Rating
4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)
User Reviews
Pavel Navrkal (6 years ago)
Jana Dočkalová (7 years ago)
Jaroslav Scherrer (7 years ago)
Lucie Kosíková - Weissová (8 years ago)
Jirina Brezinova (8 years ago)
Archangel Michael's Church was built in the 12th century for the newcomers who were settling down in the neighbourhood of Znojmo Castle. The consecration to Archangel Michael and the location on the highest point of Znojmo seem to imply that this church might have replaced an ancient pagan occult place. However, the medieval history of the church does not seem to be free from dramatic events: in the early-15th century the Hussites bombed the church so it had to be built anew. In the 16th century Lutheran preachers got hold of it, when the church tower collapsed for the first time (1581). In 1624 the Jesuits took over the ravaged place and rebuilt it. In 1642 the church tower collapsed for the second time, not to be built again as part of the church structure. In 1852 they built a new tower separately from the church.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.