Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora
This pilgrimage church stands at Zelená hora, not far from Žďár nad Sázavou in Moravia. Constructed at the beginning of the 18th century on a star-shaped plan, it is the most unusual work by the great architect Jan Blažej Santini, whose highly original style falls between neo-Gothic and Baroque.
Žďár nad Sázavou was originally a market town, established on an ancient regional route, and at its inception it was closely linked with the establishment of the Cistercian monastery in 1252. The town was elevated to city status at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora was inscribed in the UNESCO list in 1994. The building, which dates from the beginning of the 18th century, is one of the finest projects by the architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichl (1677–1723), and is also an example of "baroque gothic". The church, which is not large in size, defies all description, and this is sufficient reason to make a visit to see it with your own eyes.