St. Peter and Paul Church in Kostelní Bříza - Introduction
St. Peter and Paul Church - Introduction
At first, our aim formulated in 2002 to take over the Church of st. Peter and Paul in Kostelní Bříza from the municipality of the town of Březová, and to save it from destruction, seemed close to impossible. At the time, there was a directive in place issued by the Sokolov Construction Authority to reinforce the construction, which the former owner failed to obey.
Even such an obligation did not put us off. All difficulties concerning the project to save the church were perceived primarily as a challenge to be met. Our goal was simple: To save our cultural heritage and pass it on to the future generations in the best state possible. As of today, structure has been dully reinforced, new roof has been erected, and all major repairs have already been carried out. The “only” thing remaining is a huge number of minor repairs.
Villages that have disapeared after 1945
After the forced departure of its German inhabitants the situation in the north-western part of the Slavkovský les (Kaiserwald) Region became quite unfortunate. The whole area was depopulated, and most of the villages were razed to the ground and erased form maps. Manor houses, churches, chapels, mills, iron mills, farms, and al the typical country houses have been demolished. This was the final destiny of many urbanized areas:
- Arnoltov (Arnitzgrün) – partly leveled
- Bystřina (Reichenbach) – completely leveled
- Čistá Město (Lauterbach Stadt) – completely leveled
- Hluboká (Tiefenbach) – partly leveled
- Hrušková (Birndorf ) – partly leveled
- Kamenice (Steinbach) – partly leveled
- Kostelní Bříza (Kirchenbirk) – partly leveled
- Krásná Lípa (Schönlind) – completely leveled
- Lazy (Perlsberg) – partly leveled
- Lobzy (Lobs) – completely leveled
- Milíře (Kohling) – completely leveled
- Nová Ves (Neudorf ) – partly leveled
- Novina (Grün) – partly leveled
- Ostrov (Wöhr) – completely leveled
- Paseka (Schwand) – completely leveled
- Prameny (Sangerberg) – partly leveled
- Rovná (Ebmeth) – completely leveled
- Rudolec (Ruditzgrün) – partly leveled
- Smrkovec (Schönficht) – completely leveled
- Studánka (Schönbrunn) – completely leveled
- Třídomí (Dreihäuser) – completely leveled
- Týmov (Tiefengrün) – completely leveled
- Vranov (Frohnau) – completely leveled
- Zadní Domky (Hinterhäuser) – completely leveled
- Žitná (Rockendorf ) – completely leveled
The Memorial we plan to establish in the majestic environment of the St. Peter & Paul Church is going to commemorate those villages, the centuries-long coexistence of Czechs and Germans, and also the grim memories of the war and the post-war era.
Supported by the Karlovy Vary Region.
We are thankful for the chance to express our thanks to all the people who have made our project possible.
