Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary, Gothic church in Kroměříž, Czech Republic.
The Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary is a Baroque church built from 1724 to 1736 to a design by Ignaz Cyrani of Bolleshaus, with a rectangular plan and a 42-metre Gothic tower topped by a clock from 1726. The exterior has a rusticated ground floor and a two-storey facade with paired pilasters.
Bishop Bruno of Schauenburg founded the church in 1247. Swedish troops under General Lennart Torstensson plundered and burned it on 26 June 1643, leaving only the tower core and bare walls. Bishop Wolfgang Hannibal von Schrattenbach had it rebuilt in 1724; the Baroque church was completed in 1736.
The original choir sits at an angle to the nave, showing how the building grew across different periods. This offset is still visible today and tells the story of how construction unfolded over centuries.
The church stands on Riegrovo náměstí in the historic core of Kroměříž, with its 42 m Gothic tower and clock facing the square. The north side of the balustrade holds statues of St Wenceslas, St Cyril, St Methodius and St Anne, moved there between 1907 and 1909. A memorial plaque to Josef Mlčák, shot in 1945 while hanging a flag from the tower window, is set in the lower part of the tower.
The tower clock came from the town hall tower, which the magistrate handed over to the church in 1686; the present clock face dates from 1726. The Gothic tower itself, 42 m high, is the only part that survived the Swedish fire of 26 June 1643.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,275 contributors worldwide.