Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary Křtina near Brno
The town of Křtiny is not one of the big villages, it has barely eight hundred inhabitants and its area is not dizzying either. Nevertheless, it is attracted by the attention of tens of people every year. It is one of the important Marian pilgrimage sites in Europe and one of the oldest in our country. This is thanks to the Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary, which is also a national cultural monument. Not only pilgrims come to this place about 15 km from Brno to pay their respects to the Virgin Mary, but also tourists who admire this Baroque pearl and one of the most beautiful works of the architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichl.
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Interesting facts Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary Křtina near Brno
The first mention of Křtiny comes from the first half of the 13th century, when the Premonstratensian monks of Zábrdovice founded the first church here, or two churches that stood here in the Middle Ages. In the smaller of them, there was a Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary of Baptism, which already attracted crowds of believers. This led to the Premonstratensian monks of Zábrdovice at the beginning of the 18th century, who still managed the place, to start thinking about rebuilding the church into larger premises. The work was commissioned to the most important Baroque architect of the time, Jan Blažej Santini Aichl. So in 1718 he started the reconstruction of the whole area.
According to his design, a monumental temple with a symmetrical composition and a floor plan according to the Greek cross was to be built. The temple was built really monumental, although it was never completely completed according to this original design, as it was hindered by a lack of money. After the architect's death, the design was partially modified, but his indelible handwriting is still legible to this day, and the building rightfully belongs to his masterpieces. Not only did he manage to build an admirable church, he also managed to sensitively integrate it into the surrounding landscape in the Křtinský Valley. Also the interior decoration ranks this object among the really remarkable ones.
The temple is very large, measuring 65 m in length and 38 m wide, the dome reaches a height of 35 m, of course it also has a tower as high as 73 m. The hallmark of Santini's works is always the important role of natural light windows. The free-standing baroque altar is then a work of art in itself.
In a relatively small cloister, which is a covered round trip with a paradise yard in the middle, you will find one of the largest functional carillons in Central Europe. It consists of 33 bells, which ring regularly twice a week, on Saturday at 18.06 and on Sunday at 12.06. However, after agreement with the parish office, it is possible to resonate outside these times. In the cloister there is also a nice chapel of St. Anny and the walls are decorated with a number of paintings by amateur painters, who wanted to use them to express their respect for the Virgin Mary. You can see for yourself not only from the paintings, but from everything around you, you can see for yourself when you decide to visit this interesting place.
Author: Martina Limbergová