CZECH REPUBLIC Church of Saint John Nepomuk

The Church of Saint John Nepomuk close to the town of Žďár nad Sázavou on a hill called Green Mountain (Zelená hora) is a church designed by Santini in the shape of a five-pointed star. The interior of the church is decorated with motifs of the saint’s death, his ‘tongue’, and circles of five stars. According to legend, John of Nepomuk’s tongue was cut out for his refusal to disclose a royal confession and he was thrown off Prague’s Charles Bridge to his death. Five stars appeared above the spot where he drowned.

The preparation of the project dates back to 1719 as the initiative of the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Žďár, a devotee of John of Nepomuk, in response to the discovery of preserved tissue in the tomb of John Nepomuk in St Vitus’ Cathedral.

In the very same year the Roman Catholic Church declared Jan’s tongue to be incorruptible, work started on the construction of a church at Zelená Hora, where the future saint had received his early education. It was consecrated immediately after John's beatification in 1720.

The architectural achievement was positively influenced by the good relationship between the abbot and the architect. They were both specialists in symbolism, such as the teaching of Cabalism.

It was inscribed in the UNESCO List in 1994.