Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk

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 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 combined the Borrominiesque Baroque with references to Gothic elements in both construction and decoration.

[1] The nomination dossier pointed out Santini's mathematical ratios in its architecture which aimed at "the creation of an independent spatial reality", with "the number 5 being dominant in the layout and proportions" of the church.

[2][3] The design of the building was entrusted to Santini Aichel to whom abbot Vejmluva is alleged to have presented his ideas about the new sanctuary and the symbols used.

He melded the abbot's idea of the church dominated by the pattern of a star into an extraordinarily impressive form which received mixed contemporary reviews.

Friedrich Radnitzký, a member of the Central Committee, referred to the church as a "visually mysterious phenomenon" as late as 1886.

[3] The project was finished unusually quickly (dedicated in 1722), possibly because of the strong cooperation between Vejmluva and Santini, and their shared expertise in symbology and the teaching of the Cabala.

It combines Baroque and Gothic elements which in fact points to the age when John of Nepomuk lived, worked and was martyred.

In inner area of the church there are oval perimeter chapels which are connected with central cylinder space by narrower ogive arches.

Stucco decoration is limited to motives of intersecting and cut rib arches similar to Gothic vaults.

Carvings of five angels on the main altar (with its count five pointing to John of Nepomuk) and the Four Evangelists are made by hands of a sculptor coming from Chrudim named Jan Pavel Čechpauer in years 1725–27.

Around the church is built a ring cloister divided into ten sections by five chapels and five gates all this on a circular ground plan.

Dome
Original drawing from Santini – 18th century
View of dome
Central area and two floors
Main altar
Cloister divided by gates and chapels
Flag of the Czech Republic
Flag of the Czech Republic