kostel Zvěstování Panny Marie v Mariánském Týnci Church

The Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Mariánský Týnec near Kralovice dates from the eighteenth century. It stands in the area of the former provost's residence of Mariánská Týnice, which belonged to the Cistercian monastery in Plasy. The church together with the entire area is a cultural monument and in 2018 it was declared a national cultural monument.

The origins of this place go back to the year 1250. At that time, in a bull by Pope Innocent the Fourth, there first appears the chapel of Saint Peter and Paul in the small settlement of Týnec. The Plasy monastery held the patronage over it. In the first decade of the sixteenth century, the monastery acquired a wooden sculptural group of the Annunciation for the church, depicting the Virgin Mary with an angel. The sculptural group became a pilgrimage destination due to its miraculous effects and the place received the name Mariánská Týnice. In 1518 the church was plundered. It was then cared for by one of the Plasy monks, who lived there as a hermit. Further devastation was brought by the Thirty Years' War. Abbot Jakub Vrchota of Rosenwerth had the small church rebuilt and enlarged, first around 1640 and again in the years 1648 to 1651. In 1699 a provost's residence was established here.

A decisive turning point came with Abbot Eugen Tyttl. Around 1707 he began to collaborate with Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel and decided that the older structures, which could no longer accommodate the growing influx of pilgrims, would give way to an entirely new complex. The project was completed in May 1710 and the foundation stone was laid on July second, 1711. However, construction did not begin until 1720. The builder was Matěj Kondel, a citizen of Plzen, and the construction and decoration lasted over thirty years. The church was consecrated in 1762 and the Annunciation sculpture group was placed on the high altar only in 1777.

As early as 1785, however, Emperor Joseph the Second dissolved the Plasy monastery and the pilgrimage site. The sculptural group was moved a year later to the Church of Saint Peter and Paul in Kralovice. The area was then administered by the Religious Fund and for more than a hundred years was owned by the Metternichs, who established a grain store in the church. The building deteriorated. Enthusiasts led by historian Ladislav Lábek and architect Hanuš Zápala opposed the dismantling of the structure. In 1920 the dome and part of the vaults collapsed. The Association for the Rescue of Mariánská Týnice, led by Zápala, had the church provisionally roofed with tar paper and averted complete destruction, though it became indebted due to the costs. The association was unable to expropriate the area.

From 1952 onwards, a regional museum moved into the complex. In the years 1953 to 1956 the side wings of the church received new roofs.