Church of Saint John the Baptist, Gothic church in Jihlava, Czech Republic

The Church of Saint John the Baptist stands freely on Jánský kopeček on the left bank of the Jihlava River, near the Havlíčkova and Polenská street junction. It is an oriented single-nave Gothic church with a sacristy adjoining the chancel on the north side, an outdoor pulpit at the southwest corner, two entrances (west and south), three blocked original slit windows on the north side of the nave, and a four-sided wooden tower above the chancel.

The church is first mentioned in 1233, when it was listed with thirteen tributary villages. It was built in the mid-13th century on the site of a Romanesque structure, and served as the parish church until St. James the Greater took that role in 1257 in the newly founded town across the river. The late Gothic chancel with ribbed vault dates to around 1500, the sacristy was added in 1559, and the church was rebuilt in 1695 and later baroquized.

The church keeps three Baroque altars: Saint John the Baptist, Saint Norbert and Saint John Nepomuk. Its historical inventory also records a once-popular painting of a sleeping miner inscribed "Es war und ist nicht mehr" (It was, and is no more).

The church stands on Jánský kopeček on the left bank of the Jihlava, near the Havlíčkova and Polenská junction; trams and buses stop at Pod Jánským kopečkem. Enter from the west or south, and look for the early Gothic portal beside the southern door. Masses are held regularly, so time a visit around them.

The church has no stone tower: a four-sided wooden turret rises above the chancel. On the north side of the nave, three original slit windows are walled up, and by the south entrance an early Gothic portal is still visible.