The church of St. James was built in the 12th century and its uniqueness lies in decoration of southern wall of the nave with Romanesque sculpture. Origin of the church is not very clear. Its founders were members of a noble family from central Moravia (later known as lords of Švabenice) - Mary and her sons Slavibor and Paul.
The old chroniclers mention certain Slavibor who participated in assault of Bishop Jindrich Zdík. The incident took place in 1145 at Usobrno castle near village called Biskupice. The iniciators were Moravian princes Kunrat and Vratislav. According to all relevant sources, Slavibor died in 1146. Effort put in erection of the St. James church by Slavibor’s family, may be understood as a symbol of reconsiliation. Church was consecrated in attendance of King Vladislav and his wife Judita - significance of the place and structure is evident and proved by a document dated from 1165, written by Prague Bishop Daniel and describing the course of ceremony. It was found in 1846 when a major restoration of the church took place and translation from Latin follows:
I, Daniel, indign but through Lord’s grace the 13th Prague Bishop, in the year 1165 of our Lord in eleventh month of the year and nineteenth day of the month (19th November 1165), during the reign of Fridrich, the Roman emperor and at times of Vladislav, famous king of Czech, personally put into altar remains of: the Lord’s Cross, blessed Mary ever Virgin, St. John the Baptist, disciples of our Lord St. Andrew, James and Bartholomew, St. Wenceslas the martyr, St. Adalbert the martyr, St. Blasius the martyr, St. Leon, St. Ludmila the martyr and other saints. All the Saints, pray for me to our God, amen. I, Vladislav the king of Czech beseech the same, amen I, Judita the queen of Czech beseech the same, amen. I, Mary maker of the church and my sons Slavibor and Paul beseech the same, amen. It is to write down the altar is dedicated to our Blessed Lady and immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary.
Autentika (the written document) and the remains were deposited in a 75 mm × 74 mm × 25 mm lead case. The case was sealed up by Prague bishop. It was donated by Jindrich Chotek of Vojín (patron of the church) and now could be found in National museum in Prague. The document confirms attendance of king Vladislav and his wife Judita at consecration. Yet, it has not been answered why they had turned up on such occasion, for it is an outlying church with unclear origin.
Church of St. James is a remarkable building, especially southern wall with sculpture decoration is worth noticing. It is an art work dated from times of king Vladislav and represents the largest Romanesque sculpture within the country that has survived until nowadays. It may be the first rendering of Czech patrons and was made in half of the 12th century (except gore). It is a fine hybrid of Saxon and French sculpture. It is believed that Cistercian monks may have assisted with "tender" and invited sculptors from France, or the work was created by someone close to Prince Vladislav II. The latest research has concerned with relief - scientists are convinced it is a complex work originally designed as a decoration for another building, probably in northern Italy, Saxony or Thuringia. After death of Miroslav (founder of Sedlec monastery in Sedlec) towards the close of the 12th century, the amount of land owned by the monastery grew and the period of monastery’s prosperity began. In the first half of the 13th century, after death of Miroslav’s nephew Držislav of Kojice, territory administrated by monastery was extended with town of Záborí nad Labem. During the 13th century, besides Sedlec monastery there were other church institutions with significant influence in the area. These were monastery in Sázava having administrated lands in Pnevnice and surroundings, and Diocese of Olomouc with lands in Prítoky. All the institutions were of benefit to the country as they were developing construction activities and cultivating fields.
Kostel svatého Jakuba Staršího v Jakubu v okrese Kutná Hora je románský kostel vysvecený roku 1165. Podle autentiky (listiny o svecení), nalezené v roce 1846, se svecení úcastnil ceský král Vladislav II. s královnou Juditou. V roce 2008 byl narízením vlády zarazen mezi Národní kulturní památky CR.
Dominantou jednolodního kostela je vysoká západní vež, na strane východní církevní stavbu uzavírá okrouhlá apsida. V letech 1872 až 1874 provedl Josef Kranner puristickou úpravu stavby (lod) a v roce 1883 upravil ve stejném slohu vež kostela Josef Mocker. Na jižní fasáde kostela se nalézá nejrozsáhlejší soubor dochovaných románských plastik v Ceské republice. Puvodní portál má v tympanonu poprsí Krista se dvema andely, po stranách vchodu torza dvou apoštolu. V patre se nacházejí dve postavy biskupu, svetce se dvema donátory a rytír. [wiki CZ]