Kostel svatého Michala (Vrbno pod Pradědem) Church

The Church of Saint Michael, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, is a Roman Catholic single-nave church in Vrbno pod Pradědem. It is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, there stood a chapel of Saint Michael on the Vrbno square. Between sixteen twenty-one and sixteen twenty-four, the Habsburg Archduke Charles, Grand Master of the Order of German Knights, had a wooden church built in its vicinity. Both structures, however, were heavily damaged by Protestants in sixteen twenty-six.

By order of the provincial governor Georg Wilhelm von Elkerhausen, a stone church was built on the site of the wooden church between sixteen thirty-five and sixteen thirty-seven. It was longitudinal and single-nave, with a square tower on the axis of the main façade and with an adjoining sacristy. The main entrance led through the ground floor of the tower, and further entrances were cut through the side façades. The church, however, no longer had sufficient capacity, and so it was demolished in eighteen thirty-seven.

That very same year, in the presence of the Grand Master of the Order of German Knights, Archduke Maximilian Joseph of Austria-Este, the foundation stone of the new parish church was laid. The project was drawn up by the architect Maxmilian Wilsch from Bruntál, and the construction was carried out by the entrepreneur Karl Latzel from Krnov. The polisher Josef Gruner supervised the work, and the carpenter Johann Peschel from Ryžovište is listed as the builder. Originally, two towers were planned. Due to difficulties with the foundation, however, only one was built, and it was on the eastern side, even though church towers typically stand on the western side. The church was completed in eighteen forty-one and still stands today.

When Archduke Maximilian visited Vrbno in eighteen forty-three, he did not find a finished building, but a ruin. Due to poorly executed work, the tower separated from the nave during construction of the uppermost story, and the entire structure was in danger of collapse. This enraged the Archduke so much that he wanted to have the ruin shot down by cannons. Ultimately, however, he ordered the structure to be bound together with iron bands and the cracks in the masonry and vault to be repaired.

The main altar resembles an ancient temple in shape, and cherubs kneel on either side of it. In the corners of the presbytery stand statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Among the statues of saints is the Archangel Michael with a sword, scales, and the defeated Satan. The side altars are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. They are complemented by pairs of statues: on the left side Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, on the right side Saint Zacharias and Saint Elizabeth.

The vault of the nave is decorated with four ceiling paintings. They depict the sacrifice of Isaac, the annunciation to the Virgin Mary, Jesus as a friend of children, and Saint Elizabeth. On the ceiling of the sanctuary, there are medallions with the four evangelists in the corners, and on the western side of the presbytery, the Holy Trinity is depicted.

In front of the church stands an Empire-style fountain and a cross from eighteen twenty-five.