Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk
A Baroque-Gothic pilgrimage church with complex numerical symbolism.
The Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora is a religious building near the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. It is the final work of architect Johann Santini Aichel, who combined Borrominiesque Baroque with Gothic references. The church was declared a World Heritage Site in 1994, noted for its mathematical ratios and the dominant number five in its layout.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Žďár nad Sázavou, Vysočina Region, Czech Republic
- Area
- 0.64 ha / 0.002 sq mi
- Buffer zone
- 627.9 ha / 2.42 sq mi
Facts from the source article.
History
The church was built through the collaboration of Václav Vejmluva, abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Žďár, and architect Johann Santini Aichel. Vejmluva was a devotee of John of Nepomuk before and after his canonization. Project preparation began in 1719, a direct reaction to the discovery of preserved tissue in John of Nepomuk's tomb in St. Vitus Cathedral on 15 April 1719. Santini was entrusted with the design, and Vejmluva is alleged to have presented his ideas about the sanctuary and symbols, but Santini dealt with the project individually, departing from traditional religious building shapes. He melded the abbot's idea of a star-dominated church into an impressive form that received mixed contemporary reviews. Friedrich Radnitzký referred to the church as a visually mysterious phenomenon in 1886. The project was finished unusually quickly, possibly due to strong cooperation and shared expertise in symbology and Cabala. The definitive shape differs little from the first design. On 17 July 1784 the roof and ambulatory caught fire; local citizens and Matěj Sychra saved it from destruction. Permission to restore was given in 1792 on condition it no longer be a pilgrimage church and the cemetery be moved there. The cemetery is now being slowly removed to restore the baroque appearance. The church became state property in 1953 and was returned to the Catholic Church in 2014.
Description
The church and its cloister were designed and built as a single, unified complex. The architecture is spare yet powerfully effective, blending Baroque and Gothic styles to evoke the era of Saint John of Nepomuk. The entire structure is based on the geometry of a circle, with the number five recurring throughout to symbolize the five stars that legend says appeared over his body at death. Architect Santini used the numbers five, three (for the Trinity), and six (for Saint Mary, whom Nepomuk venerated). Around the church’s perimeter, five triangular chapels alternate with five oval ones. The building’s form suggests the cut-away choir and buttress of a Gothic cathedral, while its central vertical axis draws the eye upward toward heaven. Inside, oval chapels on the perimeter connect to the central cylindrical space through narrow ogive arches. Ten pillars support the central area, which is covered by a vault with lunettes. On the first floor, tribunes align with the chapels below; the second floor features a gallery of ten artworks arranged around the base of the vault. Stucco decoration is minimal, limited to intersecting and cut rib arches reminiscent of Gothic vaults. Light plays a key role in shaping the interior, following the Baroque idea of light as a sign of divine presence, sometimes called sacral light.
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