Blšany combines a Baroque church with several distinct places of remembrance: a rectory and a sculpture of a saint in the village square, niche chapels and a site dedicated to St. Wenceslas in the wider area. When choosing your destination, you can consider whether you are most interested in architectural history, religious tradition, or specific sports and event facilities. Road I/27 is also useful for finding your way around: it runs through Blšany.
Church, Rectory and Village Square
The single-nave Baroque Church of St. Michael the Archangel was built in 1716–1717. A tower was added to its south wall in 1762, and a major reconstruction in 1825 gave it its present appearance. Single-nave means that the church has one main nave. This makes it possible to distinguish the original building, the later addition of the tower and the reconstruction as separate phases of construction.
East of the church stands the two-storey Baroque rectory, built in 1734. In front of the rectory, in the village square, is a Baroque sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk with two angels, dating from 1735. The two construction dates are close together and complement the older church with two clearly dated features of the village. Together with the tower and the later reconstruction, they form a sequence that distinguishes several stages in the history of the buildings.
Niche Chapels and Local Depictions of Saints
At the eastern edge of the village, a niche chapel is built into the gable wall of single-storey house No. 113 on the road to Soběchleby. It contains a figure of St. Anthony of Padua holding the Christ Child. A different form is seen in the masonry niche chapel of St. Wenceslas at the intersection of the Blšany–Žatec and Liběšice–Letov roads: its shallow niche contains a figurative relief of St. Wenceslas on horseback.
Another site associated with a chapel lies on a hill north of Blšany, where a remnant of the 17th-century Chapel of St. Wenceslas has survived. The examples differ both in their form and in their location: a niche integrated into a house’s gable wall, a masonry chapel at a road intersection, and the remains of a chapel on a hill. This makes it possible to distinguish each site by its particular form and location.
The Tradition of St. Wenceslas and Regional History
The site dedicated to St. Wenceslas around Blšany has a pilgrimage tradition documented since the 14th century and is considered one of the oldest pilgrimage sites associated with St. Wenceslas. The medieval village of Nevechovice was located in the area around this site; archaeological evidence dates its beginnings to the 9th–10th centuries. The site of the vanished Church of St. Wenceslas in the wider region is a separate location. It lies at a crossroads between Letov, Blšany and Liběšovice. The pilgrimage site and the location of the vanished church are therefore distinct regional points of interest.
Commemorating the world wars is also part of the village’s history. The war memorial was erected in 1947, primarily in memory of the victims of the Second World War, including three local people named individually. It also commemorated residents who did not return from the battlefields of the First World War.
Planning Sports and Private Events
The sports centre in Blšany offers a hall, a gym and table tennis. Its rooms can be reserved for a fee by prior telephone arrangement with the municipal office. If you are planning to use the facilities, arrange your reservation by phone with the municipal office before your trip.
Zámeček Blšany offers venues for weddings, celebrations and other private events. If such an event is the reason for your stay, you should confirm availability in advance. These options provide specific planning considerations in addition to the architectural and local history; they differ by occasion and each requires separate arrangements.
Discover more destinations: Břvany, Hřivice, Hříškov, Brodec, Chraberce, Zálužice, Holedeč, Kryry
For the broader travel overview: Okres Louny.
