Velká Chyška is a destination for travellers who want to take a closer look at historic architectural styles and the character of a place. The Church of St John the Baptist combines a Neo-Romanesque building dating from 1898 with a Renaissance tombstone from the former church. The village square features a variety of rural residential and agricultural buildings; nearby Stražiště Hill, at 744 metres, is a landmark in the landscape. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, you can choose Velká Chyška based on a specific interest: the history of the village’s architecture or the wider landscape.
The Church and Its Historical Layers
The Church of St John the Baptist is a Neo-Romanesque building dating from 1898. A Renaissance tombstone dating from 1578, from the former church, is set into the exterior south wall of the presbytery. The church building therefore brings together two different historical references: the construction date of the Neo-Romanesque building and the tombstone’s earlier origin. The presbytery, or chancel, is a specific part of the church and makes the stone’s location more precise. So it is not only the year of construction that matters, but also the fact that a tombstone from the previous church is set into the exterior wall.
Farmstead Architecture on the Village Square
A Neoclassical rural farmhouse stands at the eastern edge of the village square. Its original layout was enclosed on four sides. The ensemble includes a single-storey house with a valuable stucco façade and adjoining agricultural wings. An enclosed four-sided layout means an arrangement in which the buildings surround the farmyard. This makes the house and agricultural wings understandable as related parts of a rural farmstead.
A large Baroque farmstead, once belonging to Strahov Monastery, stands in the southeastern part of the village square. It includes a residential building with a triangular Baroque gable and stucco decoration. A low connecting passage links the residential building to a large granary, whose gable façade is particularly massive. The passage makes the relationship between the residential building and the granary within the farmstead easy to see.
The two farmsteads stand on the same village square, but differ both in style and in their architectural layout. The Neoclassical farmhouse is defined by its originally enclosed four-sided courtyard and agricultural wings; in the Baroque farmstead, the connection between the residential building and granary stands out. This contrast offers a concrete way to explore the village’s rural architectural history.
Placing the Statue and Landscape in Context
The polychrome stone statue of St John of Nepomuk dates from the late 19th century and stands on an elaborately articulated Baroque pedestal dating from 1742. The pedestal is therefore considerably older than the figure; the date does not apply to both components. Polychromy refers to the use of multiple colours and adds another feature to the statue’s description as a stone sculpture.
A road runs through Velká Chyška, dividing the village into two parts. Stražiště is close to the village and rises to 744 metres. These two details provide different ways of understanding the area: the road describes the layout of the settlement, while the hill is a landmark in the landscape. If you choose where to visit based on your interests, you can treat the village’s architectural history and the nearby landscape as separate areas of focus.
Discover more destinations: Černovice, Píšť, Sudkuv Dul, Božejov, Staré Bříště, Lidmaň, Polesi, Kosetice.
For the overview of the wider region: Pelhřimov District.
