Church of Saint Martin in Krnov, Gothic church in Krnov, Czech Republic
The Church of Saint Martin is a three-aisled basilica with a two-tower facade and a polygonal presbytery, located on Osvobození Square in Krnov. The lower parts of both towers are square, and the upper parts become octagonal at different heights. The building combines a Gothic core with Baroque interior furnishings.
Construction began before 1281, when the Teutonic Order's patronage was first recorded; the origin was likely a princely foundation in Gothic style. The original wooden building was replaced with stone and brick around 1400. A second tower was added in 1554 by Thomas Stegmann and Benedikt Sorgenfrey. After the great fire of 1779, builder Jindřich Haucke rebuilt the church in Baroque style.
The church is the parish church for Roman Catholic believers and has been a cultural monument since 1958. In the Chapel of the Holy Cross is buried Kryštof Bilický z Bilic, a notable Krnov physician. The bell in the lower tower, cast in 1506, came from Pelhřimovy in 1947.
The church stands on Náměstí Osvobození in the Pod Bezručovým vrchem district. Both front towers rise 67 metres; the lower parts are square and the upper sections octagonal, each at a different level. Look for the four Renaissance tombstones set into the outer wall, moved there when the churchyard was abolished.
The bell in the lower tower was cast in 1506 by an unknown founder and originally hung in the church at Pelhřimovy. It was requisitioned for war purposes in 1942 and assigned to Krnov in 1947. Its crown bears the inscription "ave *1 maria * gratia * plena * dominus * tecum * benedictus 1506", with words separated by lilies. The bell weighs about 120 kg.
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