Cultural monuments in Kojetín

The town of Kojetín is abundant in cultural monuments from past centuries. The most significant cultural monument which reminds of the late feudalism is the Church of Heaven adoption of the Virgin. It creates the main silhouette of the town which is why it attracts to such an extent. The original gothic ground plan serves as the base for the spectacular baroque building, with the roots from the 17th century. The entire composition is completed with two towers and gable, modified in the second half of the 18th century. The integral arrangement of the interior, in the style following the patterns of the Vienna classicism, occurred around the half of the 18th century.

There is a one-floor clergyman’s house from the middle of 18th century in front of the church. Its ground floor is vaulted in the form of crosses and fornices and the main hall is decorated with rococo paintings and genre motives.

The western part of an immense square is enclosed with a town hall from the second half of the 18th century, even though it was later adjusted in the Art nouveau style. However, the exterior underwent also certain modifications due to the modern reparations of the facade. The contemporary aspect was gained after the reconstruction as a consequence of a destructive fire in august, 1995.

The centre of the square is dominated by the Marian column, a symbol which is typical of the baroque period. It was built on the order of the local citizen Johannes Kulhan from 1704 to 1705. From the iconographic point of view, Marian column is regarded as a plague pillar. There is a statue of St.Florian, fire patron, standing on the right next to the Marian column whereas on the left is situated St.Wendelin statue, embodying the protector of herds and domestic animals. Similarly to the statues decorating the side altars in the church, these sculptures are attributed to the workroom of one of the most estimated Moravian baroque artists Bohumír Fritsch, a representative of the first wave of sculptural classicism of the 18th century.

A significant chapter in the town history represents the Jewish community. Its existence is recalled up to the present day thanks to the synagogue, the oldest building in the town and perhaps the oldest one of its kind in the Czech Republic. Nowadays, it serves as a ceremony place for The Czechoslovak Hussite Church, albeit in a modified form.

Another commemoration of this culture is the Jewish cemetery, used for the funerals until the beginning of the 1940s. The sad end of Jews reminds today a memorial tablet on the synagogue which mentions all the victims of holocaust.

The following photos display other cultural monuments of the town and its surroundings.