Church of Saint John the Baptist

The Church of Saint John the Baptist in Kroměříž ranks among the finest Baroque monuments in Moravia, rising above Masarykovo náměstí right in the heart of the historic town centre. Its imposing 18th-century appearance hides a much older story that stretches back to a medieval commandery of the Knights Hospitaller.

What stood here before the Baroque church?

The site is first documented before 1238, when it belonged to a commandery of the Johannites (Knights Hospitaller). The Romanesque church they built here is considered the oldest stone church in Kroměříž. Through the 14th century the complex was repeatedly rebuilt and enlarged. Around the turn of the 17th century the buildings passed to the Franciscans, brought to the town by Cardinal Franz von Dietrichstein, though the friars moved on to the Church of the Holy Trinity in nearby Oskol as early as 1619.

Why was the current church built?

Everything changed in 1687, when Bishop Karl II von Liechtenstein-Castelcorno invited the Piarist order to Kroměříž and handed them the small medieval church of St. John. The building proved far too small for the order, which ran a gymnasium and the Liechtenstein music seminary here — regarded as the oldest music school in Central Europe. The Piarists therefore had the old church demolished and started again from scratch. The foundation stone of the present church was laid on 9 September 1737, and construction, designed by architect Ignác Josef Cyrani of Bolleshausen, was completed with the church's consecration in 1768. Twelve bronze crosses placed around the building still commemorate that consecration today.

What makes the architecture distinctive?

The ground plan follows the model of the Salesian church on Vienna's Renngasse, while the facade echoes church designs found in Vienna and Prague from the same period. Inside, the dome soars to a height of 35 metres, and its Rococo decoration is the work of leading artists active in Moravia and Austria at the time. A statue of St. John of Nepomuk stands beside the church's side wall. The building is listed in the Czech Republic's Central Register of Cultural Monuments under number 35733/7-6009.

What was the Piarist complex attached to the church?

The Piarist order was based at the Church of St. John the Baptist from 1687 until 1879. Its gymnasium was formally founded on 16 June 1687, and together with the college building and the church itself it formed a complex that shaped education and musical life in Kroměříž for nearly two centuries.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the church located? On Masarykovo náměstí in the centre of Kroměříž, right next to the former Piarist college building.

How old is the current building? The present Baroque church was built between 1737 and 1768, but the site has served a religious purpose since the Middle Ages, dating back to a Johannite commandery recorded before 1238.

Who designed the church? The architect was Ignác Josef Cyrani of Bolleshausen, who based the layout on the Salesian church in Vienna.

What is the church's connection to the Piarists? The Piarists, invited to Kroměříž in 1687, decided to demolish the older church and build the current one; they ran a gymnasium and music seminary on the site until 1879.