Pročevily – St. Barbara, village history and Altán

Pročevily between village history and the hilltop

Pročevily features a preserved compact structure with irregularly arranged village buildings. Above the village stands St. Barbara’s Church on a hilltop at an elevation of 591 m. It is designated as an immovable cultural monument; from there, extensive panoramic views can be enjoyed. As a result, two characteristic aspects come together when visiting the village: the organically developed village structure and the view across the landscape. The hilltop also forms a distinctive reference point for routes in the area around Pročevily.

Pročevily lies approximately 4.5 km as the crow flies west of Březnice, at a junction off Bubovice. St. Barbara’s Church is located above the settlement near the road between Bubovice and Vševily. The church’s position above the village distinguishes the view of the settlement from the road connection between the surrounding villages. In this way, visiting the church combines a specific landscape and village view without treating Pročevily, Bubovice, Vševily and Březnice as a single complex.

Church, school and the village’s organic history

In the 14th century, Pročevily belonged to the archbishop’s estate of Rožmitál. St. Barbara’s Church began as a chapel built by Jesuits from Březnice. Pročevily’s school was built near the church; teaching began there in 1835. The church and school thus represent different periods in the village’s history: the chapel points to the early development of the church, while the school documents the village’s later educational life.

In 1913, children from Pročevily, Volenice and Vševily, as well as from the hamlets of Nouzov, Cihelna, Na drahách and Lesní chalupy, attended the school in Pročevily. The entire settlement area of Pročevily, including the nearby St. Barbara’s Church on the hilltop, is designated as an urban-planning asset. The compact structure of irregularly arranged village buildings has been preserved. There is also a small cemetery beside the church for people who died in Pročevily, Volenice and Vševily. The village landscape thus brings together religious history, school history, settlement structure and communal remembrance in close proximity.

Panoramas and routes to Altán

The Altán hill and its surroundings are easiest to reach from Pročevily or Volenice. The small settlement of Nouzov on the edge of the forest can serve as a starting point for a hike to the summit of Altán; from St. Barbara’s Church in Pročevily, it is best reached from there. Those wishing to combine a visit to the historic village with a hike can therefore choose between the village, the hilltop and the forest edge as different starting points. The panoramic views at St. Barbara and the routes to Altán complement each other, bringing cultural history and landscape together during the same stay.

If you would like to extend your research to other places, you can also visit the pages on Brekova Lhota, Příčovy, Milešov, Ostrov, Vševily, Počepice, Osečany and Velká Lečice.

For the higher-level travel overview: Příbram District.