St. John the Baptist Chapel (Janská kaple)
The Chapel of St. John the Baptist was built on the initiative of Jan Mořic Dreyschock on Janský Vrch in 1714. In its vicinity was also found a hermitage and a miraculous spring. The chapel was damaged during the Silesian Wars, especially during the city fire in 1745. In its surroundings a simple defensive position was built. Heavy fighting took place here during the so-called Battle of Trutnov on June 27, 1866 during the Prussian-Austrian war.
In 1782, by order of Emperor Joseph II, Janská Chapel was secularized and sold to a private owner. Its restoration and consecration did not occur until 1811. On June 27, 1866, fighting between Prussian and Austrian troops took place around and inside the chapel, and the bullets have left clear traces in the building to this day. In the years 1879–80, after the removal of military monuments from the abolished town cemetery, the surroundings of Janská Chapel became the military cemetery for the 1866 war. Today its interior holds a small military museum.
Not far from the chapel there was originally found a miraculous spring and a hermitage. A hermit used to live here, whose duties included ringing and praying in the morning, at noon and in the evening for averting misfortune from the town of Trutnov. During the great fire of the town in 1745, the roof of the chapel burned down, but it was soon restored. In the 1750s, the peace of the three hermits who lived here at the time was disturbed by soldiers building defensive positions around the chapel.
Information
Úpická 513
541 01 Trutnov
