The Santini Church on Zelená hora will be handed over to the church by the state

Prague - The Church of St. John of Nepomuk on Green Mountain near Žďár nad Sázavou will be returned to the church. The National Cultural Monument inscribed on the UNESCO list will be handed over to the church as part of restitution by the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), which has been managing the pilgrimage church designed by the famous Baroque architect Jan Blažej Santini. CTK was informed of this today by NPÚ spokesperson Simona Juračková.
    "After careful evaluation of the request and the obtained documents, NPÚ has concluded that there is nothing preventing the conclusion of an agreement on the handover of the area of the Church of St. John of Nepomuk on Green Mountain. In the coming days, NPÚ will initiate negotiations with the Roman Catholic parish of Žďár nad Sázavou regarding the specific terms of the handover agreement," she added.
    "The Brno diocese and the Roman Catholic parish of Žďár nad Sázavou welcome the constructive and accommodating approach of the NPÚ and are ready to reach an agreement on the handover of the property," said the spokesperson of the diocese, Martina Jandlová, to CTK. She emphasized that the church wants to revive the once very popular pilgrimage services, enhance the presentation of Green Mountain as a UNESCO monument, and improve services for tourists.
    Pastor Vladimír Vojtěch Záleský from the Žďár Roman Catholic parish perceives the transfer of the monument as an act of justice. According to him, the parish was a good manager until the property was confiscated. "The work ahead will also be a significant concern, and the idea that the church will become wealthy now is absolutely naive," Záleský said.
    "If the state has decided this way, we must take it as a fact," said CTK Žďár Mayor Dagmar Zvěřinová, who is also a senator for the Czech Social Democratic Party. She noted that the town will need to negotiate a number of issues with the parish since the town owns the land around the monument, including access roads. "I think the parish will be relatively accommodating; we already cooperate with them on other matters," Zvěřinová noted.
    The Church of St. John of Nepomuk, built in the early 18th century in the style of Gothic Baroque, is considered one of the most significant works of Santini Aichel. The church's structure is based on a circle and repeatedly refers to the number five as a nod to the five stars of St. John of Nepomuk, which, according to legend, appeared above the body of the dead saint.
    The Heritage Institute received dozens of requests for the return of property, rejecting more than ten of them and forwarding several others to different institutions. The planned agreement for the return of the Green Mountain church is expected to be the first contract that the institute will conclude. There are also few cases in which NPÚ refused to return a monument, primarily concerning Bouzov Castle. At the end of June, a six-month deadline established by law for concluding agreements will expire, including for those requests submitted at the latest deadline - at the end of December last year.
    Relevant state organizations are struggling to assess property returns. The State Land Office, which has received the most requests from churches, is primarily short of staff. The Heritage Institute, which assesses requests for the return of cultural monuments managed by the state, must, according to the spokesperson, supplement and locate many important documents to ensure that any return of property is thoroughly substantiated.
    "Internal NPÚ lawyers and an external law firm were involved in assessing the request (for the return of the church on Green Mountain)," she stated. In addition to documents provided by the applicant, NPÚ requested cooperation from more than ten state, regional, or municipal institutions. A total of 200 pages of documents had to be reviewed, Juračková said.
    "We took care of the area of the pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk with the diligence of a good manager: during our stewardship, a number of investments were made that such a significant monument deserves," said NPÚ Director Naďa Goryczková. According to her, the state invested 90 million CZK into the restoration of the church, and extensive repairs were particularly related to the church's inscription on the UNESCO list in 1994.
    Each year, about 23,000 visitors take a guided tour of the church, and approximately the same number visits the year-round accessible cloister and the exterior of the church. Operating costs are around one million CZK annually, while revenues amount to two million CZK, NPÚ reports.

The Church on Green Mountain is the pinnacle of Czech Baroque Gothic architecture
Profile of the Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk on Green Mountain in Žďár nad Sázavou, which will be returned to the Catholic Church as part of the property settlement with churches:

• The pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk on Green Mountain in Žďár nad Sázavou is considered the most significant building in the Baroque Gothic style in the Czech Republic. A conceptually and detail-rich design, based on the composition of a five-pointed star, is full of references to ecclesiastical symbolism associated with the legend of the martyrdom of St. John of Nepomuk. The church was created by Jan Blažej Santini Aichel, who also oversaw its construction from 1719 to 1722. The church was consecrated on September 27, 1722, but was fully completed only after Santini's death (the architect died in December 1723).
  

• The church is among the most significant Czech monuments; since 1994, it has been the fourth Czech building inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Since 1995, the church has also been designated as a National Cultural Monument.

• Only 60 years after its completion - in July 1784 - the church burned down, and there was a threat that the unique structure would be lost. However, thanks to the care of local residents and the pastor, the church was saved, but during the fading of Josephine reforms, it had to change its purpose. Instead of being a pilgrimage site, it became an ordinary church, and the originally generously landscaped surroundings transformed into a cemetery for nearby Žďár nad Sázavou. Only in recent years has the cemetery been relocated, and the church is regaining its former appearance. The surrounding pine forest has also been cleared, so the white structure can once again be seen from afar.

• The style in which Santini built the church on Green Mountain was his original contribution to architecture. Baroque Gothic combines dynamic Baroque with Gothic expressiveness, gaining supporters particularly in enlightened ecclesiastical circles, and commissions were primarily awarded to Santini by the heads of monasteries. Among his peak works are also the monastery churches in Želiv and Křtiny, the reconstruction of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Kladruby Monastery, the restoration of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Sedlec near Kutná Hora, or the Castle Karlova Koruna near Chlumec nad Cidlinou.

• Architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel was born on February 4, 1677, in Prague to a respected burgher family, the son of a master stonemason. His grandfather - a mason from the South Tyrolean village of Aichel - had already settled in Prague, and Santini's ancestors contributed to the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral. Although he was partially paralyzed from birth, he trained as a stonemason and also studied painting. After completing a journey to Rome, he began designing and building his structures around 1700. He lived for only 46 years and was buried in the Church of St. John under the Rock in Prague.

• The church on Green Mountain is the first significant monument returned as part of church restitution. Smaller structures - such as the rotunda of St. Longinus in Prague's New Town - have been returned to churches in recent months. Among significant immovable monuments, churches are also requesting the castle in Kroměříž. The German Order also sought the return of Bouzov Castle, but in this case, the National Heritage Institute refused to comply with the request, stating that it was confiscated based on Beneš decrees and thus the current law does not apply to it.