Kostel Vzkříšení Páně (Slavkov u Brna) Church

The Parish Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in Slavkov u Brna is a unique building from the second half of the eighteenth century. It is a historicizing building with elements of classicism and empire style, which represents a new approach to church architecture in the spirit of Josephine enlightened reforms. It stands at the eastern edge of the castle complex as a dominant feature at the northern end of Palackého Square. The church complex with the rectory has been a cultural monument since nineteen fifty-eight.

The church was commissioned by the Slavkov castle lord, Prince Václav Antonín Dominik Kounic-Rietberg. It replaced the Gothic Church of Saint Jacob, which partially collapsed in seventeen fifty-seven and was subsequently demolished. He entrusted the project to the court imperial architect Hetzendorf. The church was built between seventeen eighty-six and seventeen eighty-nine and is a typical example of enlightened sacred art in Austria.

The main facade has a projected portico with six columns bearing composite capitals. The columns carry a Latin inscription with the prince's name and the date seventeen eighty-nine written in Roman numerals. Above the inscription is a triangular tympanum with a relief of the Sending of the Apostles by sculptor Franz Zächerle. On the edge of the hipped roof is a clock tower. The clock has been there since eighteen eighty-two, and the current mechanism dates from nineteen oh seven. A prism-shaped tower with a belfry stands behind the presbytery, and from it, the lower wings of the rectory extend in two directions. Among the oldest bells are Saint John from seventeen sixty-two and Mary from seventeen seventy-six.

Inside is a single-nave hall with a shallow rectangular presbytery, thirty-three point five meters long and seventeen point five meters wide. The barrel vault is pierced by lunette-shaped windows. The restrained decoration in a uniform color tone is composed mainly of reliefs in side niches. The Resurrection of the Lord and the Ark of the Covenant above the main altar, as well as the Baptism of the Lord and the Last Supper above the side altars were created by Franz Zächerle. The reliefs of the Nativity and the Crucifixion of the Lord are the work of Prague sculptor Čeněk Vosmík. The original altars were made of red Solnohrad marble.

In the nineteen eighties, the church received new organs, marble flooring, and a new liturgical arrangement. A new main altar of white marble, created by academic painter Milivoj Husák, was consecrated on October twelfth, nineteen eighty-six. It contains the relics of the Italian martyr Saint Maria Goretti. Husák also painted a mural of Jesus Christ with the Apostle Peter in the side chapel. Of the three pulpits, only one is used today. A comprehensive restoration of the church took place between nineteen ninety-nine and two thousand six.