Remains of Holy Cross Church in Sázava

The remains of the Holy Cross Church are the foundations of a small early medieval church standing on the grounds of Sázava Monastery in central Bohemia. Nothing survives above the wall footings today, yet the site ranks among the oldest traces of sacred architecture in the region and makes a worthwhile stop alongside a visit to the abbey itself.

How to get there

Sázava sits on the river of the same name, roughly 45 kilometres southeast of Prague, in the Benešov district. The town is easiest to reach by car or by train from Prague with one change, and the monastery grounds holding the church foundations are signposted and visible from the town centre. The area is also a well-known destination for canoeing — the Sázava River is one of the most popular paddling routes in the country, so a visit to the monastery pairs easily with a day on the water.

What you'll see

The foundations of the Holy Cross Church lie in the northern part of the monastery gardens, set apart from the abbey's main Gothic church of Our Lady and St. Procopius, which now dominates the site. The exposed and conserved walls let visitors trace the original layout of the building: a small church built on a Greek-cross plan, with four apses arranged symmetrically around a central space. This kind of centrally planned layout is rare among the surviving sacred buildings of the region, which makes the site worth a look even for travellers who don't usually seek out archaeology.

The church was consecrated in 1070, at a time when Sázava Monastery served as a centre of Slavonic liturgy — the Benedictine monks brought there by St. Procopius conducted services in Old Church Slavonic, an unusual practice within the otherwise Latin-rite Western Church of the period. The foundations were uncovered during archaeological excavations carried out in the 1970s. Once conservation work was finished, the walls were left exposed at ground level, so visitors can now follow the outline of the vanished building while walking through the monastery garden.

The monastery behind it

Sázava Monastery itself, founded around 1032 by St. Procopius, was one of the most important monastic centres of early medieval Bohemia. After the Slavonic liturgy was banned at the end of the 11th century, the abbey passed into the hands of Latin-rite monks, and its buildings were reworked repeatedly over the following centuries. The present Gothic monastery church began construction in the 14th century, though it was never finished to its original design. The whole complex, including the foundations of the Holy Cross Church, is now protected as a national cultural monument and stands as one of the key stops for anyone tracing the early history of Christianity in Bohemia.

When to visit

The monastery grounds, including the church foundations, are best visited from spring through autumn, when access to the site and its gardens is at its widest. It's worth checking the abbey's opening hours in advance, since the monastery interiors are often open only seasonally, while the foundations in the garden can usually be viewed for most of the year.

Frequently asked questions

What remains of the Holy Cross Church? Only the foundations and wall outlines survive, but they are enough to reconstruct the building's plan — a Greek-cross layout with four apses.

When was the church built? It was consecrated in 1070, during the period when Sázava Monastery served as a centre of Slavonic liturgy.

Where exactly are the foundations located? In the northern part of the Sázava Monastery gardens, some distance from the abbey's main Gothic church.

When were the remains discovered? The foundations were uncovered during archaeological excavations in the 1970s, then conserved and opened to visitors.