Church of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, Baroque church in Brno, Czech Republic
The Church of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist is a Baroque building in Brno, known for its elaborate interior design featuring several impressive altarpieces and richly decorated vaults. The interior displays skillful structures and ornamental elements typical of Czech Baroque architecture.
The Minorites arrived in Brno between 1227 and 1239 and built a provisional church; the definitive church was consecrated in 1257 by Olomouc bishop Bruno of Schauenburk. After a fire in 1262, Nicholas of Opava funded its restoration and was buried here with his wife. Mořic Grimm baroquised it in 1722 and 1729–1733, and in 1784 it became a parish church.
Locals call it the Church of the Two Johns (Kostel svatých Janů). Since 1 September 1784 it has served as a parish church, originally for a third of Brno's population, and the parish was later extended to the Cejl district. The interior holds frescoes on the vault by Johann Georg Etgens and a marble altar made by Josef Stern in 1761.
The church stands on Minoritská Street in the historic centre of Brno, within the Minorite monastery complex that includes the Loretto Chapel. It serves as a parish church, so visits are best arranged outside service times; the interior with its frescoes and 1761 marble altar is open to those who come to see it.
The interior holds marble and wooden statues in the nave niches, some of them dating to the 13th and 14th centuries and so older than the Baroque shell around them. The vault frescoes were painted by Johann Georg Etgens, and the marble altar was made by Josef Stern in 1761.
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