LONDON, Jan 18: Myth and mystery has meant a cash bonanza for the medieval Scottish church featured in Dan Brown's best-selling book `The Da Vinci Code’, church officials said on Thursday.

Last year, when a film based on the book was launched, Rosslyn Chapel, near Edinburgh, made a record profit of almost one million dollars and hosted 170,000 visitors, more than a five-fold increase on preceding years.

“Visitor numbers were rising before the book and the film, but have really taken off since `The Da Vinci Code’,” said Colin Glynne-Percy, who took over as director of the chapel’s trustees this week.

“We are delighted with this, but it is my job to make sure we find a balance between tourist demand and the needs of our parishioners, as this is after all a working church with a vibrant community.”

Brown's book suggests the medieval stone building in the Pentland hills, outside Edinburgh, could be the repository of the fabled Holy Grail.

Known for its intricate stone carvings, the cross-shaped chapel was founded in 1446 by Sir William St. Clair, a Grand Master in the Knights Templar, an ancient order of benevolent knights.

In 2005, the chapel trust recorded a profit of just over 590,000 dollars, which included a contribution from film producers Sony after film scenes featuring actor Tom Hanks were shot there.

Filmmakers paid the chapel for four days of lost tourism revenue, a figure reported to be more than 19,100 pounds, though officials would not be specific.

Before 2005, when it played host to 117,000 visitors, the chapel received an average of 30,000 visitors a year.

Profits will go toward a church restoration project estimated to cost 23 million dollars, including major repairs to the roof.—AP