kostel svatého Josefa (Brno-město) Church

The Church of Saint Joseph on Josefská Street in Brno was originally a convent church of the Poor Clares, later of the Ursulines. Since 2009 it has been used by the Greek Catholic Church.

Its story begins after the Swedish siege of Brno in 1643. The original early Baroque convent with its church then stood outside the city walls and had to be demolished for strategic reasons. The Poor Clares therefore, with the help of the Dietrichsteins, purchased land near the Měnín Gate. The townhouses that stood there gradually gave way to the new building. The cornerstone was laid on April 4, 1651 and the church was constructed between 1651 and 1653. The Brno builder Paul Weinberger is documented on the construction site until 1658. It was consecrated only in 1673, when the convent buildings were also completed. Bishop Charles II of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn consecrated it.

In 1782 the convent was abolished as part of the Josephine reforms and the complex was taken over by the Ursulines. They made only one alteration to the church itself. At the beginning of the nineteenth century they had the entire interior refitted in a Baroque classical style and entrusted the work to the workshop of the Brno sculptor Ondřej Schweigl.

In 1991 and 1992, static damage appeared on the church due to the excavation of a sewage trench and collector under Josefská Street. In 1994 it was closed, the interior was cleared and anything that could not be removed was boarded up. A year later static securing began and the roof structure and roof were gradually repaired. In 2009 the Ursulines donated the church to the Greek Catholic Church, which began restoration in January 2010. The church was insulated, repainted and equipped with electricity, lighting and sound. The first Greek Catholic service was held there on October 5, 2014. Later the onion dome was repaired and the façade regained its original austere white color in 2021. Period documents were found in the final cross and contemporary ones were deposited there. Restoration of the interior decoration continues.

It is a rather austere early Baroque hall church with a square presbytery. The main entrance in the west façade has a sandstone frame with pilasters. Above it is a broken pediment on scroll brackets bearing the Dietrichstein coats of arms. The portal is crowned with an aedicule with an image of Saint Joseph with Jesus. In the niches on either side of the large segmented window stood statues of Saint Clare and Saint Agnes of Bohemia by the sculptor Jaroslav Vaňka. They were removed during the renovation. The gable bears a pair of obelisks and a prismatic tower is topped with an onion dome covered with copper sheet.

The nave has a barrel vault with stucco ribs, the presbytery a cross vault. A mighty gallery with the nuns' choir is supported by prismatic pillars.