Kostel svatého Martina (Jámy) Church

The Church of Saint Martin in Jámy dates from 1792. It stands on the site of an older church, whose origins go back before 1638.

The oldest written record about the church in Jámy is probably a mention of one gold coin left as a bequest for the local poor in 1643. The monastery annals contain nothing about the construction, so it is believed that the church was built while the Ditrichsteins still ruled. The exact date remained unknown. The founder of the parish chronicle discovered that the church had once been robbed. The thieves found no valuables, only documents, which they tore apart and scattered across the cemetery. Rain finished their destruction. Therefore, in 1784 it was no longer possible to establish the date of construction.

The original church was simple. It had a brick sacristy, one altar, a wooden priest's choir, a pulpit, and three bells. It was a branch church and Mass was celebrated by a chaplain from Žďár only every third Sunday. Until 1691, parishioners were apparently allowed to bury their dead themselves. The coffin was lowered and partially covered, and the church ceremony took place only when the priest returned to Jámy.

After the monastery was dissolved, a religious foundation established a small parish in Jámy in 1784, where a chaplain named Florián Málek provided the services. This led to the construction of a new church from solid materials in 1792. It is a single-nave church, 30 meters long, 10 meters wide, and 17 meters high, with a vaulted chancel. A 22-meter high tower was added above the entrance. Wooden pews and an organ were brought here from the church in Zelená Hůrka. The old cemetery near the church was closed and a new one was created at the upper end of the village.

In 1847, the church received a painting of Saint Martin from the Viennese painter Töpel from Prince František of Ditrichstein, valued at 400 gold coins. Jan Dvořák brought it from Vienna without a frame. On October 19th it was placed on the altar and on October 24th it was blessed. In 1851, a painted Stations of the Cross was added. At that time, four bells hung on the tower. The oldest bore the date 1530 and another 1536. The large bell apparently originally belonged to the church at Žďár Castle.

Priest František Šrámek found both the rectory and the church in poor condition. In 1863, a village teacher and autodidact named Jan Hron from Nové Veselí repaired the organ for 50 gold coins. According to the priest, he repaired it so well that a professional would have charged at least four times as much. In 1868, the small parish was elevated to the status of a full parish. Extensive renovations of the church followed, overseen by priest Václav Bezděk, who worked in Jámy from 1878 onwards.