Medieval Rychnov was nothing more than four rows of mostly wooden houses erected around the square. Similarly, the Rychnov Castle built probably in the mid 13th century was originally made out of timber. Therefore the Church of the Virgin Mary (now of St. Gall) stood out in this charming little town. Its main altar was consecrated during the reign of Charles’s father. Supposedly, Charles’s confidant and first Prague Archbishop Arnošt of Pardubice himself carved for the church a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary which the Rychnov folk used to believe protected the town. The statue survived centuries in the church, but unfortunately in 1960 somebody stole it from the main altar and took it somewhere in Germany. So as a result of the theft the Rychnov residents lost their protector … Rychnov did not receive the town crest and other privileges until the very beginning of the Early Modern Period, when a significant boom awaited the town. The impressive Baroque complex of a chateau with a church was built two centuries later under the Kolowrat Family. On your tour through the chateau you will be able to feast your eyes on some of the masterpieces by Karel Škréta and Hans von Aachen.