Zelená hora (Green Hill)

Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk
Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk on Zelena hora (Green Hill) represents the crowning achievement of the brilliant architect Jan Blazej Santini Aichl, a third generation member of an Italian artists´ family that settled in Prague in the 17th century. The shrine was built by Vaclav Vejmluva, abbot of the local Cistercian abbey, during the years 1705 to 1738, and dedicated to the newly sainted John of Nepomuk. This was inspired by the link between the Zdar abbey and the place where John of Nepomuk was raised. The mother Cistercian abbey from which the original monks came to Zdar in 1251 was situated on Zelena hora, the hill near the town of Nepomuk from 1144 till 1420. A steep hill, close to Zdar abbey, was chosen as the building site and later also named Zelena hora (Green Hill). Construction work started in 1719 when the allegedly preserved tongue of the blessed John of Nepomuk was found in the crypt of St Vitus Cathedral and when preparation for his canonization began. The chapel was consecrated in 1722 and became the first major St John of Nepomuk shrine. This church is the most significant of Santini´s work towards the end of his life. It stands a timeless and absolute masterpiece free from any of the conventional elements of the architecture of its period. The cloister which encircles the chapel is on a ten-point-star groundplan. Although the architect designed it along with the church, it was only completed in 1769. During recent restoration efforts foundation stones were found demarcating the positions of the arches proving that they were planned from the time of the foundation. Pyramid-shaped roofs over the gates used to support allegorical sculptures, three of which have been preserved. The once rich decoration with stuccowork figures and ribs on the vaults has been preserved only negligibly. The chapel was built on a five-point-star groundplan. Based on a legend saying that on the site of John of Nepomuk´s drowning a five-star crown had appeared. This number five symbol was also used throughout the building. The premises are entered into through five gates. There are five chapels and five altars inside the church. The five symbol can also be found in the very name of Abbot Vaclav Wejmluva – five V letters. At the time five centuries had passed since the first Cistercians came to Zdar. A Latin word TACUI (I kept silent) also consists of five letters. This refers to the legend according to which the Saint did not divulge the confessional secret of Queen Sophia, wife of King Wenceslas IV, for which the king ordered him firs to be tortured and then to be thrown into the Vltava river. However, it is now clear that John´s death was politically motivated based on his disputes with the king. At the top of the cupola St John of Nepomuk´s symbol, a large tongue, circled with flames, is situated. It is the symbol of a victorious weapon – the martyr´s sword and the counterpoint to the star of the shrine groundplan. The chapel is built in two styles, Gothic and baroque. While during the Gothic period souls sought God by denying the Body and looking constantly upwards, in the baroque era they tried to reach up to God through the motion he gave the world. These are impressive contrasts for Santini. The Gothic windows symbolizing the sword or hands folded in prayer, the star-shaped groundplan and the gothicizing stucco ribbing can be regarded as a symbolic reference to the link with the medieval Nepomuk mother abbey on the original Zelena hora (Green Hill). Whereas the many windows no corner of the chapel is left in the dark. These windows are three different shapes. Tongue-shaped windows are built over the entrances. They remind us of a sword in its sheath since it was with his tongue, his sword, that the Saint achieved his spiritual victory. Windows in the shape of a bishop´s mitre, the abbot´s emblem and a part of his coat of arms relate to the abbot who commissioned the building. Windows in the shape of a curved equilateral triangle symbolize the Trinity. On the high altar a statue of the Saint stands on the globe and ascends towards heaven. Five eight-pointed Cistercian stars represent the five continents where Christianity was propagated. The globe is supported by three angels arranged in a V. Stars appear countless times both inside and outside the whole pilgrimage premises. In addition to eight-pointed stars, there are six-pointed stars symbolizing Saint John and ten-pointed and twelve-pointed stars symbolizing the Virgin Mary. The altar is separated from the nave by a triangular forged iron grate. Two white Münstenberg eagles from King George of Podebrady´s arms bear the altar table on their wings. Between them is the coat of arms of the abbey founder Bocek from Obrany. The side altars are dedicated to the four evangelists – Mathew with the book, Mark with the lion, Luke with the bull and John with the eagle. All the altars are made of lime wood imitating marble. All the sculptures in the church were designed by Jan Pavel Czechpauer from Chrudim and completed by Ignac Rohrbach who took over his workshop after his death. The building contractor was Donat Marazzi and joinery was by Jan Ludvik Pesinsky from Hradec Kralove. The period of the greatest glory for both the Church on Zelena hora and the abbey was 1735 when the five hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the abbey was celebrated. Unfortunately, two years later the abbey burnt down and Abbot Vaclav Vejmluva died the following year. The disaster was completed by another fire in 1783, which devastated not only the Convent Church but the Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk on Zelena hora as well. In October 1784 the abbey including the shrine was dissolved by emperor Joseph II and the inventory of the shrine was taken to neighbouring parishes. A former abbey monk, Bonifac Prochazka, started restoration of the church which lasted until 1830 with several interruptions. Under the parish administrator and patriotic awakener, father Matej Sychra, restoration of the shrine was achieved on condition that the churchyard be founded within the cloister. Due to its exceptional value this shrine was listed with the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites in 1994 as the first single self-standing building within Czech lands.