Kaple svatého Antonína Paduánského (Vřesina) Chapel

In Vřesina, now part of the city district Ostrava-město, stands the registered cultural monument of St. Anthony's Chapel of Paduan. Its origin dates back to the first half of the 19th century and is closely linked to the personal history of its founder.

The chapel was built by František Tománek to thank you for protecting his daughter. According to the tradition a man kept, his daughter was in danger of meeting soldiers during the Napleonic wars. By a miracle, she escaped from the threat, and Tománek, as a token of gratitude, devoted the chapel to Saint Anthony of Paduan, whom tradition regards as a patron of those in need.

Architectural is a simple construction typical of its period. The chapel takes the form of a brick-lined building on a rectangular plan with a semicircular closure. The roof is covered by a tent roof with a wooden lantern with onion-scattering - an element that optically emphasizes the vertical structure and is characteristic of the Czech sacral architecture.

A special historical layer was added by the chapel in 1904 when the municipality Vřesina ordered a bell at Prague bell tower Arnost Diepolo. The poured bell was hung in the chapel and bears a carved inscription, which has been preserved to this day: "THE PLANT LP 1904 ULIL ARNOŠT DIEPOLD VOTED IN PRAGUE SV. _ The bell tells of the craft of Prague's bell-makers in the early 20th century and the importance of bells for rural communities.

The chapel represents a brick in the mosaic of the small sacral architecture of the Ostrava region and anyone interested in personal stories written into buildings or the life of Czech communities in the 19th and 20th centuries will find their reason for visiting.