In Santini's church in Křtiny, a model including the missing part will be displayed

Křtiny (Blanensko) - A model of the church of the Name of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny, located in Blanensko, will be permanently displayed from Friday, showing part of the church that was not built 300 years ago due to a lack of funds. The church is the work of the Baroque architect Jan Blažej Santini and is nicknamed the Pearl of Moravia. One of its ambits is missing. The parishioners hope that in time this part will also be completed, said the parish priest of Křtiny, Jan Peňáz, to ČTK today.
According to legend, the church was established at the place where the Slavic missionaries St. Cyril and Methodius baptized the first Christians. The name of the town is derived from the word baptism. Santini designed the current shape of the church to have a floor plan in the shape of a Greek cross.
The construction was financed by the Premonstratensians centuries ago. The church should have ambits - open circular corridors - on both sides. However, the church only has the right ambit. The left one is missing. It should connect to the current chapel of St. Joseph and should be a mirror image of the existing one. The parish has already acquired land for potential construction from the Mendel University School Forest Enterprise, where the extension of the church should be situated.
"We have cleared the area of overgrowth so that visitors can walk through it," Peňáz stated. In the future, the parish awaits negotiations with heritage protection officials, from whom it must obtain permission for the extension of the church. If successful, it will begin to raise funds for it.
The Křtiny church is one of Santini's unique works. The builder was one of the greatest and most original architects of late Central European Baroque. Santini designed a massive dome for the structure. The church is richly decorated with frescoes. In its crypt, there is an ossuary with mysterious painted skulls. The church has the largest church carillon in Central Europe.

photo of the model: Dana Nováková