--- title: "The Church of All Saints in Rožnov and its history" description: "The Baroque Church of All Saints in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm holds a painting by Anthonis Schoonjans. See its 50-metre tower, the bells, the clock and the ossuary." url: "https://zpusteven.cz/all-saints-church-roznov" lang: "en" latitude: 49.4574694 longitude: 18.1406028 --- ![Aerial view of the Church of All Saints with its tower and green copper roof, the roofs of Rožnov and the Radhošť ridge behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/DJI_0134.avif) Baroque church • Rožnov pod Radhoštěm # The Church of All Saints A landmark of the centre two and a half centuries old. The clock on its tower still measures out Rožnov's day. - **Tower:** 50 metres - **Completed:** in 1752 - **Free guided tours:** May–September - **Where:** by Masaryk Square ## The oldest building in the heart of Rožnov A few steps from Masaryk Square stands **the oldest surviving building in the centre of Rožnov** - the Baroque Church of All Saints, completed in 1752 on the site of an earlier wooden church. Its fifty-metre tower with an onion dome, a clock and bells is a landmark of the town. Around the church lies a quiet garden on the site of the former graveyard. Its enclosure wall carries the Stations of the Cross, and inside stands an ossuary. ![The front of the Church of All Saints with its tower and main entrance, a building with a sign to Galerie Kostnice on the right](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9746.avif) The church from the main entrance and from the garden - switch the view Why come here ### A piece of Rožnov's history in one place The Baroque church of 1752 stands where people gathered **before Rožnov was first written about**. Inside you will find art from the Baroque to present-day Rožnov woodcarvers, and behind the church a garden on the site of the old graveyard. What not to miss ### The altarpiece and the garden with the ossuary The high altar is dominated by the **painting of All Saints by Anthonis Schoonjans**, a Flemish painter of the imperial court. Behind the church lies a garden on the site of the old graveyard - with an ossuary, the Stations of the Cross in the enclosure wall and an orchard. When to come ### In season, with a guide From **May to September** the Otevřené brány project opens the church with guided tours. For the rest of the year the church is open during services; the garden invites you to pause at any time on a walk through the centre. ![The nave of the church with pews, the pulpit and a view towards the Baroque altar](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9592.avif) ![A view down the nave to the organ loft, wood-carved Stations of the Cross along the walls](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9583.avif) ![The bell chamber of the tower with large bells in a steel frame beneath a beamed ceiling](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9600.avif) ![The historic movement of the church clock with its gearwheels and small dial](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9648.avif) ## The story of the Church of All Saints A wooden church stood here before the town was first written about. A Baroque building with a tower full of bells replaced it. For almost a century it held documents that had long been forgotten. Beginnings ### A church older than the first mention of Rožnov A place of worship stood on the site of today's church **before 1267**, when the market town of Rožnov is first recorded in writing. The parish here is first documented in 1490, and from 1666 there has been a permanent clergy. The oldest description of the church dates from 1672 - a small wooden church stood here then. In the mid-18th century it was replaced by today's Baroque building by an unknown builder, **finally completed in 1752**. The single-nave building with a tower projecting from the north front has survived almost unchanged ever since and is protected as a **cultural monument**. ![Aerial view of central Rožnov with the Church of All Saints in the foreground and Masaryk Square behind it](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/DJI_0137.avif) The tower ### Fifty metres above the town The tower projecting from the north front measures **50 metres** and carries an onion dome with a lantern; the smaller turret on the roof ridge is a sanctus turret. Behind the clock faces is a historic clock mechanism, and in the bell chamber hang bells that ring on feast days and on weekdays alike. The tower kept a secret for a long time. During its restoration, craftsmen found **tubes with historic documents** that their predecessors had placed in the dome during repairs to the tower in 1876 and 1909. The container went back into place in 2007 - with documents of the present day added, for whoever opens the dome next. ![The onion dome of the church tower with its lantern and orb, a smaller sanctus turret on the roof ridge to the right](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9731.avif) The tower from below and the dome with its sanctus turret - switch the view Bells and wars ### The voice of the town, silenced by war again and again As early as 1762 **three bells** hung in the tower. In 1889 the tower received four new ones - but during the First World War the authorities seized them in the mass requisitioning of bells for making weapons. According to the available sources, the bells acquired after Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918 met the same fate. The bell chamber thus filled and emptied with every war - the sources say a single bell came through both requisitions, an 18th-century passing bell. Today's bells have hung in the tower since the middle of the 20th century. > “Sv. Josefe, oroduj za nás!” - “Saint Joseph, pray for us!” > > the inscription on one of today's bells Today's bells carry the names of saints and the mark of a bell foundry from Česká u Brna. - **first three bells recorded:** 1762 - **bells of 1889 taken by the war:** 4 - **height of the bell tower:** 50 m ![Two bells side by side in a steel frame beneath the timber roof of the bell chamber](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9615.avif) The bells in the tower: the pair in the steel frame, the large bell and the Saint Joseph bell - switch the view. Interior ### From the Viennese court to Rožnov woodcarvers A single piece of the original Baroque furnishing has survived - and it is the most valuable one. The high altar in the chancel is dominated by the **painting of All Saints by Anthonis Schoonjans**, a sought-after Flemish painter who worked for the noble courts of Europe and spent much of his life at the imperial court in Vienna. At the end of the 19th century the interior went through a thorough rebuilding - apart from the high altar, the Baroque furnishings were replaced by newer pieces and the church was given complete painted decoration with biblical scenes. Of all that painting, only the **frescoes on the vault** remain. Later layers were added by artists tied to the region: the statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius were given to the church by the sculptor **Albín Polášek**, the figure of Saint Wenceslas was made by the Rožnov sculptor **Emil Solařík**, and the Stations of the Cross were carved in wood by the local artist Bohumil Knill. The statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was brought back from Lourdes by Rožnov parishioners. ![The chancel with the Baroque high altar, the painting of All Saints and statues of bishops to either side](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9586.avif) The organ ### 250 years of history, today's organ almost a century old The organ in the loft has a history of repairs and rebuilds going back more than two and a half centuries. The oldest documented repair dates from **before 1777** and was made by the organ builder Fr. Schwarz; in 1800 two organ builders worked on the instrument at once - Jan Praský and Jan Piskoř. Johann Neusser first repaired the instrument in 1836, but in 1863 he built an **entirely new** organ - with **19 stops** on two manuals. Matěj Strmiska repaired it once more in 1934, before a new organ was built in 1936. It was built from the ground up by the **Rieger company** of Krnov - with **21 stops** on two manuals. In 1962 the same works added six more stops, bringing it to today's **27**. The Krnov firm Rieger was among the most important organ works in central Europe, and its instruments stand in concert halls all over the world. Production continued there under the successor name Rieger-Kloss until 2015, when it ended. ![The organ in the loft of the church, a ceiling painting in an oval medallion above it](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9589.avif) The organ from the loft - today's instrument dates from 1936 and was enlarged in 1962. Close up ## A bell at the window and the sculpture inside ![A bell inscribed Rožnov at a tower window, the roofs of the town visible beyond](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9628.avif) The bell inscribed “Rožnov” at a window of the bell chamber. ![The statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius with a double cross and a book, a wooden figure of Christ on the cross to the left](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9588.avif) The statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius by Albín Polášek and a wooden figure of Christ on the cross. ![The east end of the church with its green roof seen from the garden, a black cross in front of it, fruit trees and a stone wall around](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/kostel-vsech-svatych/1280/IMG_9736.avif) The All Saints garden: the back of the church with its cross, the orchard and the stone enclosure wall. The All Saints garden ## A former graveyard, now a quiet orchard behind the church The town graveyard used to lie around the church - burials took place here until 1889. In time a parish garden grew on the site. The stone wall around it carries **fourteen Stations of the Cross**. In the garden stands an **ossuary** holding the bones from cleared graves. The parish now puts on exhibitions in it - a sign by the church points to “Galerie Kostnice”. It is usually open in the summer season, alongside tours of the church. The rest of the garden is a grassy orchard with fruit trees and beds - a quiet place, a step from the square, to stop for a while and think. Timeline ## Seven and a half centuries on one spot 1. before 1267 ### The oldest place of worship A church building stood here before 1267, when the market town of Rožnov is first mentioned in writing. 2. 1490 ### The parish first recorded The Rožnov parish is first mentioned in written sources; permanent clergy are documented from 1666. 3. 1672 ### A wooden church The oldest surviving description records a small wooden church on the site of today's building. 4. 1752 ### The new Baroque building After years of building, the new masonry church is finally completed, interiors and all. The builder's name has not survived. 5. 1762 ### Three bells in the tower Three bells are recorded in the tower; the passing bell from that time has survived to this day, according to the sources. 6. 1889 ### The end of the graveyard, new bells The graveyard around the church is closed - a parish garden later grows on the site. The tower receives four new bells. 7. late 19th c. ### A new look inside A thorough rebuilding of the interior: of the Baroque furnishings the high altar remains, and the church is given painted decoration with frescoes. 8. 1909 ### Repairs to the tower Craftsmen repair the tower and place a tube of documents in the dome - as their predecessors had done in 1876. 9. 1936 ### Today's organ The loft receives an instrument from the Rieger works in Krnov; in 1962 the same firm enlarges it to 27 stops. 10. 1957 ### A major overhaul A years-long overhaul of the church begins; in 1983 the roof is given copper roofing. 11. 2007 ### The documents return to the dome The tubes from the repairs of 1876 and 1909, found during restoration of the tower, are supplemented with documents of the present day and returned to the dome. Visit ## Plan your way to the church ### Where exactly it is #### In the centre of town, by Masaryk Square The Church of All Saints stands at the western edge of the historic core of [Rožnov](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznov-pod-radhostem), only a few dozen metres from Masaryk Square. The tower is visible from much of the town. ##### Open in maps [Mapy.com](https://mapy.com/en/zakladni?x=18.1406028&y=49.4574694&z=17&source=coor&id=18.1406028,49.4574694) · [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=49.4574694,18.1406028) ##### Nearby [Villa Jaroněk](https://zpusteven.cz/en/jaronkova-vila) · [Rožnov park with its bandstand](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovsky-park) · [Rožnovská Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovska-becva) · [Valašský Slavín and the Church of Saint Anne](https://zpusteven.cz/en/valasske-muzeum-v-prirode/valassky-slavin) · [The chimneys on the Tesla site](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kominy-tesla) · [The avenues on Hradisko](https://zpusteven.cz/en/aleje-na-hradisku) · [The Jurkovič lookout tower](https://zpusteven.cz/en/jurkovicova-rozhledna) · [The ruins of Rožnov Castle](https://zpusteven.cz/roznov-castle-ruins) Map of the area ### What to know before you go #### Free guided tours From **May to September** the church is opened with a guide by the Otevřené brány project – **entry is free**. Opening times change through the season; current times are on the [Otevřené brány project page](https://otevrenebrany.cz/kostel-vsech-svatych). Outside that season the church is open only during services. #### A living parish church The church is used for the Rožnov parish's services. Be considerate on your visit - and if Mass is under way, wait until it ends before looking around. #### The garden and the ossuary The All Saints garden with its Stations of the Cross and the ossuary adjoins the church. Exhibitions in the ossuary (Galerie Kostnice) are usually open **in the summer season**, alongside tours of the church. #### Refreshments and toilets Refreshments and shops are in the surrounding streets and on **Masaryk Square**. ### How to get here The church is in the pedestrian zone of the centre - the easiest way is to walk from the square or from the bus or railway station. #### On foot from Masaryk Square ##### A few minutes from the square From Masaryk Square you will reach the church **in two or three minutes** – the tower is in sight the whole way. From here you can carry on through the [town park](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovsky-park) as far as the [Jurkovič lookout tower](https://zpusteven.cz/en/jurkovicova-rozhledna). #### By car and public transport parking in the centre • bus and train ##### By car Park in the car parks in the town centre and walk to the church from there. The streets immediately by the church are for access only. ##### By train or bus The railway line from Valašské Meziříčí ends in Rožnov and regional buses stop here. From the station it is **about ten minutes' walk** to the centre. Na závěr ## Doplňující info a test znalostí ### Rychlá rekapitulace **Do you have to pay to enter the church?** No. Tours under the Otevřené brány project (May–September) are free. **Can I visit the garden with the ossuary too?** Yes, the All Saints garden is freely accessible at any time. Exhibitions in the ossuary itself (Galerie Kostnice) are usually open in the summer season, alongside tours of the church. **How tall is the tower, and can it be seen from the town centre?** The tower measures 50 metres and is visible from much of the town and from the surrounding hills. **Can I look around the church while Mass is being said?** No, the church serves a living parish - wait for the service to end before looking around. --- Source: [The Church of All Saints in Rožnov and its history](https://zpusteven.cz/all-saints-church-roznov) - zPusteven.cz. When citing, please link to the page.