Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Prostějov


Parish Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is Catholic church in Prostějov, Moravia.
The building dominates the town and it is oldest monument.
It was founded together with augustinian monastery on the site of the original fortress in 1391 by nobleman Peter of Kravare. The church was consecrated to Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elisabeth to the Hill Country. Shortly after its building-up, in 1430, it was burnt out by the Hussites. Within the years 1522 - 1588 it was restored by Ultraquists. Together with the town the church had to withstand a huge devastating fire in 1697 when it was completely destroyed. From the time of the conflagration only a wooden cross was saved during that fire. On the request of parishioners and with the permission of the Bishop of Olomouc Miraculous Cross was placed on the High Altar in 1703. Walls of the Presbytery are decorated with frescos by Jano Köhler. During the Feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the 14. September the traditional town pilgrimage is held there every year.

The Way of the Cross by František Bílek

Parish priest Karel Dostál-Lutinov asked František Bílek to create the Way of the Cross for parish church in 1904. Bilek created painting composition drafts for all original paintings and he himself painted 11. and 13. Stations of the Cross. He described he had supernatural visions and received special knowledge. When working on the Way of the Cross for Prostějov, he felt the presence of Almighty, as he himself said. He was sure that the God guided his hand. He completed his work in 1906. The entire costs of CZK 10,000 were paid by factory owner Wichterle.
Content in this edit is translated from the existing Czech Wikipedia article at :cz:Kostel Povýšení svatého Kříže ; see its history for attribution.