The abbot of the Žďár monastery had this pilgrimage church built to celebrate the memory of the Czech martyr and saint, John of Nepomuk. It is a unique testament to the genius of the Prague architect Giovanni Blasius Santini, who decided to use the five-pointed star as the principal symbol in his remarkable structure.
According to legend, a crown with five stars appeared above the body of the drowned martyr. The building in the so-called Baroque Gothic style is characteristic by its composition based on the five-pointed star shape: a star-shaped ground plan with five exits, five stars and five angels on the main altar. The main altar depicts the martyr being carried by angels to heaven. The side altars are devoted to the four Evangelists. All the figures find themselves amidst a vortex of flames, and their expressions are deeply stirred. The apex of the cupola contains a giant tongue, the symbol od St. John of Nepomuk, surrounded by a fiery circle.
This work of Giovanni Santini speaks to us through the originality of its concept and its brilliant technique, which contains elements of both the Baroque and the Gothic, united here in the splendid Bohemian Gothic Baroque.
Žďár nad Sázavou is located some 120 km from Prague, near the Prague-Brno highway.