Stonemasonry in the Říčany Region – Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Mukařov

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is located less than 2 km southwest of the village Žernovka on the edge of the village Mukařov. It was built between the years 1891 and 1893 in the neo-Gothic style. The constructions of the church was sponsored by Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (he donated 6,000 gold pieces) and by the local residents.

The first written reference to the church dates back to the 14th century. For some time the church was run by the Ultraquists, then it fell under the parish of Kostelec nad Černými lesy, and in 1754 under the Říčany parish. As per the Tolerance Patent a local parish was established in Mukařov, which in 1855 was upgraded to a parish office. In 2009 the village again fell under the Roman Catholic Říčany parish. When the dilapidated original church was being demolished around 1888, lead statues of four evangelists were found in the church. A bell from the 16th century (1573) donated by the then owner of the estate Kostelec nad Černými lesy Count Smiřický was also saved. The new church is decorated with paintings by Jan Heřman. The altar, pulpit and confessional were made by woodcarver Petr Bušek from Sychrov. There are two decorated windows, one depicting the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the other Saint John the Baptist, which were donated to the church by Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein

The local chronicle states that the stone used in the construction of the new church was brought from the Horka Quarry in Žernovka and from Srbín. It is an example of the use of granite blocks in the construction of a sacral building. The stone was supposedly delivered by the local nobility and farmers free of charge, and even the craftsmen worked for free as they considered it an honour to participate in the construction of the church. The church was consecrated by the Bishop Ferdinad Kalous on 13 August 1893. The parish further includes a charity house near the church on Charity Street, where Cardinal Josef Beran was interned by the communist regime between the years 1963 and 1964. Until 1996 the building served as a monastery of Congregation of the Sisters of St. Hedwig, today it houses the Cardinal Beran Retirement Home.

For World of Stone provided by authors:
Barbora Dudíková Schulmannová, Vojtěch Janoušek, Tomáš Navrátil,
Václav Rybařík and Pavel Vlašímský