Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Karviná

In the direct vicinity of Fryštát Chateau, i.e. in old Karviná, stands the most important monument of the town and one of the oldest preserved buildings in the whole Těšín region.

The original age of the church is evidenced by Gothic paintings from the 15th century, which were created directly into the lime plaster and recorded various religious motifs.

The present appearance of the church was created after a fire at the end of the 19th century. Perhaps it is that fire that was the origin of the strong legend about the power and sound of the local bell. This bell was said to have such power that when it sounded from the church tower, all evil turned to good and sadness to joy. Then, when the bell fell into the ashes after a fire, it was buried in the ground and for many years no one knew about it, until it was found by a herder of pigs who carved the bell out of the ashes.

The bell rang again until the princess of Těšín heard it and decided to retrieve it at any cost. The townspeople sold the bell for an unbelievable sum of money – the entire journey from Fryštát to Těšín was said to have been planted with gold coins. When the princess woke up the next day, the bell was back in its place in the tower of the Fryštát church. The lady of Těšín took this as a sign from God, left the bell where it belonged and even left all the gold coins for the townspeople of Fryštát. Only the window, through which the beautiful sound of the bell came, she had bricked up, so that she would not be sorry.