Krtiny

The pilgrimage church at Krtiny was built between 1728 and 1750 to designs by Jan Blazej Santini-Aichel for the Zdar Cistercians, on a centralised plan with a dome over the crossing and curving side chapels, and it is one of his largest completed works. The interior is bright, with frescoes by Jan Jiri Etgens and a Marian statue of about 1300 that is the object of the pilgrimage. Under the chapel beside it is an ossuary found in 1991 during work: the bones of around a thousand people from the medieval and early modern cemetery, of which a group of skulls carry painted decoration - laurel wreaths and initials in black - a practice known from a handful of sites in Central Europe and not fully explained. Krtiny sits at the southern edge of the Moravian Karst, so it combines with the caves and the Rudice sinkhole.

What you actually see

• A centralised Santini church - dome over the crossing with curving side chapels.
• An ossuary found in 1991 - about a thousand people beneath the side chapel.
• Painted skulls - laurel wreaths and initials, a practice known from few sites.
• A Marian statue of about 1300 - the object of the pilgrimage.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The ossuary opens on limited hours and is a separate ticket; these are human remains. The church closes during services and pilgrimages. The village is small with limited parking.

Nearby

The Moravian Karst caves are north; Brno is south-west.