Svatý Jan pod Skalou (german: St. Johann unter dem Felsen) is a municipality and village in
Beroun District
Beroun District ( cs, okres Beroun) is a district (''okres'') within Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Beroun.
Complete list of municipalities
Bavoryně -
Beroun -
Běštín -
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in the
Central Bohemian Region
The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...
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 200 inhabitants. It is known for the Baroque complex of the former Benedictine monastery, protected as a national cultural monument.
Administrative parts
Villages of Sedlec and Záhrabská are administrative parts of Svatý Jan pod Skalou.
Etymology
The name Svatý Jan pod Skalou means "Saint John under the Rock". It refers to the legend associated with the establishment of the local church.
Geography
Svatý Jan pod Skalou is located about east of
Beroun
Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former ...
and southwest of
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. It lies in a hilly landscape in the
Hořovice Uplands. The highest peak is the hill Herinky at above sea level. The village lies in the valley of the Loděnice River. The entire municipality is located within the
Bohemian Karst
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
Protected Landscape Area, most of the municipal territory is also protected as the Karlštejn National Nature Reserve.
History
According to legend, Ivan, the very first Czech Christian hermit, settled in a cave under a rock in the area of Svatý Jan in the 9th century. When he was tempted by evil spirits, Saint
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
appeared to him and helped him. Ivan then visited Duke
Bořivoj I and revealed to him God's message that he should build a church with St. John the Baptist as his patron saint. After Ivan's death, Duke Bořivoj had the chapel built.
The first written mention of Svatý Jan is from 1037, when Ivan's cave with hermitage, grave and chapel was acquired by the Ostrov Monastery in
Davle from Duke
Bretislav I
Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death.
Youth
Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine ...
. In 1310, a provostship was established here, and the property of the monastery was significantly increased at this time. In 1420, the Ostrov monastery was captured and destroyed by the
Hussites
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Hu ...
, and the monks moved to Svatý Jan, then called "Svatý Jan in the rocks". In 1517, the monks settled here permanently. In 1584, the remains of St. Ivan were rediscovered and picked up, and the tradition of pilgrimages began here.
[
In 1785, the monastery was abolished by the reform of Emperor ]Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 u ...
. The property of the monastery was then sold at auction and gradually owned by various nobles. Part of the monastery was used for industrial production, in 1904–1912 there was also a spa. In 1949, the monastery was seized by the state, which set up a forced labor camp here, and in 1951–1955 a prison. In 1994, the monastery buildings were returned to the church.[
]
Demographics
Education
The premises of the former monastery now houses St. John College – Higher Vocational School of Pedagogy. It was founded in 1995.
Sights
The Baroque complex of the Benedictine monastery includes the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the rock church of the Virgin Mary and the cave and the spring of St. Ivan. In the second half of the 15th century, the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist was built next to the St. Ivan's cave. At the beginning of the 17th century, the church was expanded with a bell tower. The old church was then replaced by a new one built by Carlo Lurago in 1661, then it was reconstructed by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer
Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer) (1 September 1689, Prague – 18 December 1751) was a Bohemian architect of the Baroque era. He was the fifth son of the German architect Christoph Dientzenhofer and the Bohemian-Ge ...
in 1710–1711. In the years 1728–1731, additional wings of the monastery were added under the leadership of Dientzenhofer. The baroque reconstruction of the monastery was completed by the construction of a library in 1764–1766. The monastery complex is one of the most important monuments in the region, protected as a national cultural monument.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Svaty Jan Pod Skalou
Villages in the Beroun District