The Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora is situated at Žďár nad Sázavou in western Moravia, in the Vysočina Region, Czech Republic. The church, which was built between 1719 and 1727, is dedicated to the cult of St. John of Nepomuk, a 14th century martyr canonised in the 18th century.
The property consists of a central-plan church surrounded by a circular cloister. It is one of the most original works by the prominent architect of the Baroque period, Jan Blažej Santini Aichel. The ensemble is an outstanding example of architecture of transition between the Gothic and the Baroque styles. The composition of the property is based on the aesthetic concept of a perfect central complex with an explicit central vertical dominant. The centrality of the design is accentuated by the ground plan, which is based on the parallel to two equivalent radials. The number 5, that is a reference to the five stars of the halo of St. John of Nepomuk representing the five virtues of the saint, is dominant in the layout and proportions.
The star-shaped ground plan of the church, with five points, is defined by two groups of five radial axes upon which the basic elements of the ground plan and of the composition of the mass are organized. Ten radials, which intersect in the centre of the church itself, determine the arrangement of chapels and gates of the cloister that surrounds the pilgrims’ field situated outside around the church that is situated in its centre. The chapels and the church portals are spanned by ribbed vaults with stucco decorations, inspired by late Gothic style. The influence of this period is also demonstrated by the presence of buttresses on the exterior walls and the pointed form of the windows and portals.
Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/690/ Fb Cultural heritage: https://www.facebook.com/