The cemetery church is one of Central Europe’s oldest wooden sacral buildings and boasts some remarkable architecture and interior paintings. We know nothing about what the church originally looked like, except perhaps that it was made of wood. It was burnt down when the town was besieged by the Hussite army in June 1421 and the church’s present appearance probably dates from 1450. Back in the day, there was also a popular legend claiming that the church was founded in 1177 by a pagan princess.
The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is exceptional not only in terms of its age, but also for the technique used to build it. Containing not a single nail, it is a half-timbered structure made of massive oak beams. The entire beamed structure of the nave and chancel, the ceiling and the roof trusses supporting the tall bell tower, form a single whole, a perfect example of the craft of carpentry that has survived the centuries.
The church nave is surrounded by a covered gallery around its entire perimeter. The appearance we see today is the result of the restoration work carried out after the Prussian invasion in 1779, when the original gallery with its boarded walls was torn down at the order of General Anhalt to prevent the church from being used by the army. The church is surrounded by 9 wooden plaques in the gallery, which serve as a chronicle of the town’s history. They tell us, for example, that in 1542 the locals were plagued by large infestation of locusts, and that they bowed down to Emperor Joseph II in 1766. A number of Renaissance and Empire tombstones were moved to the church's gallery from graves that had been removed.
In addition to ornamentation featuring floral motifs and stylised animal figures, the church's décor also comprises some mysterious inscriptions in late Gothic lettering, although they mean nothing as a whole. A valuable oil painting from the early 17th century adorns the interior. It depicts the patron saint and the saints of the Czech lands, with Broumov in the background.
The church is wreathed in a number of legends. "During the Thirty Years' War, when the Swedes were here, a Swedish officer griped that the wooden church did not have the strength of stone; he grabbed a sabre and chopped at it. He wanted to show how rickety the wood was. When he hit the wall, his sabre broke and he had to admit that wood is sometimes more sturdy than stone." You can also touch the Executioner's Chopping Block, which possibly originated in Broumov’s square – good fortune is said to accompany whoever touches it.
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