Basilica Virgin Mary Křtiny, Catholic pilgrimage church in Křtiny, Czech Republic
The Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny is a Baroque pilgrimage church on a Greek-cross plan, oriented north, with a central oval dome on a tall drum and two flanking front towers. A lower gabled wing with a red tile roof extends left, and a small apse projects at the lower right.
Construction started in 1718 under architect Jan Santini Aichel and finished in 1771, replacing an earlier medieval building on the site. The project grew from increasing pilgrimage devotion and the need for a larger space to accommodate growing numbers of visitors.
Pilgrims come to a Gothic stone Madonna carved around 1340, moved into the church in 1750. In 1720, 41,000 pilgrims were recorded here in a single year. The church is the parish church of Křtiny and the centre of the pilgrimage complex with the Chapel of St Anne.
The church stands on a terraced base on uneven ground, with a staircase in front that was repaired between 1995 and 2014. The Greek-cross plan is oriented north, with the ambulatory courtyard and the tower chapel of St Anne on the east side and the provost's house north of the church.
The church stands on a terraced base on uneven ground, which slowed work: by 1738 the outer wall had risen only to the height of the large windows. The Greek-cross plan is set by inscribed and circumscribed pentagons, read as the five wounds of Christ.
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