CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS
Commemoration of the fallen during the First World War
The timbered church dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel was built in 1605 in the eastern Slovak village of Habura near Medzilaborce. In 1740 it was sold and moved to the nearby village of Malá Polana, where it was dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in 1759. The church belonged to the Greek Catholic Church and served its purpose until 1915, when it was severely damaged during the First World War. It was repaired after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, but from the late 1920s it was not used because a stone church had already been built in Malá Polana at that time.
In 1934, the condition of the church was very bad and its demise was imminent. The building was therefore offered for purchase to Hradec Králové. The Hradec Králové Town Council approved the purchase of the church for twelve thousand Czechoslovak crowns on the proposal of mayor Josef Pilnáček. During May and June 1935 the church was dismantled and transported by rail to Hradec Králové.
Already in the summer of 1935, the church was in its new “home” in Jirásek Park. After minor modifications, it was officially opened on 28 October 1935 as a memorial to the fallen of the First World War. At present, the church is owned by the city.
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