Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk

If you’re ever visiting Prague and you find yourself walking across the famous Charles Bridge (as most tourists do), take a moment to stop and look at the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk. You’ll be able to recognise him by the halo of five stars around his head.

He’s not the most famous saint in the world but here in the Czech Republic, he is legendary.

There is a fascinating story behind how he became a saint – and an incredible church dedicated to his legend. It’s this church, in particular, that I want to tell you about.

I’m not talking about the tomb of Saint John of Nepomuk, which is not far away from his statue on the bridge. You just need to go up the hill to St Vitus Cathedral and you’ll find it inside (and it’s actually quite impressive in its own way).

But his church, officially known as the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk, is about 150 kilometres southeast of Prague, in a town called Zelená hora on the way to Brno.

If you don’t have a car, the church can be a little tricky to reach by public transport. You might like to consider this comprehensive tour from Prague, which also includes two other World Heritage Sites in Telč and Třebíč.

Who is Saint John of Nepomuk?

Let’s go back in time for a moment to understand who he was. John of Nepomuk lived in the 1300s and died in 1393.

Although, I’m really underplaying it when I use the word ‘died’. What I should say is ‘killed’. And not just that, ‘killed by the king’.

By this stage in his career, John was a senior figure in the Catholic Church in Bohemia and in 1393 he had to choose a new abbot for the Abbey of Kladruby. Out of the two options, he went with the one that King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia wasn’t supporting.

In retaliation, the king tortured him and he was thrown to his death into the Vltava River. From where was he thrown? From the spot on the Charles Bridge where his statue stands.

They say that on the night John of Nepomuk was killed, five bright stars appeared in the sky above him. This is why he has the halo of five stars around his head in his statue.

But this story also inspired the amazing design of his pilgrimage church at Zelená hora.

Visiting the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk

Work on the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk started in 1719. The architect who was chosen for the design, Jan Santini Aichel, had an excellent reputation for other church projects he had done in the region (including the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec in Kutná Hora) – so he was given a fair amount of independence.

He took this freedom (and the artistic blessing of the local abbot) and created a masterpiece.

Santini used the five bright stars as his inspiration and created a ground plan that looked like a five-pointed star. Around the edge of the interior of the church are five triangular chapels and five oval chapels.

The church is set on a hill and I easily spot it from the bottom as I arrive. The hill has been mainly cleared of trees and there is no other development – the building stands out against the sky.

As I get closer, I can see that the central building is in the middle of a grassed area that is surrounded by a ring cloister. This cloister has ten sections with five chapels and five gates as entrances.

In some ways, the design is quite simple – there is no excess of decoration or unnecessary additions.

But what minimal construction exists is done with such a clever approach that every single little element seems essential – as though the whole compound would come crashing down if anything was changed or removed.

The closest you get to anything garish is the main altar. The large carving has five angels, three of which are carrying a sphere with five stars and Saint John of Nepomuk standing above it. The artwork dominates the inside of the church.

A legend about Saint John of Nepomuk

The final thing I should mention is why Saint John of Nepomuk became so famous in this part of the world and why his church has attracted so many pilgrims over the years.

Although historians now accept the reason that the king killed him was political – because he wouldn’t support the monarch’s choice for abbot – another tale became legendary.

It was said that Saint John of Nepomuk was the confessor of the queen – the man she told her secrets to. When the king asked him to reveal what she had said at confession, he refused and was killed for that.

This has since been rejected by academics but it created a cult around the saint. He was considered a martyr and worshipped for what he represented – that the confessional is sacred and should be protected, even with a life.

It brought pilgrims to the church built in his honour by the thousands.

These days, it’s mainly tourists who visit. Even then, there aren’t too many of us.

It’s not the easiest place to get to if you don’t have a car so most international travellers who are in the Czech Republic for a short time to see the main sights skip it. Which is a shame.

It doesn’t take long to see but it’s a special site and something a bit different to much of what you see in the country. St John of Nepomuk may once have been the star of this story but now his church is.

Even though it may seem like quite an obscure sight, I really enjoyed visiting the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk, and I think you will too if you have an interest in this type of World Heritage Site.

If you don’t have a car, it can be a little tricky to reach by public transport. You might like to consider this comprehensive tour from Prague, which also includes two other World Heritage Sites – the town of Telč, plus the Jewish Quarter and Basilica of Třebíč.