Podhradí

Church of the Good Shepherd

One of the pillars and supports of the Evangelical Church in the Aš region is the beautifully decorated Church of the Good Shepherd (Zum guten Hirten) in Podhradí. The massive building of the Podhradí church can be found in the immediate vicinity of the ruins of Neuburg Castle. The original late Gothic church was built by the Zedtwitz family in 1470-1490. In 1542, they joined the Reformation and remained faithful to it even after the Thirty Years' War.

Podhradí - Church of the Good Shepherd

After the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, the Habsburgs began to re-Catholicize the country. However, their attempt at a Counter-Reformation in the Aš region was unsuccessful. In 1648, Lutheranism in the Aš region was definitively recognized by the Habsburgs. The old church was rebuilt in 1678-1682. It is the oldest Evangelical church in all of Austria (-Hungary). The interior is entirely made of wood. Not a single nail or other metal object was used in its construction. Only wedges and nails made of wood.The pulpit from 1703 and the altar from 1710 are the work of the woodcarver Michael Zeitler from nearby Doubrava. In 1711, the church ceiling was covered with a wooden barrel vault, which Georg Radiem from Oberröslau near Wunsiedel painted with the motif of angel choirs and illustrated biblical texts. He also painted the pulpit and probably the altar. The two-story wooden gallery is also decorated with paintings.