standing at the edge of the village of Chvalkovice, it is the kind of building easy to pass by, yet it carries a history stretching back to the Middle Ages.

How old is the church in Chvalkovice?

The church's origins go back to 1304, when it was founded by the Berka of Dubá family, a noble house that held significant influence in the Náchod area at the time. The original building was Gothic in style, and traces of that first phase are still visible today. That makes the church more than seven centuries old, even though its appearance has changed considerably since then.

What changed during the Baroque period?

The most substantial rebuilding took place between 1690 and 1694, when the church was given its Baroque form at the expense of Ferdinand Rudolf Dobřenský. Much of the earlier Gothic structure was altered during this work, though not erased entirely — the south wall of the nave still preserves a Gothic stone portal with a pointed, profiled arch dating from the 14th century. That portal remains the clearest physical link to the church's earliest building phase.

The church continued to change after the Baroque reconstruction as well. Further repairs and renovations are recorded in 1706, 1874, and 1906, with the most extensive round of works carried out between 1928 and 1936, just before the Second World War. Each of these phases left its mark on the building, so the church seen today is the result of several centuries of accumulated changes rather than a single, unified design.

What does the church look like today?

The building has a single-nave layout, meaning it consists of one main worship space without side aisles. A Chapel of the Virgin Mary was added later on the north side, a common solution in Central European village churches, since such extensions allowed for more liturgical space without reworking the entire structure. On the west side, the façade is marked by a slender, prismatic tower topped with a distinctive onion-shaped cupola — a feature typical of Central European Baroque architecture and clearly visible from the surrounding roads.

Where exactly is the church located?

The Church of Saint Giles stands within the village of Chvalkovice, in the Náchod district of the Hradec Králové region, in eastern Czechia. The wider region is known for its scattering of Baroque and Gothic sacred buildings in small villages, and Chvalkovice fits that pattern as one of its lesser-known but genuine stops.

Why is it worth a visit?

The church in Chvalkovice is not a monumental structure that draws crowds of visitors, and that is precisely where its value lies — it offers a good look at what a typical rural church in this region looked like after being repeatedly rebuilt and repaired over the centuries, rather than replaced with something new. The combination of the Gothic portal, the Baroque tower, and later early-20th-century work packs several architectural eras into a single small building.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded the church in Chvalkovice? The original Gothic church was founded in 1304 by the Berka of Dubá family.

When was the church rebuilt in Baroque style? The Baroque reconstruction took place between 1690 and 1694, funded by Ferdinand Rudolf Dobřenský.

What survives from the original Gothic building? A Gothic stone portal with a pointed arch from the 14th century remains on the south wall of the nave.

How many naves does the church have? The church has a single nave, with a later Chapel of the Virgin Mary added on the north side.

In which region is the village of Chvalkovice located? Chvalkovice lies in the Náchod district of the Hradec Králové region in eastern Czechia.