Kostel svaté Markéty Antiochijské (Podlažice) Church

Welcome to the Floor. You're standing right in front of a place where history touches the earth and where every brick and every stone tells the story of an ancient century. Look around you. The church of St. Margaret of Antioch, which you are now observing, is not just a building. It is the dominion of this landscape, standing above the surrounding area and reminding all the bystanders that here, in this place, events took place that shaped the history of our region and of the whole Bohemia. Feel this atmosphere of peace and nobility surrounding you. This baroque basilica, which is now right in front of your eyes, seems monumental and confident, but its roots go far deeper into dark and brighter times than it might seem at first glance.

Let's go back deep into the past together to understand why this place is so special. Imagine the year one thousand hundred fifty-nine. At that time, there was no baroque temple, but there was a life that was completely different from today. A nobleman by the name of Vrbata decided that this place would be sanctified by God and founded a Benedict monastery here. Imagine the first stones, the first prayers that were heard in these spaces in the 12th century. Benedict, the benedictini, brought culture, education and order to this area. Although this monastery was referred to as one of the poorest among Czech monasteries in later times, its spiritual importance was extremely strong.

But history wasn't always about peace and prayer. There is a dark period in the history of this place that has come with the stormy times of Hussite wars. In the year one thousand four hundred twenty-one the monastery was destroyed. Imagine the chaos and confusion that brought the Hussite campaign to eastern Bohemia. The holy place was attacked and destroyed, the monastic life was interrupted, and the place that once radiated peace was witnessed by violence and destruction. For years, this place remained a shadow of its past glory until history turned in a different direction.

Now pay attention to the construction itself, which now surrounds you. What you see is the result of a tremendous effort and a new era that took place in the late seventeenth century. The present Baroque temple was built in the years one thousand six hundred and six to one thousand seven hundred twenty-one. Although his face is baroque, full of elegance and dynamics typical of this era, his foundation is much older. Notice how this building respects the layout of the original medieval building. This is a fascinating detail - the Baroque architecture did not start here on the green meadow, but humbly attached to the shapes that the medieval architecture of the monastery determined here. It's like the new century is trying to gently drag new skin over an old, hard skeleton.

This temple is a three-boat basilica. Although you may not have seen the exact plan, you can imagine the tonnage and structure that this type of construction brings. The division into three ships creates a sense of depth and allows light to penetrate inside the temple at a certain angle and create a game of shadows and brightness. When looking at the facade and the total mass of the building, feel the strength with which the Baroque style tried to revive this sacred place again.

In the process of this great recovery there were also fateful moments associated with important people. Did you know that during the construction of this new temple, namely in the year one thousand six hundred and eighty, Bishop Jan František z Talmberka died here? His character is closely linked to this period and the process of the ruins of the old monastery, when a new Baroque form of this place was born. It is a reminder that building such large monuments is not only a matter of stones and mortar, but a process that lasts for generations and is accompanied by the lives of people who believe in it.

If you look at the overall structure of the temple now, you may be interested in its position in the landscape. The church isn't just a building, it's a lighthouse. It stands here as a fixed point that orients the surrounding village and the whole landscape. And at this very depth of history, in this connection between old and new, lies one of the greatest mysteries and proudest of this place.

The place has deep and almost incredible historical significance thanks to its connection to the famous Codex gigas. You may have heard of him - one of the largest and most amazing medieval manuscripts in the world, often called the devil's code. Although his journey to us is difficult, the connection of this place to such an important and mysterious object adds to the underlying sense of mysticism you feel here. It's as if the air around the temple is saturation of stories that can't be easily explained, stories that balance on the edge between history and legend.

Now that you know the foundation on which this temple stands, and know what storm must have survived, I suggest you continue your search. Enter the inner temple, if possible, and try to perceive in the silence of the interior the contrast between the Baroque splendor and the knowledge that beneath your footsteps lies the remains of the old Benedict monastery. Feel the space, feel the silence and try to imagine the people who stood before you hundreds of years ago.

Thank you for choosing to spend a moment right here, in Podlažice. We hope that this brief look into the past has helped you better understand the beauty and weight of this place. We wish you a pleasant further part of your journey and many other experiences in discovering the beauty of our history. Goodbye.