Church of the Finding of the True Cross

The Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross in Jamné, a village in the Jihlava district of the Vysočina region in the Czech Republic, is a Baroque parish church standing in the western part of the village, right next to a small pond. It serves as the parish church of the Roman Catholic parish of Jamné u Jihlavy and has been protected as a cultural monument since 1972.

What is the history of the church?

The present building was constructed between 1727 and 1747 on the site of an earlier Gothic church that had been destroyed by fire. The new Baroque structure did not escape a similar fate: in 1760 another fire severely damaged it, and repairs and restoration work continued until 1784. Traces of that rebuilding survive today – the stone portal of the sacristy bears the date 1777, while one of the windows on the south side was only installed in 1925, showing that the church kept being updated well into the twentieth century.

What does the church look like?

It is a single-nave building closed by a polygonal chancel, with a tower attached to the west façade. A sacristy, built in the form of a chapel-like annex roughly half the height of the nave, adjoins the chancel end. Above the sacristy rises a slender ridge turret topped with a lantern and an onion dome, a feature typical of rural Baroque churches in Central Europe. The roofs are dual-pitched and covered with wooden shingles. The façades are articulated by plain corner pilasters picked out in two shades of yellow, a decorative treatment common to Baroque village churches of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Notable exterior details include triple lunette windows, profiled cornices, and stone portals, including the dated 1777 sacristy portal mentioned above.

Where exactly does the church stand?

The church stands in the western part of Jamné, close to a small village pond – a placement typical of Czech parish churches, which often marked the historic centre of a settlement next to water and the main road. Its coordinates are 49.429870, 15.718264.

Is it still an active parish church?

Yes. The Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross remains the parish church of the Roman Catholic parish of Jamné u Jihlavy, part of the Diocese of Brno, and continues to serve as an active place of worship rather than a museum piece.

Frequently asked questions

What is the church called in Czech? Kostel Nalezení svatého Kříže – literally "the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross," a name referring to the feast commemorating the discovery of the relic of the True Cross.

Since when has the building been a protected monument? It has been listed as a kulturní památka (cultural monument) since 1972.

Is the current building the first church on this site? No. An earlier Gothic church stood here before it burned down; the current Baroque church was built in its place between 1727 and 1747.

What architectural style is the church? Rural Baroque, typical of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands region, with a distinctive onion-domed ridge turret above the sacristy.