The Church of Saint Thomas and the Annunciation () is a historic church in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

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

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

Margrave of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia (; ) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire and then Austria-Hungary, existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administered by a margrave in cooperation with a provincial diet. I ...

, with active support of his brother Charles IV., Roman Emperor, originally as part of an Augustinian 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 (; 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 Jenštejn. Biography Early lif ...

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

Jobst of Moravia Jobst of Moravia ( or ''Jošt Lucemburský''; or ''Jodokus von Mähren''; – 18 January 1411), a member of the House of Luxembourg, was Margrave of Moravia from 1375, Duke of Luxembourg and Elector of Brandenburg from 1388 as well as elected K ...

, titular

King of the Germans This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

, 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, Ot ...

, 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. When looking at artworks and ...

d stone

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

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, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

. 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 inspired by modernism and a widely-known c ...

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