Basilica of St. Lawrence and St. Zdislava, Minor Basilica in Jablonné v Podještědí, Czech Republic.
The Basilica of St. Lawrence and St. Zdislava is a Baroque church in Jablonné v Podještědí, built from 1699 to 1729 to plans by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt. Its white stucco facade has salmon-pink pilasters and cornices, two flanking towers with green onion caps and clock faces, and a ribbed green dome with a lantern. The central concave bay carries a balustrade with statues by Franz Bienert (1711).
The Dominican convent was rebuilt from 1690 to 1696, and the church followed to plans by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, built from 1699 to 1729. After Count František Antonín Berka died in 1706, funding ran short; Hildebrandt withdrew and Domenico Perini built the upper floors and dome from 1708 to 1711. The church was consecrated on 4 August 1729, a fire damaged part of the furnishings in 1788, and it became a minor basilica in 1996.
The church holds the relics of Saint Zdislava, a Dominican lay sister who died in 1252 and was canonised in 1995; the skull was kept in a gilded glass case from 1908 until its theft on 12 May 2026. Her tomb lies in the crypt beneath the main altar, behind a wrought-iron grille dated 1732, and 24 copper paintings of scenes from her legend, made in 1660 after older engravings, hang there.
The usual entrance is the side portal beneath the north tower, not the main facade. The crypt opening below the altar is closed off by a wrought-iron grille from 1732. The church was restored between late 2020 and mid-2024 with European regional development funding.
The skull of Saint Zdislava was kept until 2026 in a gilded glass case made in 1908 in the first chapel on the left. Her tomb lies in the crypt beneath the main altar, whose opening is closed by a wrought-iron grille from 1732. The crypt holds 24 copper paintings of scenes from her legend, painted in 1660 after older engravings.
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