Šonov

History of the village 

The village of Šonov was apparently founded in around 1250 by German colonists. It is linked with the foundation of the Broumov monastery. The basic charter has not survived, but it is thought to have been established to meet the needs of the Broumov monastery. The original inhabitants supplied the monastery with wood from the deep forests. The village rose up around the wooden Church of John the Evangelist, built in around 1325, which burned down in 1725 after surviving a number of hardships. It was replaced by the Church of St. Margaret. The village has always been a border village and during the Czech Kingdom it bordered Prussia. Proof of this can be seen in the border stone showing the direction, which is still preserved today. Over time, after the forests had been cut down, some of the local people became farmers who were given land they were obliged to work by the abbot of Broumov. The citizens of the village had to overcome many hardships during those times. 

Sights 

Church of St. Margaret 

Šonov was founded in the late 13th century by German colonists. The first church to stand in the village was the wooden Church of St. John the Evangelist, which served the local people from 1354. It was repaired in 1547 and 1688, but unfortunately burnt down in 1775. It was succeeded by the Chapel of St. Mary, built on the same site. After the demise of this chapel, the parish was transferred to the Church of St. Margaret, which stands alone a secluded hill west of the village. The credit for its foundation lies mainly with the Broumov abbot Otmar Zinke. The church was built between 1727 and 1730, probably following plans by Kilian Ignaz Dietzenhofer, but that assumption is based solely on his work for the Břevnov-Broumov Benedictines. 

The building is interesting in that its gable wall and towers face towards the Broumov Monastery. It has a very ground articulated plan and is smoothly plastered. On the west side, the tower rises diagonally from the single nave, and from the sacristy and the depository on the east. 

Inside, the church is 31 m long and 12 m wide, but its lavish articulation makes it appear larger than it is. The chancel is adorned by a semicircular triumphal arch with fluted pilasters. The building has six entrances, three of which lead to the narthex and three to the nave. Three side entrances in the middle of the nave lead to the vestibule, the sacristy and the depository. The windows are set in stone frames and are of three shapes. The church was painted in 1867 by František Šrůtek of Náchod. 

Three out of four of the bells in St. Margaret's Church were requisitioned for war purposes in 1916. Therefore, new bells were purchased from Oktav Wintr of Broumov in 1927. All but one of these bells were again requisitioned during World War II. The only bell that remained was transferred to the tower of the monastery church in Broumov in the 1990s. Some of the furnishings of the Church of St. Margaret were stolen, the rest were stored in the depository. Services are held in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary in the local cemetery.