EN: Santini trail

During the summer holidays, you can become a modern-day pilgrim on the Santini Trail. Along with hiking or cycling through the picturesque landscape, this trail seamlessly connects tours of monuments designed by the brilliant architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel. With either an individual or a combined ticket, you can enjoy guided tours of the Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk on Zelená hora, the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas, the Lower Cemetery, the Church of St. Wenceslaus in Zvole, and the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Bobrová.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Santini arrived in the area of today's Žďár nad Sázavou, where a Cistercian monastery stood at the time (now the site of the Žďár nad Sázavou Chateau). The energetic Abbot Václav Vejmluva commissioned one project after another from the prolific architect. Thanks to this fruitful collaboration, we can admire a number of remarkable buildings today in the unique Baroque Gothic style, which frequently incorporates his signature numerical and geometric symbolism, as well as masterfully applied technical principles.

• Zvole: In the center of the village, the Church of St. Wenceslaus commands attention. Built on a Greek cross floor plan through the reconstruction of a 14th-century church, the building features two towers and a main dome topped with the Crown of St. Wenceslaus, a globe, and a cross.

• Bobrová: The Baroque reconstruction of the Church of St. Peter and Paul was also executed according to Santini's design. The architect cleverly utilized the rectangular nave adjacent to the western tower as the new chancel and designed a new nave where the original one once stood, giving the church its uniquely reversed cardinal orientation.

• Obyčtov: Here rises the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, famous for its turtle-shaped design. The main nave evokes the shell, the square chapels represent the legs, the presbytery forms the neck, the sacristy stands for the head, and the western vestibule represents the tail.

• Ostrov nad Oslavou: Located just a short distance away, this village features a coaching inn designed by Santini for high-ranking church dignitaries. Built at the request of Abbot Vejmluva, its unique layout incorporates the letter "W" (referencing the Abbot's name, Wenceslaus) into the building's floor plan.

• Žďár nad Sázavou: This is where Santini was most active. His legacy includes his very first local project—the Lower Cemetery—as well as the Lyra farmstead, the chateau prelature, the breathtaking interior of the Basilica Minor of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas, the extension of the Cemetery Church of the Holy Trinity in the upper part of the square, and the ornate pedestal of the Trinity Column. 

For more detailed information, please explore our dedicated guide: Santini trail