Chválenice combines distinctive architectural history with a hilly landscape. Its range of features extends from the Baroque Church of St. Martin and the U Chmelíků timber barn to rock formations and a protected solitary tree. The landscape includes the Švihovská vrchovina, the Radyňská vrchovina, the Úslava Valley, the Kozelské polesí and the nearby Brdy hills. Farská skála and the Niklojc hruška each offer a specific local point of interest.

St. Martin: A Church of the Rural Baroque

The Church of St. Martin in Chválenice was built as a new Baroque church between 1747 and 1753. Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer is considered its architect; reportedly, the new church was built to his design. It is regarded as one of the outstanding works of the Bohemian rural Baroque. Its elongated, richly articulated floor plan offers a concrete starting point for exploring the architecture. A floor plan shows the layout of a building from above; in the case of St. Martin, both its elongated layout and its rich articulation are important. The construction period, attributed authorship and floor plan answer three different questions: when the church was built, to whom it is attributed and how its layout is described.

The Timber Barn and the Village’s Former Appearance

The timber barn at farmstead No. 27, U Chmelíků, is one of the few surviving reminders of Chválenice’s former appearance, once characterized by numerous timber buildings. Comparing it with St. Martin reveals two different aspects of architectural history: the outstanding Baroque architecture on the one hand, and the memory of a once widespread timber-building tradition on the other. Timber construction refers to a building method using beams or logs stacked on top of one another; here, a specific building type brings the memory of the village’s former appearance to life.

Farská skála in Its Geological Context

At 537 m above sea level, Farská skála is the highest point in Chválenice and is surrounded by Džbánek Hill. It is one of several nearby rock formations within the Barrandian geological system. Its elevation and geological classification describe different aspects: the elevation places the rock in the context of Chválenice, while Barrandian identifies its broader geological setting. This local point of reference thus brings together a specific topographical detail and a broader geological classification.

The Niklojc hruška as a Memorial Tree

The more than two-hundred-year-old Niklojc hruška stands alone in the fields near Borky, above Chouzovy. In the Na Borkách area, it lies between Chouzovy and the V Babších fields of Chválenice. Since 5 October 2016, the pear tree has been designated a protected memorial tree. Its age and protected status refer to different points in time: its age speaks to its long presence, while the date marks its designation as a protected memorial tree. A blue-marked hiking trail runs along the field; the tree is about 200 metres from the road. These details should be understood separately: the trail runs beside the field, while the approximate distance refers to the gap between the road and the tree.

Discover more destinations: Vstiš, Pilsen, Dýšina, Mokrouše, Bolevec, Nezvěstice, Tymákov, Starý Plzenec.

For the broader travel overview: Plzeň-Město District.