Fara v Horní Cerekvi Parish house

Fara v Horní Cerekvi is an important Baroque building. Together with the Church of the Annunciation of the Lord, the square in Upper Cerekvi is dominated by Pelhřimov. The building has been protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic since 31 December 1963 and represents evidence of the development of the parish administration on the Czech Moravian border.

The history of the building is closely linked to the restoration of the church administration after the Thirty Years War. Between 1676 and 1677, when the parish records took place, the parish was in a woeful state. The period vision protocols of the Prague Archbishop from 1694 to 1710 state that the spiritual administrator occupied an ancient wooden structure. He described her as worse than a parrot who threatened to slide. He had to live in one room with his family. The fundamental change took place only at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries when a new brick rectory was built under the patronage of Count František Ferdinand of Kuenburg.

The construction of the new Baroque building was completed in 1708, as evidenced by the year carved on the vault of the entrance portal. The construction costs reached 1800 gold pieces. In addition to the residential building there was also a parish hospital for four people, school, stables and granary. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the object was further modified. For example, in 1797, 1801 and 1814, repairs were made to the entrance and shingles were replaced on the roof of the farm and granary.

On 6 May 1821 Horní Cerekev hit a malignant fire which seriously damaged the church, the workhouse and the rectory itself. The subsequent reconstruction was the result of the cooperation of Pastor P. Tadeas Jan Kottnauer and Count Kryštof Cavriani. While the clergyman committed himself to restoring the farm, Count Cavriani financed the repair of the parish house. The nobleman was involved in the reconstruction of most of the key buildings in the village, including both churches, school and town hall.

The present form of the rectory is a one-storey Baroque building with a arched portal above which is placed a large skyline. In 2010, the area underwent a significant change, when a walled passable barn was demolished due to emergency conditions and lack of maintenance. Only part of the granary was preserved from the original farm buildings, which today serves as a garage and shed. The parish belongs to the vicarage of the Czech-Budějovice diocese and has been managed by P. Mgr. Martin Brácha since July 2021.

Fara v Horní Cerekvi represents a valuable proof of Baroque architecture and the history of the parish administration, which in the past had to face many adversity. Visiting this place offers an opportunity to look into the history of the region and appreciate the importance of the protected buildings, which even after centuries form an unmistakable character of Czech cities.