Church of St. John the Baptist of the Great Losina

Construction of the church began in 1599 on the site of the original wooden church. The wood from it was used to build three smaller churches in the area, in Maršíkov, Žárová and Klepáčov. You can also see all these wooden churches, it is definitely worth it. The entire construction of the Losinj church was designed and realized by the builder Antonio Thoma. The new late Renaissance parish church was completed in 1603 and was originally used for Lutheran services. In 1620, however, it was adapted for Catholic services. It was built by the then owner of the estate, Jan the Elder from Žerotín, and he is also buried here with other descendants of the family. Over time, the church was equipped with valuable Baroque, Rococo and Classicist furniture. Also valuable are the paintings by J. K. Handke, the painting of the Stations of the Cross by F. A. Sebastini and also the Renaissance window fillings.

The church has the form of a single-nave building with an overhanging prismatic tower, with an unseparated chancel. In the years 1725-1730, a polygonal chapel of St. Kříže, which is the funeral chapel of the Žerotín family. It was built by Jan Ludvík from Žerotín, who is also buried here. You can see the tomb of the Žerotíns in this chapel. Inside the church there are also interesting large galleries with singing stands on the sides of the church.

In addition to the church of St. Jan Křtitel, you may also be interested in the Velké Losiny Paper Museum, where you will learn a lot of interesting things about handmade paper production, or the nice local castle.

Author: Martina Limbergová