Křtiny is a market town in

Blansko District Blansko District ( cs, okres Blansko) is one of seven districts (''okres'') within South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Blansko. List of municipalities Adamov - Bedřichov - Benešov - Blansko - Borotín - ...

in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...

of the

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. Th ...

. It has about 800 inhabitants.

Geography

Křtiny is located about southeast of

Blansko Blansko (; german: Blanz) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the Moravian Karst. It is mainly an industrial town. Administrative parts Vil ...

and northeast of Brno. It lies in the

Drahany Highlands Drahany is a market town in Prostějov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Drahany lies approximately west of Prostějov, south-west of Olomouc, and east of Prague. Notable people * Wilhelm ...

, on the boundary of the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area. The highest point of the municipal territory is the hill Proklest with an elevation of .

History

The first written mention of Křtiny is from 1237, in a deed of

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

Sights

Křtiny is known for an significant European

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

site administered by the

Premonstratensians The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their religious habit, habit), is a religious order of canons regular of th ...

. In 1718, a Baroque pilgrim complex was created by the original project of

Jan Santini Aichel Jan Blažej Santini Aichel (3 February 1677 – 7 December 1723) was a Czech architect of Italian descent, whose major works represent the unique Baroque Gothic style - the special combination of the Baroque and Gothic styles. Biogr ...

, but was modified during construction and was never fully completed. It comprises the Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary with a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

statue of the Virgin Mary and an

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...

and the adjacent Křtiny Manor from the 19th century, formerly the Provost residence. In the municipality is the karst show cave Výpustek, formerly a secret army cave shelter.

References

External links

* Market towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Blansko District {{SouthMoravia-geo-stub