Enthusiasts are restoring the hermitage in Náchod Region; it will become a museum and a meeting place

Teplice nad Metují – A group of enthusiasts is trying to breathe life into the historically protected baroque hermitage in Teplice nad Metují near the Church of St. Mary Help of Christians. The goal is to create an exhibition on the history of the hermitage, the town, and a space for meetings and spiritual renewal. Martin Mráz, the chairman of the association Save the Teplice Hermitage, told ČTK this. The association was founded by him and Ladislav Šikut in 2010, and about two years later, they began the restoration of the monument.

"I see the restoration of the hermitage as my mission. If no one took it on, I fear that the hermitage would end badly," Mráz said. He moved to Teplice about 20 years ago, and during his visits to the church, he was struck by the dilapidated structure nearby. "The owner, the Parish of Teplice nad Metují, had neither the means nor a great interest in saving this valuable monument. I decided to do something about it. The reconstruction is already past the halfway mark; we aim to have it completed in five years," Mráz noted.

The repair of the building has so far cost about 2.5 million crowns out of an estimated total of 3.5 million. The association covers the costs of the reconstruction from various sources, primarily from state support, the Czech-German Fund for the Future, the Hradec Králové Region, and the town itself. Some work is carried out by the association's own resources, but most is done by professionals.

"The aim is to save the hermitage and restore it with sensitivity so that the architectural development is visible. There are clearly discernible parts from the original baroque period, later neoclassical modifications, and the most recent pre-war alterations," Mráz described.

The hermitage has a repaired basement, all three chimneys, an entrance portal, and a new roof. This year, the association plans to begin repairing the log wall. The hermitage consists of three rooms. "We would like to activate one cell and finally open, at least in a minimalist way, the dreamed exhibition on the history of Teplice nad Metují. This year we will commemorate the 660th anniversary of the first written mention of the town Gusweynsdorf alias Teplicz. That is why we have set ourselves the goal of creating conditions for returning artworks to the Church of St. Mary Help of Christians," Mráz stated.

The baroque Ivanitská hermitage in Teplice is a semi-timbered building in the shape of a closed U with a garden, adjacent to the Church of St. Mary Help of Christians. At the time of its construction, it was entirely timbered, except for the black kitchen and the chimneys. It is one of the last monuments to the Congregation of St. Ivan, founded for hermits in Bohemia in 1732. The unusually large hermitage in Teplice was built in 1753 by a nobleman, Prague physician, and doctor of philosophy Jan Maxmilián from Peytersberg, who decided to live as a hermit at the age of 65, according to the association's website.

According to the association's information, this nobleman dedicated his estate to the operation of the hermitage, where he lived with two hermits until his death in 1763. "Both hermits then lived here until 1782 when Emperor Joseph II dissolved the congregation of hermits. They both lived out their days here as church caretakers," Mráz told ČTK.

The hermitage underwent minor construction modifications over time and continued to be used as a residence for the church caretaker and temporarily for a chaplain conducting pilgrimage masses, until 1945. Teplice nad Metují was then significantly affected by the post-war deportation of the German-speaking population. "After the war, the hermitage was cared for by religious sisters working in the local retirement home. After 1989, only occasional repairs were made, and by 2010 it seemed that it would be consumed by dry rot. Since then, our association has been trying to save and restore it," Mráz said.

The hermitage and the church can be visited, and it is open to the public, offering guided tours. Masses of the Roman Catholic Parish of Teplice nad Metují take place in the church.