Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity Church (Czech: Kostel Nejsvětější Trojice) in Valašské Meziříčí is a former cemetery church in the Czech Zlín Region that has not served religious purposes for decades — instead, it now houses a lapidarium of stone and wooden sculpture from the Valašsko region.

Where is the church located?

The building stands in Valašské Meziříčí, a town in the Vsetín district of the Zlín Region in eastern Czechia. It was originally built on the edge of the town's built-up area, in the Upper Suburb, outside the town walls — a typical location for cemetery churches of the period, kept away from the town centre for sanitary and spatial reasons. Today the grounds around the church form part of the town's green space, open to residents and visitors alike.

How has the building changed over the centuries?

The church was built at the end of the 16th century as a cemetery chapel, in a modest, partly wooden form typical of the region's vernacular architecture at the time. Its construction combines a masonry presbytery with a polygonal apse, a Chapel of the Holy Cross and a sacristy, together with a log-built wooden nave surrounded by an external gallery. Dendrochronological analysis of the nave's roof frame points to 1678, while the sacristy portal bears the date 1754 — both details mark separate stages of expansion and repair during the 17th and 18th centuries, when the nave and its surrounding gallery took on their characteristic folk-style form.

The cemetery around the church remained in use until 1919, when it was closed. Over the 20th century the building gradually lost its religious function and was eventually deconsecrated. Since then it has been managed by the Museum of the Valašsko Region, which turned the interior into a permanent sculpture exhibition.

What can visitors see inside today?

The interior now houses a lapidarium — a collection of stone and wooden architectural, sepulchral and altar sculpture from the Valašsko region, spanning the period from the mid-16th to the early 20th century. Among the exhibits is the tombstone of Magdalena Žernovská of Žernoví, dating from the late 16th century, displayed together with the epitaph of her father Jan — among the oldest and most valuable pieces in the collection. The exhibition traces the development of stonemasonry and sculpture in the region across several centuries.

The building is listed as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic, giving it formal heritage protection.

When and how can you visit?

The church and its surrounding garden are open on a seasonal basis — mainly during the summer months, and outside that period by prior arrangement with the Tourist Information Centre in Valašské Meziříčí. The garden, reopened to the public in 2023, also hosts concerts, temporary exhibitions and weddings, making it an active part of the town's cultural life rather than merely a monument viewed from the outside.

Frequently asked questions

Is the church still used for religious services? No — the building was deconsecrated and now functions as a museum housing a sculpture lapidarium.

What is the lapidarium inside Holy Trinity Church? It is a permanent exhibition of stone and wooden architectural, sepulchral and altar sculpture from the Valašsko region, covering the mid-16th to early 20th century.

How old is the building? The church was built at the end of the 16th century as a cemetery church; its nave roof frame is dated to 1678 and the sacristy portal to 1754.

When can the church and garden be visited? Mainly in summer, or outside that season by arrangement with the Tourist Information Centre in Valašské Meziříčí; the garden has been open to visitors again since 2023.