Multipurpose building with a chapel built in 1903-1904 for the purpose of the Jihlava orphanage, decorated in a unique style of the Beuronian art school.
The Chapel of St. Charles Borromeo, with the official dedication of the Sacred Heart of the Lord, served from its consecration in November 1904 until 1950, when it was deconsecrated, for the purposes of the Jihlava Orphanage. The orphanage was operated and owned by the Order of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Charles Borromeo. The multipurpose building with a chapel located on the first floor was built in the historicist Neo-Romanesque style, according to the design of the architect Karl Wagner.
There are distinctive elements of the so-called Beuronian school of art on St. John's Chapel. The paintings in the chapel, currently hidden under the white overpainting, are also presented in the style of the Beuronian art school. Decorating tiles on the bases of stairs, forging railings, profiling door panels also refer to this style. The author of this concept of decoration was A. Österrecheir. For many years after the deconsecration, the chapel served the needs of the boarding school of the High School of Medicine.
Today it is once again in the property of the Order of the Merciful Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo and was reconsecrated as a chapel of the Divine Heart of the Lord in 2006. Architect Martin Laštovička is the author of the design of the modern altar. On May 22, 2015, the building with the chapel was declared a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. You can learn more about the history of the chapel on the pages of the Jihlava architectural manual here: Chapel of St. Karel Boromejský | Objects | Jihlava Architectural Manual (jihlava.cz)
The entrance to the chapel is only through the building Křížová 12. The chapel is accessible during regular Holy Masses every Monday at 5 pm and once a month as part of guided tours organized by the destination company “Gate of Jihlava” for the public.
