Miraculous spring

There are a number of legends associated with the origin of the Art Nouveau church. They claim that there was originally a spring with clear water on the site of the present church, which had the power to cure all kinds of ailments, and so it is no surprise that it attracted throngs of sick people. One of these was reeve Georg Wöber, who even erected a stone cross in the form of Calvary at the well in 1807 as a token of gratitude for his recovery. Next to it there stood a tree with a picture of the Mother of God, which gave the place its name. However, the spring became truly famous 10 years later, when a blind boy from Raspenava was said to have miraculously regained his sight. This led to the spring being visited by whole processions of the sick and infirm. In 1833, a descendant of Wöber had the Stations of the Cross built here, and planted an avenue of chestnut trees. Later, a small church was erected at the site.

Calvary At the Picture

The sandstone sculptural group depicting Calvary, standing at the source of the miraculous spring, was originally lavishly decorated. The stone cross with the crucified figure of Jesus Christ, the work of master sculptor Benedikt Herden from Martínkovice near Broumov, was accompanied by statues of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist. There were also four relief circles with the sign of the stigmata; and a balustrade with angels adorned the front side of the Calvary. Unfortunately, the sculpture has been badly damaged, not only by the natural passage of time, but also as the result of some inappropriate alterations, and ended up in a bad state of disrepair. In 2024 the main part was therefore sent to a workshop to be restored.

Stations of the Cross in the chestnut avenue

The Stations of the Cross At the Picture are made up of a total of 14 stops. Each consists of three stone blocks, two forming the base, the third depicting a specific scene from the Crucifixion of Christ. 

Church At the Picture

As Ruprechtice had no church until the beginning of the 20th century, it was logical to build a new one right by the miraculous spring. The plans for the Art Nouveau building were drawn up by the prominent Liberec architects Max Kühn and Heinrich Fanta, and the work was carried out by local builder Albert Hübner. Exactly 100 years after the creation of the Calvary sculpture, the Church At the Picture was built on the little hill in Ruprechtice between 1906 and 1907.

Time and people take their toll on the church

As with other church buildings, the Church At the Picture went through some hard times after World War II. The abandoned building was mercilessly demolished, the large chandelier was destroyed by vandals, the altar was chopped into pieces, and skiers made the church their base and meeting point in the winter. After the doors had been secured by metal plates on the outside and strong bolts on the inside, thieves broke in through the windows after tearing off the iron bars. Tiles were also stolen from the roof. There were even plans to set up a car camp in the meadow, with the church serving as a place to store food and drink or as an actual restaurant, but fortunately this didn’t happen in the end. Through the efforts of Ing. arch. Pavel Švec, the church, by then in a pitiful state, was saved at the end of the 1970s and was reconsecrated after general renovation on 22 August 1998.

A place of many views

The church is interesting for the unusual location of its tower and its circular ground plan, and adds a unique romantic genius loci to this sacral place. The building is often thought of as a church because of its size, but in liturgical and canonical terms it is actually a chapel. It is referred to by various names, e.g. At the Picture (U Obrázku), the Virgin Mary At the Picture, or a really long one – the Church of the Immaculate Virgin Mary Queen of Angels At the Picture. Whatever it’s called, however, its location on the hill above Ruprechtice makes it one of Liberec’s most beautiful landmarks.