Prášily - Březník - chapel of St. Vintières
In 1040, the Benedictine monk Vintíř built a hermitage in a cave in the rock at the top of Březník (1006 m) and lived there until his death in 1045. A wooden chapel was built near the cave to honor Vintíř's memory. It was replaced by a brick chapel in the 19th century. In 1952, the area became part of the Dobrá Voda military area, and the army blew up the chapel in the 1950s. The cave was also destroyed. On December 31, 1991, the military district was abolished and the entire area became publicly accessible. The town of Hartmanice, together with the Bavarian town of Rinchnach, rebuilt the chapel in its original form in 1992. The construction of the chapel took only 6 weeks. As part of the renewed traditional annual pilgrimage, the chapel was re-consecrated during a solemn Czech-German mass on October 11, 1992. The rock above the chapel was also modified, the carved stairs with railings and the cross at the top were renewed. In front of the chapel there is a cast-iron cross, inside there is a statue of the Virgin Mary and a copy of the image of St. Vintières. The copy was made by artist Zuzana Jonová. The original painting is in the possession of the Sušice Šumava Museum.
Source: Leaflet issued by the Roman Catholic parish Dobrá Voda
