Church of St. John the Baptist in Hlučín

The church, which stands opposite the chateau in Hlučín, is built on Gothic foundations and is one of the oldest churches in the area. Its present appearance ranks it among the most beautiful Baroque buildings in the Hlučín region and among the treasures of the Baroque in the entire Moravian-Silesian Region.

The church is dedicated to John the Baptist and is one of the landmarks of the town. Many of the ancient stories of Hlučín are imprinted in its history. For example, the church witnessed a massive fire, when the heat in the tower was so high that it melted the bells. During the Thirty Years’ War, the church caught fire again, and just as it was being repaired, lightning struck the church, destroying the tower and the roof, and it was being repaired again. There was no money to spare and so the church was without a tower for 150 years. The bells were hung in a small tower above the altar. It was not until the end of the 18th century that the congregation got a tower on their church.

During the church’s most recent reconstruction in 2013, workers discovered shrapnel from bombs that had lodged in the beams in the roof, another remnant of the fighting at the end of World War II.