Church of All Saints

Church of All Saints stands on the main square of Josefov, a small village in the Hodonín District of the South Moravian Region, close to the border with Slovakia. The building has served as the spiritual heart of the community since 1877, when an earlier chapel on the site was rebuilt into its present form and dedicated to All Saints.

How did the village of Josefov come to exist?

Josefov was founded in 1782 on the grounds of a former manorial farm, replacing an older settlement called Kukvice that had since vanished. The new village took its name in honor of the reigning emperor of the time, a link the community later marked with a monument erected in the village. From its earliest days, the church anchored life on the village green, giving residents a shared point of reference for worship and communal gatherings.

What happened to the church bells?

The bells of the Church of All Saints tell a story shaped by the turbulence of the 20th century. The largest bells were seized twice for wartime use: first by the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War, and later by Nazi forces during the Second World War, who melted down church bells for metal. One bell, named Jan-Rozalie, had been cast in a foundry in Budapest and weighed 255 kilograms. It rang over Josefov for fewer than nine years before it, too, was confiscated.

Where exactly is the church located?

The church sits in the southern part of Moravia, within the South Moravian Region, right along the border with Slovakia. Its coordinates are approximately 48.8396°N, 17.0094°E. The surrounding countryside is quiet and rural, well off the main tourist routes, which makes the church an appealing stop for travelers looking for lesser-known, authentic corners of Moravia.

What else is worth knowing about the area?

Josefov sits in the heart of the South Moravian Region, an area best known for its vineyards and winemaking traditions, and for its proximity to the Slovak border along the Morava river valley. It remains a quiet agricultural corner of the country, where small villages like Josefov have kept their traditional character, with the church on the square still serving as the community's natural focal point.

Frequently asked questions

When was the current Church of All Saints built? Its present form dates to 1877, when an earlier chapel on the same site was rebuilt.

Where is Josefov located? It is a village in the Hodonín District of the South Moravian Region, near the Slovak border.

What happened to the church's bells? The largest bells were confiscated during both world wars, first by the Austro-Hungarian army and later by Nazi forces.

When was the village of Josefov founded? The village was established in 1782 on the site of a former manorial farm, replacing the vanished settlement of Kukvice.