Basic information
The Baroque pilgrimage church with a two-tower frontage is a distinctive landmark of the landscape around Olomouc. Adjoining the church building, there are side wings with an attic carrying statues of 12 apostles and two saints – Saint Sebastian.and Saint Roch. Behind the church, there are a cloister and the Chapel of the Virgin Mary. The ceiling of the single-naved interior is vaulted over by a massive dome. The nave is flanked by side chapels.
Numerous local and foreign painters, sculptors and plasterers participated in the interior decoration of the church. Jan Kryštof Handke painted allegories of the four continents in the pendentives of the dome. Saint Augustine, one of Handke’s finest works, is placed in one of the side chapels. Besides the painting of Saint Joseph by Tobias Pock, one should also mention the altar painting by the Venice oriented Johann Spillenberg on the main altar. The sculptors Joseph Winterhalter, Georg Anton Heinz and Michael Zürn also contributed a great deal to the overall looks of the interior. This monumental church was promoted by Pope John Paul II. to Minor Basilica in May 1995.