Špitál s kostelem Nejsvětější Trojice Almshouse

Špitál s kostelem Nejsvětější Trojice, also known as Špitálek, is a late Gothic object with a later Baroque reconstruction in České Budějovice in Prague class. Since 1963 it has been registered in the Central List of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic and represents an important historical area, which originally served as a hospital.

The first mention of the so-called plague hospital dates back to 1371, although there are no reports of plague infestation. More information is not available about the construction at the time. Between 1513 and 1515, a late Gothic version of the Hospital with the Church of the Holy Trinity was built on the site of the older building.

The area is located between Prague class and Hálková street and U Trojice. The southern part consists of a single-boat church with a slightly irregular five-sided conclusion, to which the originally Gothic transverse wing of the hospital is attached. On the north side there is a baroque wing with a volute shield on the east facade, where there is a partially exposed wall painting. In the interior of the Baroque wing are preserved stucco mirror ceilings, while in the ground rooms of the cross wing there are beams ceilings. On the west side of the complex there is a garden with a well.

In 1763, the church was reconstructed and partially rebuilt baroque, which included modifications to older Gothic windows and breaking through new entrances. Three years later, the hospital went through similar changes; The joint hospital hall has been transferred to six separate rooms. In 1779 a northern late Baroque wing was added to the building. The church received a new altar from Leopold Hueber, probably according to the design of František Jakub Prokyš, with statues of St. John Evangelist and St. Ambrose. František Jakub Prokyš also created fresco decoration with motifs dedicated to the Holy Trinity. In decorative ceiling paintings are repeated symbolic triplets such as triangle, three rings, three flowers, three sun and three rainbows.

Since 1772, the hospital church has been the annual destination of the great procession, which originated from the temple of St. Nicholas on the day of the feast of the Holy Trinity. In the church there was originally a Gothic painting of the Svatotrojický madona from around 1410. The original is exhibited today in Alšov's South Bohemian Gallery in Hluká nad Vltavou and a copy of it is placed above the current entrance to the church. Later, the entire building was turned into a workhouse.

From September 2014 until the end of 2022, extensive reconstruction of the complex took place during which the exterior nobodies of the church's conclusion were newly decorated. The area was opened for the first time to the public on 22 April 2023, when the original painting of Madonna was temporarily displayed in the church. On 3 June 2023, the first service took place after 52 years, chaired by the Dean of the Cathedral Capitol Zdeněk Mareš.

The state, namely the Czech Republic, owns buildings and land, and the administration of the building is provided by the National Heritage Institute. There are some sites of the local historical administration of this institute in České Budějovice.

This complex is a valuable witness to the development of health and social care in the historical Czech Budejovice. We recommend visiting it for its unique combination of Gothic foundations and baroque modifications.