The Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk (Czech: Poutní kostel svatého Jana Nepomuckého) at Zelená hora (meaning "Green Hill," German: Grünberg) is a religious building located at the edge of Žďár nad Sázavou, Czech Republic, near the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. It is the final work of Johann Santini Aichel, a Bohemian architect who blended the Borrominiesque Baroque style with Gothic elements in both the building's structure and decorations.
In 1719, after the Roman Catholic Church declared the tongue of John of Nepomuk to be unchanged, construction of the church at Zelená hora began. This location was where the future saint had received his early education. The church was consecrated shortly after John's beatification in 1720, though construction continued until 1727. Fifty years later, a serious fire damaged the building, leading to changes in the roof's design.
The church includes many furnishings designed by Santini himself. It is notable for its Gothic-style features and complex symbolism, which were unusual for that time. In 1994, it was recognized as a World Heritage Site. The nomination documents highlighted Santini's use of mathematical ratios in the church's architecture, aiming to create an independent spatial reality. The number 5 was central to the church's layout and proportions.
History
The Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk near the monastery in Žďár (now known as Zdar Estate with the New Generation Museum) was built through the teamwork of Václav Vejmluva, an abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Žďár, and the well-known architect Johann Santini Aichel. Vejmluva was already a strong supporter of St. John of Nepomuk before he was declared a saint, and he remained devoted after the canonization. The planning of the church project began in late April and ended in early August 1719. This work was directly influenced by the discovery of preserved tissue in the tomb of St. John of Nepomuk in St. Vitus Cathedral on April 15, 1719. The design of the church was given to Santini Aichel, who received the abbot’s ideas about the new sanctuary and its symbols. However, Santini worked independently, creating a design that was different from traditional religious buildings. He combined the abbot’s vision of a church shaped like a star into a unique and striking structure. This design received mixed reactions from people at the time. In 1886, Friedrich Radnitzký, a member of the Central Committee, called the church a “visually mysterious phenomenon.” The project was completed quickly, finished in 1722, likely because of the close teamwork between Vejmluva and Santini, as well as their shared knowledge of symbols and the teachings of the Cabala. The final design of the building was very similar to the original plan, with only small changes made.
On July 17, 1784, the roof of the church and its ambulatory caught fire. Fortunately, local citizens, with the help of Matěj Sychra, managed to save the building from total destruction. In 1792, the gubernium (an administrative unit) allowed the church to be restored, but with conditions: the church would no longer be a pilgrimage site, and the cemetery in Žďár nad Sázavou would be moved to the church area. Today, the cemetery is no longer used and is gradually being removed to restore the area to its original Baroque appearance. The church became state property in 1953 but was returned to the Catholic Church in 2014.
Description
The central church and its nearby cloister form a single, unified structure. The building's architecture is simple but very effective. It combines Baroque and Gothic styles, which reflects the time when John of Nepomuk lived, worked, and was martyred. The church's design is based on the geometry of a circle, with the number five repeated throughout the structure to honor the five stars associated with John of Nepomuk. According to a legend, these stars appeared above his body after his death.
This church is an example of how Santini designed his buildings. He used a compass to draw the entire structure using arcs of circles, with radii that were multiples of the building's basic unit. For the church of Saint John Nepomuk, Santini used the number five (for the stars), the number three (to represent the Trinity), and the number six (to honor Saint Mary, as John of Nepomuk was seen as her follower). As a result, the church's perimeter includes five chapels with triangular shapes and five with oval shapes. The church also resembles a section of a Gothic cathedral's choir and its supporting pillars. The church's central design creates a strong vertical line, symbolizing a connection to the heavens.
Inside the church, there are oval-shaped chapels along the perimeter, connected to the central space by narrow pointed arches. The central area, covered by a vault with curved sections, is supported by ten pillars. On the first floor, there are balconies that match the chapels below. The second floor has a gallery with ten pieces of art arranged around the base of the vault. The stucco decoration includes patterns of intersecting and cut arches similar to those found in Gothic vaults. Light is used to shape the interior space, following a Baroque idea that light represents God's presence. This is sometimes called "sacral light." The church's lighting creates a unique contrast: the central area is lit indirectly, while the side walkways are brightly lit. Light enters the central space through the pointed arches where pillars would normally be. The stucco decoration highlights this contrast, making it seem as though the walls are just shells and the building is held up by light. The entire church is also seen as a reliquary, housing the relic of Saint John of Nepomuk's tongue.
The main altar on the eastern side is placed within a high archway. The top of the altar reaches to the railing on the second-floor gallery. Five angels and the Four Evangelists are carved into the altar. These carvings were made by a sculptor from Chrudim named Jan Pavel Čechpauer between 1725 and 1727. Three of the five angels hold a sphere representing the sky, decorated with five stars. On top of the sphere stands a figure of Saint John of Nepomuk. This sculpture was created by Řehoř Theny. He also made the reliefs on the base of a silver pilgrimage statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, crafted in 1729 by Prague goldsmith Jan Diesbach. This statue was lost after 1784. Santini chose sculptors connected to Matthias Braun intentionally, as Santini and Braun often collaborated, and their artistic styles were very similar.
Around the church is a circular cloister divided into ten sections by five chapels and five gates. Each chapel originally had a pointed structure called a pylon, symbolizing light and eternity. The cloister and chapels were places where pilgrims prayed and sought shelter during bad weather. Both the church and its surrounding cloister demonstrate Santini's strong architectural and creative skills.
Gallery
- Church ceiling
- Star-shaped decoration
- View of the church from above
- Close-up of an angel
- Bible passage near the main altar
- Scene from the second floor
- Looking up inside the church