Evangelický kostel (Bludovice) Church

The Lutheran church in Bludovice stands on the outskirts of Havířov and is one of the notable Lutheran “toleration churches” of the Cieszyn region. It belongs to the parish of the Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, whose history goes back to the last decades of the 18th century. Because of the strong presence of Polish-speaking worshippers, Sunday services are held here in both Czech and Polish. The building is protected as a cultural monument.

The direct impulse for the church came from the Patent of Toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Austrian ruler Joseph II. This document allowed non-Catholics to build their own prayer houses. The Lutherans of Bludovice, Šumbark, Šenov, Datyně and Suchá decided to set up a joint congregation at their own expense. Five months after the patent was issued, the Office of the Provincial Elders in Cieszyn gave its consent to the building, but under strict conditions: no tower could be built, and the entrance was not allowed to face the main road. The land was donated by the local estate owner, Count Seeger. Work went on from 1782 to 1784, and the local authorities halted construction several times. Despite all the obstacles, building continued, and the first pastor, Daniel Wagner, took up his post as early as 17 February 1783.

A major change came in the mid-19th century. On the basis of a decree of 1848 and a patent of 1849 issued by Emperor Franz Joseph I, bells were bought and the tower was added. The great celebration of the consecration of the tower, bells and clock took place on 24 August 1852, the feast of St Bartholomew. Since then, the anniversary of the church's founding has been celebrated every year on this day or on the nearest Sunday, which is why the church is sometimes called the Church of St Bartholomew.

The 20th century brought extensive repairs. After the First World War the organ was repaired and new bells were bought. In 1925 the church underwent a general overhaul: the gallery was rebuilt, the pews were replaced and the interior was newly painted by the painter Hrncíř from Bohumín. In 1949 the church acquired what was already its third set of bells, which were electrified in 1953. Around the turn of the millennium the façade was restored, the roof truss repaired and the roofing replaced. Between 2012 and 2014 the organ underwent a costly rebuilding, supported by the Havířov Cultural Monuments Endowment Fund (Nadační fond kulturní památky Havířov). Work on restoring the windows has been under way since 2020.

The interior has an organ loft and two-storey galleries along both sides of the nave. The flat ceiling is decorated with a rich trompe-l'oeil painting of the Heavenly Jerusalem from the 1920s. The Rieger organ (opus 2883) of 1939 has more than a thousand pipes and is the only organ in Havířov on which many different kinds of organ music can be performed. Today the church is an important concert venue and is becoming a cultural centre for the area.