Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Carlsbad
Parish Church of Saint Mary Magdalene is one of the most beautiful edifices in Karlovy Vary, and one of the most valuable monuments of Baroque in the whole Bohemia. It was built between 1732-1736 on the initiative of Emperor Charles VI, according to the plan of the famous architect Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer, on the spot of a small gothic church from the second half of the 14th century.
The main Baroque altar was created by the sculptor Jacob Eberle from Mastov (1718-1783) who started working on it from 1752. On the sides, there are four life size sculptures - at the bottom part there are the Church Fathers: Saint Augustine and Saint Jerome, at the top part the apostles: Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Rotating shrine is adorned with a cross embedded in the pedestal made from the spa stones.
The main altarpiece, which has the image of the Crucifixion with Mary Magdalene mourning at the foot of the cross, was painted by Elias Dollhopf (1703-1773). On the left side of the church there is also a painting of Saint Mary Magdalene with Christ the Gardener made by Josef Kramolin, a painter from Karlovy Vary. On the right side there is the painting of kneeling Mary Magdalene made by Johann Herrmann, a Viennese painter.
The loft for musicians and choir singers is located above the main entrance. The organ originates from 1899. It was built by an organ builder from Cheb Martin Zaus.
The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene was built and managed for centuries by the Order of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, which returned here after 1990 and looks after the cathedral up to the present time. In 2010, the church was declared a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic.