Reichenau

Reichenau between Sacred Art, Craftsmanship and Landscape

Reichenau is a destination for travelers who want to discover cultural history not only through grand buildings, but also through special details. The character of the place is shaped by the Baroque Church of St. Wenceslas, the history of the Rychnover Painting School, a significant landscape feature and an outdoor exhibition open to visitors. This picture is complemented by historic transport routes and an educational trail that you can explore on foot or by bicycle.

Baroque Church and Places of Remembrance

The Baroque Church of St. Wenceslas is at the cultural center. It was built between 1704 and 1712. Its furnishings include an altarpiece of St. Wenceslas by J. Hellich. The church also has a wooden baptismal font from the mid-18th century. It is precisely these components from different periods that make the church a place where several stages of the history of sacred art can be directly read in a single building.

Another place of remembrance is the Plague Column of St. Procopius. It was erected in 1702 at the place where the last three victims of the plague died. The specific connection between the monument and the traditional local history gives the column particular significance: it stands not only for a historic event, but also for a place of remembrance.

The Rychnover Painting School and Its Unusual Development

The decoration of Rychnover lacquered hard-paper boxes with romantic miniatures tells its own story of artistic craftsmanship. This style led to the Rychnover Painting School. After the decline of box production, the Rychnover Painting School devoted itself to the industrial production of copies of famous paintings for ecclesiastical and secular purposes. Its history therefore extends from decorative handicrafts to a later, industrially oriented production of images. During your stay, this subject offers a different approach to regional culture than viewing churches and monuments.

Landscape, Exhibition and Routes

The Košovská Linden Avenue is also part of the characteristic appearance of the surrounding area. It is a significant landscape feature along the route from Rychnov u Jablonce nad Nisou. Anyone who would like to combine cultural impressions with an exploration shaped by the landscape will find here a section of the region's landscape character.

Rychnov u Jablonce nad Nisou is also home to the outdoor exhibition “AL Reichenau Concentration Camp & Getewent Arms Factory”, which is open to visitors. It adds another historically distinct place of remembrance to the Baroque church art and the history of the Painting School. When planning your days, you can therefore consider different themes side by side without reducing Reichenau to just one era or one form of cultural experience.

The Rychnov railway station on the Pardubice–Liberec line is also part of the historic context. Historically, it provided the entire Jablonec area with a connection to the outside world. This former role belongs to the transport history of the place and should not be confused with a statement about today's railway operations. For active exploration, the Scheybal educational trail can be completed on foot or by bicycle. You can therefore plan this part of your stay either as a walking route or as a cycling excursion.

Reichenau particularly appeals to travelers who want to combine sacred art, local craft history, landscape and historical remembrance in a single stay. For further research, you can also find Dessendorf, Radl, Plaw, Friedrichswald, Wiesenthal An Der Neiße, Kleinskal, Gablonz An Der Neiße and Pintschei.

For the broader travel overview: Okres Jablonec Nad Nisou.