Church of All Saints

Church of All Saints in Heřmánkovice

The Church of All Saints in Heřmánkovice is one of the most important Baroque buildings in the Broumov region and forms a striking landmark of both the village and the surrounding landscape. The new church was built between 1722 and 1726 on the site of an earlier wooden chapel dating back to the 14th century. The foundation stone was laid on November 8, 1722, by Broumov abbot Otmar Daniel Zinke, who entrusted the construction to architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, son of the renowned Christoph Dientzenhofer. Kilian’s design was based on his father's original project. After the Thirty Years’ War, the old wooden church had lost its importance as the parish church and became a filial church administered from nearby Šonov. The new church was built quickly and already consecrated in 1723, although the interior continued to be finished for several more years.

Architecture and interior of the church
The church is a prominent example of High Baroque and Empire style. It features an elongated octagonal floor plan, enhanced by a prismatic tower with rounded corners, a narrow presbytery, and a sacristy. The façades of the church are richly structured with pilaster frames and combine light yellow plaster with contrasting sandstone details.
The interior of the church is impressive, particularly the painted ceiling, which opens into a heavenly vision surrounded by depictions of the four evangelists and angels within elliptical wreaths. The original frescoes were overpainted in the 19th century, which is not uncommon for buildings of this age.
The furnishings are primarily Baroque and Empire style, although after 1990, some of the more valuable items were hidden away for safekeeping due to an increase in thefts. Adjacent to the church stands the original Baroque rectory, whose exact date of construction is unknown, but it stylistically complements the church and underlines the historical character of the entire complex.

Urban and landscape setting
The church is the urban center of Heřmánkovice, standing on a gentle rise in the middle of the cemetery, which is enclosed by a perimeter wall and accompanied by an old mortuary. Together, these elements form a harmonious architectural whole, while also serving as a striking landscape feature of the village. The approach to the site leads through the picturesque parts of Heřmánkovice, and the church stands out in views from all directions thanks to its tower and unique floor plan.

Present day
Today, regular worship services are held at the Church of All Saints every third Sunday of the month. The church is part of the Broumov group of Baroque churches and, along with the entire cemetery complex, has been protected as a national cultural monument.

About the village of Heřmánkovice
Heřmánkovice was most likely founded in the mid-13th century as part of the Benedictine estate of the Broumov Monastery. While the exact founding date is not documented, historical context and entries in the village chronicle suggest it was established around the year 1255, in the same period as the nearby settlements of Hynčice and Velká Ves. The first written record of Heřmánkovice dates back to 1353.
The village was laid out as a lán (strip) village in the valley according to medieval German law (known as emphyteusis), and was named after its founder – a locator named Hermann. Hence the village’s name, which evolved over the centuries from Herrmannvilla, Hermansdorf, Hermsdorf, to today’s Czech form, Heřmánkovice, meaning “Hermann’s village.” In the past, the village also included several smaller settlements. Benešov (German: Strassenau) was founded in 1836 and annexed to the town of Broumov in 1960. Another part of Heřmánkovice is Janovičky (German: Johannesberg), which was established in 1753 and has been administratively part of the village since 1949. Heřmánkovice became an independent municipality in 1849. Today, it encompasses the cadastral territory of historical Heřmánkovice, the former Benešov, and part of the present-day Broumov district of Olivětín.