A unique cemetery. The painted chapels in Albrechtice will also appeal to romantic souls
Albrechtice nad Vltavou in Píseck can be proud of the most beautiful cemetery in the country and also the title of Village of the Year 2022. Painted chapels with scenes from the Bible accompanied by verse texts are not only unusual, but also appeal to the romantic soul. When people walk around the final resting place, they feel like they are in an outdoor gallery.
Click to enlarge
The cemetery in Albrechtice nad Vltavou in Písecko is worth seeing
| Photo: Deník/Lenka Pospíšilová
The parish priest Vít Cíza, who is also buried under one of the paintings in the cemetery, came up with the unique idea of building local arcade chapels. He worked in Albrechtice between 1819 and 1854, he composed verses himself, the entire cemetery wall received folk paintings within five years. There are 60 of them around the perimeter.
Cemeteries losing history. The last bonds of the countrymen with the fatherland are being torn by pickaxes
According to historical information, the idea arose after his sister and mother died, he wanted to dedicate the pictorial dormers to them for their care, then they just continued the tradition. The parish priest himself wrote an entry in the chronicle about it: “It occurred to me that I would build a memorial out of bricks in the manner of a small chapel on the fence of the cemetery to my deceased loved ones,” wrote Cíza. The local mayor and a miller joined his efforts, and so in 1841 the first three chapels with scenes were created.
He also appeared in films
They were decorated with iron crosses and a figural painting of the patron saint of the deceased, which was created using the fresco technique by the painter František Mikule from Jinín. The entire cemetery was renovated between 2008 and 2013. He can also be seen in two films, Jan Cimbura (1941) and Dým brambové naté (1976).
The individual paintings are numbered and before entering the cemetery you can also play a map with the names of the scenes for an overview.