The Church of Saint Thomas and the Annunciation ( cs, Kostel sv. Tomáše Apoštola a Zvěstování P. Marie) is a historic church in Brno,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. The church was founded in the middle of 14th century by John Henry of Luxembourg,

Margrave of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia ( cs, Markrabství moravské; german: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooperat ...

, with active support of his brother Charles IV., Roman Emperor, originally as part of an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

monastery. After six years of work the church was consecrated (March 13, 1356) by the Olomouc Bishop

Jan Očko of Vlašim Jan Očko of Vlašim ( cs, Jan Očko z Vlašimi; Jan VIII as the Bishop of Olomouc) (? – died 1380), from the family of the House of Vlašim, was the second Archbishop of Prague (1364–1378). He was the uncle to his successor Jan of Jenštej ...

in the presence of King Charles IV, suzerain of John Henry. Margrave John Henry and his son

Jobst of Moravia Jobst of Moravia ( cs, Jošt Moravský or ''Jošt Lucemburský''; german: Jo(b)st or ''Jodokus von Mähren''; c. 1354 – 18 January 1411), a member of the House of Luxembourg, was Margraviate of Moravia, Margrave of Moravia from 1375, List of mo ...

, titular King of the Germans, are buried here – in the tomb in front of the main altar. John Henry's second consort,

Margaret of Opava Margaret of Opava (Czech: ''Markéta Opavská'', Silesian: ''Margaret s Uopawje'', German: ''Margaret von Troppau'', Polish: ''Małgorzata opawska''; 1330–1363) was the youngest daughter of Nicholas II of Opava, (grandson of Přemysl II, O ...

, reportedly is buried here, as well. In the south nave is located famous example of

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

d stone statue in high Gothic style, known as Pietà of Saint Thomas Current baroque appearance dates back to the second half of the 17th century when the church was repaired and rebuilt after severe damage caused by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

siege of Brno during the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

. The architect

Adolf Loos Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos (; 10 December 1870 – 23 August 1933) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak architect, influential European theorist, and a polemicist of modern architecture. He was an inspiration to modernism and a widely- ...

was baptized in the church on 1 January 1871.

References

Churches in Brno Roman Catholic churches in the Czech Republic Burial sites of the House of Luxembourg {{CzechRepublic-church-stub

Further reading

References