sv. Anděla strážce, Sušice

The Roman Catholic chapel of the Holy Guardian Angels in Sušice, popularly called Andělíček, is a dominant feature of the town of Sušice. It is located 85 metres above the town on the Stráž hill.

It was built by Ladislav of Bílina, a Quardian of the Capuchin monastery in Susice, in 1682 with the help of Alžběta Meřková and Polyxena Weissenregner. A legend is connected to its foundation, according to which a snake wrapped itself around the leg of a small child at this place, but then an angel leaned towards the child and the snake disappeared. After the completion of the construction, the chapel was consecrated on 3 August 1683 by the auxiliary bishop of Prague, Jan Ignác Dlouhoveský.

In 1735, a cloister was built around the chapel, with internal arcades of almost square plan, which completely surrounds the chapel, with four smaller chapels in the corners and three gates in the centre of each side: the western one overlooking the town, the southern one at the end of the pedestrian route from the town, the northern one from the open space, part of which is now a car park for visitors

The corner chapels are dedicated to Our Lady of Old Boleslav, St. John of Nepomuk, St. Florian and St. Mary Magdalene.

As part of the Josephine reforms, the chapel was closed in 1791 and the paintings were transferred to the Church of St. Wenceslas in Sušice. However, at the insistence of the town of Sušice and the dean of Sušice, the chapel was reopened on 1 May 1799, when the painting of the Guardian Angel in procession was brought back.

Minor repairs and alterations to the building were carried out in 1848, 1873, 1882, and 1994. A major renovation took place between 1935 and 1936, when the original central chapel was completely demolished and a new, larger one built in its place. The construction work was completed on 23 August 1936 and the consecration and reopening ceremony took place on 6 September 1936 in the presence of Archbishop Kašpar of Prague.

The chapel is only open for services, which are held here once a week from the beginning of June to the end of August, and then during the Sušica pilgrimage in early September.

Since 2010, the Stations of the Cross have led to the chapel on Stráž Hill.