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Founded: 12th centuryCategory: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)
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St. Mary's Church was built in the 12th century and it was enlarged a century later. The bell tower was added in Late Middle Ages and the church has been restored and rebuilt several times. The are eight medieval stone sculptures in the facade. The baptismal font is as old as the building itself. The Renaissance style pulpit dates from the 1600s.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.