|
|
Die Wallfahrtskirche der Jungfrau Maria in Křtiny.
Historie, Untergrund, Forschungen und Entdeckungen.
Der unter den Cherubinen auf dem Altar der Wallfahrtskirche Jungfrau Maria in Křtiny thronende Jungfrau Maria gewidmet.
Der wundersamen Beschützerin Mährens und besonders des Mährischen Karsts und seines unterirdischen Volks.
Der antiken gotischen Statur aus dem 13. oder 14. Jahrhundert an dem Wallfahrtsort in Křtiny.
Einleitung in das Problem Křtiny.
Als der unaufgeklärte Kaiser Josef II eine seiner schlimmsten Entscheidungen traf und zahllose Klöster auflöste, darunter im Jahre 1784 auch das blühende Kloster der Prämonstratenser in Zábrdovice, wurde es auch um seinen Wallfahrtsort in Křtiny im Mährischen Karst still. Das war ein großes Leiden für unzählige Ordensleute der katholischen Kirche, die man Josef II, dem absoluten Herrscher der Habsburgischen Machthaber, bis heute weder im Himmel noch auf Erden verzeihen kann. Kehren wir aber zum Thema dieser Webseite zurück, das vor allem der Untergrund unter der Wallfahrtskirche von Křtiny und seiner Historie ist. Damals in der Zeit der Reinigung des Klosters in Zábrdovice begannen in dem von ihnen verlassenen Wallfahrtsort Křtiny unzählige romantische Sagen über den unbekannten Untergrund und dem darin angeblich versteckten prämonstratensischen Schatz zu entstehen. Diese Sagen wurden im Verlauf der Jahrhunderte von einer sehr großen Anzahl von Interessenten, Romantikern, Abenteurern, Ortseinwohnern und schließlich auch von den in den Mährischen Karst herbeigerufenen Höhlenforschern behandelt. Der verlassene monumentale Bau der Wallfahrtskirche beflügelte nämlich ihre Vorstellungen und Phantasie, denn er war eine stete Erinnerung an die Zeit des vergangenen Ruhms dieses Wallfahrsorts zur Jungfrau Maria von Křtiny in seinem Tal der Taufe, Vallis baptismi, wie das Tal von Křtiny schon in vergangenen Zeiten genannt wurde, als hier im 9. Jahrhundert während des Großmährischen Reichs angeblich die „Heiden“ von dem Heiligen Kyrill und Heiligen Methodius mit ihren Schülern getauft wurden. Dieser Wallfahrtsort wird von der Aura einer großen Zahl von wundersamen Begebenheiten und Wundern umgeben, die sich hier angeblich bei der wundersamen Statur der Jungfrau Maria ereigneten. In der Geschichte gab es eine große Anzahl von Forschern, die von Křtiny bezaubert waren, aber von den meisten von ihnen haben wir keine biografischen Daten, denn sie führten ihre „Forschungen“ meistens geheim und auf anonyme Weise aus. Diese Situation dauerte das ganze 20. Jahrhundert an und es gibt einige schriftliche Dokumente darüber. Zu einer Wende in der Ansicht dieses Problems des legendären Untergrunds der Wallfahrtskirche von Křtiny kam es jedoch erst in den 90er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts, als ein von dem Studenten der Archäologie, Marek Šenkyřík, geführtes Team begeisterter Höhlenforscher hierher kam. Diese Höhlenforscher des Höhlenforscherclubs in Brno, der Grundorganisation der 6-26 tschechischen Höhlenforscher-Gesellschaften, setzten sich auf radikale Weise für eine Lösung aller uralten Geheimnisse ein, nicht nur die des Untergrunds, sondern auch der Geschichte der Wallfahrtskirche. Sie lösten ein für alle Male das ganze Höhlenforscherproblem dieses herrlichen Baus von Santini. Auf diese Weise wurde die heute schon legendäre Krypta unter dem Dom der Wallfahrtskirche der Jungfrau Maria mit dem Depot der geheimnisvoll gekennzeichneten bemalten Schädel aus dem Mittelalter mit gemaltem Symbol des Lorbeerkranzes und dem Symbol in Form des Buchstabens T an der Stirn entdeckt. Das Geheimnis dieser bemalten Schädel ist bis heute nicht geklärt, und es existieren eine Reihe von Hyothesen, zum Beispiel, dass es sich um die Häupter der auf dem Altstädter Ring in Prag nach der Schlacht am Weißen Berg hingerichteten tschechischen Stände handeln könnte. Diesen Erklärungen kann man aber überhaupt nicht trauen. Es ist viel wahrscheinlicher, dass es sich um eine Reliquie handelt, die heiligen Reliquien aus der mittelalterlichen Kirche von Křtiny, die sogar aus Rom oder anderen Heiligen Orten hierher gelangt sein könnten. Dies ist allerdings auch nur eine unbewiesene Arbeitshypothese von uns Interessenten um diese rätselhafte Problematik, die durch ihr Geheimnis die Phantasie beflügelt. Außer dem Ossarium - Beinhaus unter dem Turm wurde auch die lange gesuchte Grabstätte des Bauherrn der Kirche, des vorletzten Abtes von Zábrdovice, Kryštof Jiří Matušek, entdeckt, die vor dem Altar des Heiligen Johannes und Pauls in der Wallfahrtskirche der Jungfrau Marie platziert ist. Im dritten Teil wurden die unterirdischen Gänge unter dem Bogengang und Paradieshof der ursprünglichen barocken Abwasserkanäle entdeckt, was zwar eine weniger bedeutsame, aber dennoch recht interessante Entdeckung ist.
Im Jahr 2022 stellte der Pfarrer von Křtiny, Pater Ján Lajčák, aus Unwissenheit die Urheberschaft dieser bedeutenden Entdeckungen nicht fest, aber dennoch ist es Tatsache, dass sich an allen in grundlegender Weise - nicht nur als Forschungsführer sondern auch als aktivster der Höhlenforscher - Marek Šenkyřík, heute Svámí Gyaneshwarpuri, der Autor dieser Webseite, persönlich beteiligte. Lassen Sie sich deshalb von ihm in den geheimnisvollen und rätselhaften Untergrund mit dem bisher angeblich nicht entdecktem Schatz der Prämonstratenser führen, der hier noch irgendwo sein könnte, aber es ist sehr unwahrscheinlich. Wir meinen, dass der wahre Schatz keine weltlichen Wertsachen aus Gold, Silber oder Edelsteinen sind, sondern die von uns entdeckten bemalten Schädel der Heiligen, wer immer sie auch gewesen sein mögen. Die Geschichte von Křtiny wird schon lange geschrieben und niemand weiß etwas wirklich über seine Geschichte, bis auf einige wenige Schriftquellen, die wie durch ein Wunder bis zum heutigen Tag erhalten wurden. Der Autor hat versucht, auf dieser Webseite Informationen auch zu dem Thema der Geschichte des hiesigen Wallfahrtsorts zu konzentrieren und sie dadurch der informationsdurstigen Öffentlichkeit näherzubringen. Diese Webseite ist deshalb ganz dem ersten Ave unter den Wallfahrtsorten des vergangenen Mährens, Křtiny, gewidmet. Speziell ist sie dem Abt Kryštof Jiří Matušek gewidmet, dessen sterblichen Überreste ich im Jahre 1991 in den Händen hielt, bevor ich sie wieder beigelegt und in seine Grabstätte eingemauert hatte. Hören Sie vor der Statur der Jungfrau Marie in Křtiny in die Stille, die sie einhüllt, und schreiben Sie mir, was Ihnen dieser Gottesbau erzählen wird. Gegenwärtig kehre ich selbst schon nicht mehr nach Křtiny aus unten angeführten Gründen zurück, aber ich erinnere mich an das Křtiny meiner Jugend in Liebe beim Erstellen meiner Webseite krtiny.info, auch an Herrn Dekan Tomáš Prnka, meines Mäzens, Förderers und Wohltäters.
Entdeckung eines Ossariums mit zwölf bemalten Schädeln im Untergrund der Wallfahrtskirche der Jungfrau Maria in Křtiny.
Křtiny ist ein wichtiger mährischer Marien-Wallfahrtsort. Der größte Aufschwung der Wallfahrtsbewegung fand im 17. und vor allem im 18. Jahrhundert statt, als der Kult der wundertätigen Jungfrau Maria von Křtiny, der an die steinerne Madonnenstatue aus dem 13. bis 14. Jahrhundert gebunden war, jedes Jahr Zehntausende Marienverehrer aus ganz Mähren und den umliegenden Ländern nach Křtiny brachte. Der Ruhm des Kultes wurde von den Prämonstratensern aus Zábrdovice, deren Křtiny-Besitztum seit dem Jahr 1237 urkundlich belegt ist, in jeder Hinsicht aufrechterhalten. Die Prämonstratenser beschlossen, die absolute Diskrepanz zwischen der geistlichen Bedeutung des Ortes und den realen Möglichkeiten der beiden örtlichen mittelalterlichen Kirchen auf radikale Weise zu lösen. Sie holten einen der führenden tschechischen Barockarchitekten, Jan Blažej Santini Aichel (1677 - 1723) auf ihr Gut, der ein großzügiges Projekt für einen neuen barocken Sakralbau entwarf, dessen Kernstück eine große, der Jungfrau Maria geweihte Kirche sein sollte. In der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts wurde Křtiny in eine einzige große Baustelle verwandelt. Die beiden alten mittelalterlichen Kirchen wurden abgerissen, und an ihrer Stelle wurden die Fundamente prächtiger barocker Neubauten gelegt. Die neue Kirche wurde 1771 eingeweiht (Abb.). Kurz darauf wurde jedoch das Patronat des Prämonstratenserklosters in Zábrdovice im Zuge der josephinischen Reformen im Jahr 1784 aufgehoben. Der Pilgertrubel in Křtiny ist abgeklungen. Nach der Auflösung des Klosters von Zábrdovice und der Verstaatlichung seines Besitzes kamen in Křtiny zahlreiche Gerüchte über unbekannte unterirdische Räume und den darin verborgenen Prämonstratenserschatz auf. Während des Zweiten Weltkriegs versammelten sich Wünschelrutengänger im Křtiny-Tempel und kartierten eine komplex verzweigte hypothetische Krypta mit labyrinthischem Charakter unter dem Tempel. Auf ihre Anregung hin wurde Křtiny in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts zum Ziel zahlreicher Höhlenforscher, Abenteurer und romantischer Sucher des unbekannten Untergrunds. Keiner von ihnen war jedoch bei der Suche erfolgreich, und so wurden die entscheidenden Entdeckungen im Untergrund des Tempels von Křtiny erst bei einer speläologischen Untersuchung im Jahr 1991 unter der Leitung des Archäologiestudenten Marek Šenkyřík gemacht. Der unmittelbare Anstoß zur Entdeckung der Krypta des Ossariums mit den bemalten Schädeln wurde durch eine Virgula-Messung gegeben, bei der im Dezember 1990 eine Anomalie eines hypothetischen unbekannten unterirdischen Raums unter dem Turm der Marienkirche in Křtiny festgestellt wurde. In der Folge fanden wir heraus, dass es eine alte mikrogravimetrische Messung der Kirche von Křtiny gibt. Es gelang uns, diese Ergebnisse zu beschaffen, und wir waren überrascht, dass auch die Mikrogravimetrie im Raum unter dem Turm die Anomalie eines unbekannten unterirdischen Körpers registrierte (Abb.). Deshalb führten wir hier eine Erkundungsbohrung im Pflaster des Tempels durch, die nach dem Durchgang durch das Ziegelgewölbe in einer Tiefe von etwa 90 cm in einen unbekannten, mehr als 2 m hohen Hohlraum unter dem Turm fiel. Da jedoch noch nicht klar war, wie man in den unbekannten Raum eindringen konnte, wurde ein Projekt ausgearbeitet, um von der benachbarten, bereits bekannten Hauptkrypta aus direkt in den Untergrund einzudringen. Diese Aufgabe wurde von der Gruppe Novodvorská des Speläologischen Klubs ZO ČSS 6-12 Brünn übernommen, dessen Nachfolgeorganisation der heutige Speläohistorische Klub Brünn ist, die Basisorganisation 6-26 der Tschechischen Speläologischen Gesellschaft. Wir begannen eine künstliche Sonde von der Hauptkrypta aus in Richtung der Anomalie zu bahnen, die durch Mikrogravimetrie uns Virgula-Untersuchung zu dem durch das Bohrloch verifizierten Hohlraum führte. Eine horizontale künstliche Sonde durch die Grundmauer führte am 9. 2. 1991 nach 5,9 m zu einer unbekannten Krypta mit einem Haufen menschlicher Knochen (Abb.). Die Schicht aus lose vermischten menschlichen Knochen war bis zu 2,2 m dick und fiel steil zum Haupteingang des Tempels hin ab. In der Ecke der Krypta, auf dem pyramidenförmigen Knochenhaufen, befand sich der erste bemalte Schädel mit Lorbeer, der seit Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts in die Dunkelheit des unterirdischen Raums starrte (Abb.). Die weiteren Arbeiten bestanden darin, alle Knochen vom Fundort unter dem Turm in die angrenzende Hauptgruft zu transportieren. Osteologisches Material, das Spuren von pathologischen Schäden aufwies, wurde aus der Ansammlung aussortiert. Die sterblichen Überreste von mindestens 974 Personen wurden anschließend in das Ossarium gebracht. Das Gesamtvolumen des osteologischen Materials beläuft sich auf etwa 20 m3. Aus den Befunden geht hervor, dass die Knochen bereits als Einzelknochen im Beinhaus deponiert wurden und es handelt sich um eine Sekundärbestattung. Im Zuge der Räumung des Beinhauses wurden weitere bemalte Schädel entdeckt. Einige der bemalten Schädel befanden sich an der Spitze des Knochenhaufens, andere etwa in der Mitte der Knochenschicht, und einige lagen auf dem Boden der Krypta unterhalb der Zwei-Meter-Schicht (Abb.). Dies ist eine sehr interessante Feststellung, da sie beweist, dass die bemalten Schädel nicht gleichzeitig, sondern nacheinander an einem gemeinsamen Ort im Beinhaus platziert wurden und nicht einen privilegierten Platz im Beinhaus einnahmen. Das osteologische Material, darunter zwölf bemalte Schädel, wurde dem Anatomischen Institut der Medizinischen Fakultät der Masaryk-Universität übergeben, wo eine anthropologische und paläopathologische Analyse durchgeführt wurde. Die Knochen wurden wahrscheinlich irgendwann zwischen 1728 und 1750 deponiert. Der Grund für das Einmauern des unterirdischen Raums ist höchstwahrscheinlich die Einrichtung des Ossariums und seine dauerhafte Unzugänglichkeit. Nach dem Bau einer Treppe mit Terrasse vor dem Eingang des Tempels im Jahr 1770 wurde der Untergrund vollständig verdeckt. Eine zufällige Entdeckung des Beinhauses war praktisch unmöglich. Man würde der Art und Weise, wie das Beinhaus zugemauert wurde, kaum große Bedeutung beimessen, wenn da nicht der etwas rätselhafte Fund von bemalten Schädeln gewesen wäre. Es besteht kein Zweifel, dass diese bemalten Schädel für ihre Verzierer von besonderer Bedeutung waren. Für die Bewertung dieser Entdeckung ist es äußerst wichtig, dass sich der Charakter der Zeichnung nicht wesentlich von dem der anderen Schädel unterscheidet, außer in Details. Das Motiv für die Bemalung der Schädel kann also nicht darin bestanden haben, sie gegenseitig unverwechselbar zu machen. Die Bedeutung der Zeichnung ist ganz anders, und es ist wahrscheinlich, dass sie etwas zum Ausdruck bringt, das allen zwölf Verstorbenen gemeinsam war (Abb.). Unsere Vorfahren hatten sicherlich eine ehrfürchtige Beziehung zu diesen bemalten Schädeln. Wer waren die Toten, deren Schädel so auffällig gezeichnet waren? Unter welchen Umständen und warum wurde ihnen eine so außergewöhnliche Ehre zuteil? Wenn wir wissen, dass es sich zweifellos um außergewöhnliche Persönlichkeiten handelte, warum wurden ihre Schädel schließlich so würdelos im Beinhaus von Křtiny hingeworfen (versteckt?). Dies ist ein Thema für weitere eingehende Überlegungen und eine separate Behandlung. Dieser Fund hat seine Analogien in den bemalten Schädeln in Österreich, in Hallstatt und Umgebung. Es gibt auch die unbegründete Vermutung, dass es sich bei den bemalten Schädeln um die Schädel böhmischer Herren handelt, die wegen ihrer Teilnahme am Ständeaufstand vom 21. Juni 1621 auf dem Prager Altstädter Ring hingerichtet wurden. Im Fall von Křtiny handelt es sich um einen völlig eigenartigen ästhetischen Ausdruck, der in der Tschechischen Republik einmalig ist. Es handelt sich um einen Lorbeerkranz, der als Symbol zur Kennzeichnung geweihter Orte verwendet wird, und um ein Symbol in Form eines T-Kreuzes auf der Stirn (tau). Dieses Tau könnte auf den biblischen Text in Hesekiel 9,4 hinweisen, wo es heißt: „Geh durch die Stadt Jerusalem und zeichne mit einem Zeichen an der Stirn die Leute, die da seufzen und jammern über alle Gräuel, die darin geschehen“. Hesekiel hatte eine Vision von einem Engel, der ihm befahl, alle Gerechten mit dem Buchstaben "tau", dem letzten Buchstaben des hebräischen Alphabets, zu kennzeichnen - die anderen wurden getötet. Im gleichen Sinne werden im Buch der Offenbarung des Apostels Paulus diejenigen beschützt, die das Zeichen auf ihrer Stirn tragen (Offb. 7,3). Diese sterblichen Überreste sind eine Erinnerung an unsere wundertätige Kirche in Křtiny aus der Zeit des größten Aufschwungs der Wallfahrten zur Wallfahrtskirche der Jungfrau Maria von Křtiny - der Wundertätigen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert und sind daher eine wertvolle Reliquie (Abb.). Es ist vielleicht ungewöhnlich, dass die außergewöhnlichen Überreste der ursprünglichen Kirchen von Křtiny zu einer Zeit auf diese Weise gekennzeichnet wurden, als diese Kirchen für den Bau des riesigen barocken Santini-Neubaukomplexes abgerissen wurden. Aus zeitgenössischen Quellen wissen wir, dass in den ursprünglichen Kirchen von Křtiny die aus Rom und anderen heiligen Orten mitgebrachten Reliquien von Heiligen aufbewahrt und verehrt wurden. Sind die bemalten Schädel also ein Import? Ich neige zu der Interpretation, dass es sich um christliche Heilige (Gottgeweihte Persönlichkeiten) handelt. Die Schädel könnten aus den römischen Katakomben stammen und von dort als Überreste von Märtyrern nach Křtiny gelingen, wo sie verehrt wurden, bis ihre Kultstätten (Kirchen) aufgehoben wurden. Dann wurden sie im Ossarium aufbewahrt. Heute gibt es Möglichkeiten, diese Hypothese zu bestätigen, und zwar durch die 14C-Methode, die ihr Alter bestimmen würde. Außerdem gibt es heute Methoden, um die Ernährung der Menschen zu bestimmen, die in Mitteleuropa und im Mittelmeerraum unterschiedlich ist, so dass auch die Herkunft dieser Menschen heute nachvollzogen werden könnte. Weitere Fortschritte in der Frage der bemalten Schädel aus dem Untergrund von Křtiny sind für die Zukunft zu erwarten.
Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny.
History, underground, exploration and discoveries.
To Our Lady seated among the cherubs on the altar of the Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny.
The miraculous protector of Moravia and especially of the Moravian Karst and its underground people.
This ancient Gothic statue from the 13th or 14th century at its pilgrimage site in Křtiny.
A look into the history of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny and its pilgrimage site.
Křtiny is the most important Marian pilgrimage site in Moravia. The first historical mention dates back to 1237, when it was owned by the Premonstratensian monastery in Zábrdovice. Under the care of the Premonstratensians, the town, hidden in the deep forests of the Drahan Highlands, underwent an unprecedented spiritual and architectural development between the 13th and 18th centuries, which was reflected in the fact that two churches stood there as early as in the Middle Ages – the so-called Bohemian Church from the 13th century and a larger Gothic church called the German Church, probably from the 15th century. The centre of the local worship was the stone Gothic statue of Our Lady of Křtiny from the 13th or 14th century, which was placed for hundreds of years on the altar of the Bohemian Church, also known as the Church of the Miraculous Image, because the statue of the Madonna was considered miraculous by its devotees among the Premonstratensians and pilgrims. Allegedly, a great number of miracles took place before it through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, such as the revival of the dead, the healing of the terminally ill and barren women, etc. A strong Marian cult gradually emerged in Křtiny, whose fame crossed the borders of Moravia in the 17th century and spread to neighbouring countries. In the 18th century, the Premonstratensians decided to resolve the absolute discrepancy between the spiritual significance of the town and the real potential of the two old churches in the area in a radical way. They called one of the leading Czech architects Giovanni Santini-Aichel to their estate, who designed a truly magnificent Baroque church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, nowadays considered the most important Baroque church building in the Czech Republic. In the first half of the 18th century, Křtiny turned into one big building site. Both medieval churches were demolished and the foundations of magnificent Baroque new buildings were laid in their place. First, the construction of a spacious priest’s residence began, followed in 1718 by the tower-like Chapel of St. Anne, which was completed in 1733. The construction of the central Church of the Virgin Mary began in 1728 and was completed in 1750 and consecrated by Abbot Kryštof Jiří Matuška. On this occasion, the venerated miraculous statue of Our Lady of Křtiny was placed on the main altar of the church, which is still there to this day. Shortly thereafter, however, the monastery in Zábrdovice was abolished by Emperor Joseph II in 1784 as part of his insensitive reforms, and the pilgrimage life in Křtiny therefore ceased. For this reason, the church was never completed in its projected form. The Chapel of St. Joseph placed in a mirror position with cloisters, which Santini’s project envisaged on the south-west side of the Church of the Virgin Mary, was never built. Now, in the 21st century, the church in Křtiny is once again a sought-after architectural and spiritual monument of the ancestors; unfortunately, the importance of this pilgrimage site does not seem to reach the importance it enjoyed in the Baroque era.
Introduction to the topic.
When the unenlightened Emperor Joseph II made one of his worst decisions and abolished numerous monasteries, including the flourishing Premonstratensian monastery in Zábrdovice in 1784, its pilgrimage site in Křtiny in the Moravian Karst became silent as well. It was the great suffering of countless clergy of the Catholic Church, for which Joseph II, the absolute ruler of the Habsburg Empire, cannot be forgiven in Heaven or on Earth to this day. But let us return to the topic of this website, which is mainly the underground under the church in Křtiny and its history. Back then, at the time of the cleansing of the monastery in Zábrdovice, numerous fantastic legends about an unknown underground and the supposedly hidden Premonstratensian treasure in the abandoned pilgrimage site in Křtiny began to emerge. Over the centuries, these legends have been investigated by numerous seekers, dreamers, adventurers, local citizens and eventually by speleologists who came there from the Moravian Karst. The abandoned monumental building of the church stirred their imagination and fantasies, as it was a lasting memory of the time of the faded glory of this pilgrimage site of Our Lady of Křtiny in her Valley of Baptism, Vallis baptismi, as the valley of Křtiny was called in ancient times, when St. Cyril and St. Methodius and their disciples were said to have baptized “pagans” there in the 9th century during the times of Great Moravia. This pilgrimage site is shrouded in the aura of a great number of miraculous events, miracles that are said to have taken place at the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary. There have been many explorers who were fascinated by Křtiny, but there is no biographical information about most of them, because their “research” was mostly done secretly and anonymously. This situation lasted throughout the 20th century and there are some written documents about it. However, it was not until the 1990s, when a team of enthusiastic speleologists led by archaeology student Marek Šenkyřík came to the site, that a change in the perception of the legendary underground of the Křtiny church occurred. These speleologists of the Brno Speleo-History Club, the Basic Organization of the Czech Speleological Society 6-26, have radically contributed to solving all the ancient mysteries, not only of the underground, but also of the history of the church. Once and for all, they solved the entire speleological mystery of this amazing Santini’s building. This is how the now legendary Crypt under the tower of the Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary was discovered, with a hoard of mysteriously marked painted skulls from the Middle Ages with the symbol of the laurel wreath and the symbol in the form of the letter T on the forehead. The mystery of these painted skulls has not been clarified to this day and there are many hypotheses, for example, that they could be the heads of Czech lords executed in Old Town Square in Prague after the Battle of White Mountain. However, this explanation cannot be trusted at all. It is much more likely that these are holy relics from the medieval churches in Křtiny, which could have been brought there even from Rome and other holy places. However, this is also just an unproven working hypothesis of those of us interested in this mysterious subject, which sparks the imagination with its mystery. Apart from the ossuary under the tower, the long sought tomb of the builder of the church, the penultimate abbot of Zábrdovice, Kryštof Jiří Matuška, was also discovered in front of the altar of St. John and Paul in the Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary. Finally, the underground passages and the original Baroque sewage system were discovered under the cloisters, which is a less important but still quite interesting discovery. In 2022, the Křtiny priest Ján Lajčák, out of ignorance, made the authorship of these important discoveries unclear, but nevertheless it is a fact that Marek Šenkyřík, now known as Swami Gyaneshwarpuri, the author of this website, personally participated in all of them in a fundamental way – not only as the head of the investigation – but also as the most active of the speleologists. So let him lead you into the mysterious and enigmatic underground with the supposedly undiscovered treasure of the Premonstratensians, which may still be there, although it is very unlikely. We believe that the real treasure is not any worldly valuables of gold, silver and precious stones, but the painted skulls of the saints, whoever they were, that we discovered. The history of Křtiny has been written for a long time and nobody knows almost anything about it except for a few written sources that have miraculously survived to this day. The author has attempted to concentrate information on this topic of the history of the local pilgrimage site on this website and to introduce it to the eager public. This website is therefore entirely dedicated to the first Ave among the pilgrimage sites of ancient Moravia, Křtiny. It is especially dedicated to Abbot Kryštof Jiří Matuška, whose remains I held in my hands in 1991 before we reburied them and walled them up in his tomb. Listen in front of the statue of Our Lady in Křtiny to the Silence that envelops it and write to me what this building of God will tell you. Nowadays, I myself do not come to Křtiny anymore for the reasons mentioned below, but I remember the Baptism of my youth in Love when writing this website krtiny.info, and the dean Tomáš Prnka, my patron, donor and benefactor.
Discoveries in the underground of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny.
Under the supervision of the author of this website, three interesting speleological discoveries were made in the historical underground of the church in Křtiny, one of them of at least European importance. It is the discovery of the painted skulls from Křtiny in a previously unknown Baroque crypt from the 18th century under the tower of the Church of the Virgin Mary. This discovery is mentioned in more detail below. Furthermore, the previously unknown tomb of the builder of Santini’s shrine of Zábrdovice Abbot Kryštof Jiří Matuška (1703-1777) was discovered. And finally, the underground passages of the Baroque sewers were discovered under the cloisters. However, neither of these two discoveries are the topic of this text. This summary will therefore discuss in detail only the most important discovery: the painted skulls and the circumstances of their discovery, the amateur speleologists who discovered them, the discovery site, the structural and historical survey of the crypt and the attempt to interpret this unique discovery.
How the Crypt under the tower was discovered.
The immediate impulse for the discovery of the ossuary crypt with painted skulls was given by Marek Šenkyřík, who, in December 1990, found an anomaly in the main axis of the church, 3.8 m long and 3.3 m wide, a hypothetical unknown underground space under the tower of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny. That is why on 19 January 1991, together with Zdeněk Foltýn, he conducted a test drill hole of 18 mm into the church floor, which, after passing through the brick vault in a depth of 90 cm, led to an unknown cavity under the tower that was more than 2 metres deep! This confirmed the existence of an unknown underground cavity in the area under the tower!
Microgravity survey from 1979. Dowsing rod in Křtiny more accurate than geophysics (1990).
Subsequently, the speleologists discovered that there was an older microgravity survey of the church in Křtiny by the geophysicist Antonín Novotný from 1979. They managed to get these results and were surprised that the microgravity survey in the area under the tower, like their dowsing rod, also detected the anomaly. Antonín Novotný interpreted the anomaly as an unknown three-dimensional underground cavity of 3 x 8 x 10 m and he recommended it to be verified by practical survey already then (1979). He assumed only about a 2 metre thick wall between the known main crypt and the unknown area under the tower (which turned out to be inaccurate). The dowsing rods determined this distance more accurately at 6 meters. However, his report was lost within the literature with difficult accessibility, so at the time of the dowsing, the speleologists had no idea about it. From the above it is clear that both the dowsing and geophysics showed results in Křtiny, which was the consensus of both parties maintaining friendship despite the notion of a prestigious duel between dowsing speleologists and scientists! It was not yet clear, however, which way to penetrate the unknown space. The magnetic survey was inconclusive, although it seemed likely that if there was an entrance stone slab leading into the room hidden under the newer floor, the detector would have located it due to the metal pull-out parts. Therefore, due to the impossibility of opening the space from above, a project was developed to enter directly from underground, from the already known main crypt. There, the speleologists started digging from the southeastern face of the main crypt towards the anomaly detected by the microgravity survey, dowsing and the cavity verified by the drill hole.
The discovery of the ossuary with twelve painted skulls in the unknown crypt under the tower in Křtiny on 9 February 1991 and the structural and historical survey of the crypt.
The exploratory hole was made by the speleologists using only a chisel and mallet. It was therefore very difficult. The horizontal exploratory hole was 0.8 m high and 0.5 m wide and the explorers struggled against a solid foundation wall bound with mortar. The total length of the exploratory hole from the main crypt was eventually 5.9 m, leading to an unknown underground space. So, the Basic Organisation of the Czech Speleological Society 6-26 from the Brno Speleo-History Club, under the leadership of archaeology student Marek Šenkyřík (the author of this website, Swami Gyaneshwarpuri) discovered an unknown crypt with painted skulls, one of the most important speleological discoveries in the Czech Republic in the 20th century. The breach of the wall went on continuously for five days and nights without a break. They worked around the clock in shifts. One work shift after another. On 9 February 1991, after the last stone was rolled away, a free opening appeared leading to an unknown crypt – the ossuary under the tower of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Křtiny. It happened at exactly 9:25 pm. Around midnight, Marek Šenkyřík, with the other members of the speleological group watching, squeezed through the opening in the wall and found himself in an unknown crypt on a pile of human bones! As it was later discovered during the clearing of the ossuary, the layer of loosely mixed bones completely covering the bottom of the crypt was 1 to 2.2 m thick and sloped steeply towards the main entrance to the church. A massive 3 m high and 1.7 m wide walled up access corridor extended from this point to the south-east towards the terrace of the staircase. The explorer’s gaze was searching the unknown crypt when something unusual and unexpected caught the corner of his eye. That’s when he saw it! First painted skull! It sat in a privileged place among the other skulls, on top of the highest pyramid of bones, in the corner of the crypt, sure that no one would discover it. Indeed, one could imagine how our ancestors, two and a half centuries ago, half in jest and half with mystery, put it there and exposed it, knowing that no one would ever enter the crypt they had just walled up. It was possible to feel all of this in the crypt with a really clear intuitive intensity. The skull with laurels had been staring into the darkness of the underground space since the mid-18th century, until the speleologists came and illuminated the burial site with their torches. However, they bypassed the extensive baroque walling, intended to make the small open space with bones permanently inaccessible, and instead broke through the wall with their own exploratory hole. The authors of the Baroque walling certainly did not expect this. The vault under the tower was completely undiscoverable in its time. And so the secret hiding place under the church tower gave up its secrets, and the greatest mystery of Křtiny was revealed! The air in the crypt was quite clean, although it had not been ventilated for two and a half centuries. Immediately opposite the mouth of the exploratory hole, a spacious and massively walled up main access passage was found. By removing the walling under the brick ceiling vault, it was possible to trace this corridor up to a distance of 4.8 m, where it led to the also walled up cellars under the terrace of the staircase. The masons who had the task of doing extensive walling in the ossuary left the crypt through there around the middle of the 18th century. The speleologists were surprised by the discovery. However, there was no visible continuation anywhere for them to explore. Everything was thoroughly walled up. They immediately informed the parish office of the discovery. At the suggestion of the priest Father Tomáš Prnka, they agreed on a professional service consisting in transporting all the bones from the place where they were found under the tower to the neighbouring main crypt. As this was a unique discovery in the Czech Republic, further research of the ossuary was carried out with particular care and thoroughness. Osteological material that bore traces of pathological damage was sorted out. The criterion for determining the number of individuals whose remains were placed in the ossuary was the occipital bone (os occipitale) with a large opening or its larger parts. A large number of skulls were broken and incomplete. In the adjacent main crypt, bones and skulls were sorted and counted. In this way, it was determined that the remains of at least 974 people were secondarily deposited in the ossuary. The total volume of osteological material was approximately 20 m3. It is clear from the discovery site that this material was deposited in the Křtiny ossuary as individual bones, without organic tissue, and that it was therefore a secondary burial site. A total of twelve painted skulls were discovered when clearing the ossuary. Some of the painted skulls were near the top of the pile of bones, others were roughly in the middle of the layer of bones, and some were discovered at the floor of the crypt under a two-metre layer. This was a very interesting discovery. Afterwards, on 4 May 1991, the osteological material, especially all the painted skulls, was taken over by anthropologists RNDr. Ladislava Horáčková and MUDr. Lenka Benešová, who subsequently performed a professional anthropological and paleopathological analysis of the skeletal remains at the Department of Medical Anthropology of the Department of Anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University in Brno. It took several weeks to clear the ossuary. The lateral walled up parts of the crypt under the tower in the north-eastern and south-western direction were also speleologically surveyed. This led to the surprising discovery that the crypt, which contained the ossuary in a tiny niche, had 4 or 5 walled up access passages! The number of access corridors and the considerable oversize of the central one leading to the crypt under the tower is striking. It points out that this part of the tower’s underground and the terrace of the staircase was probably originally intended to be open to the public. Santini may have planned an ossuary there in the true sense of the word, similar to the one in Sedlec in Kutná Hora. Perhaps even in Křtiny the remains were to be exposed for pilgrims to see and worship. The crypt under the tower was 9.5 m long before it was walled up! Both side walls of the burial chamber were neatly walled up afterwards. Stones, bricks and, more rarely, fragments of roof tiles, cut marble, glazed tiles and the like were used in the walling behind these walls. In some places, this material was bound with very little mortar or even laid without a binder. All that remained of the originally large but walled-up crypt was a small 3.6 x 2.4 m cavity filled with human skulls and bones almost to the ceiling, about 1/3 the size of the original walled-up crypt. The crypt was in perfect condition, as if the Baroque masons had left it only recently. For an unknown reason, however, the already completely finished underground was extensively walled up and only the above mentioned small cavity filled with bones was left from the originally branched underground. It is estimated that the secondary walls are massive, spanning ten metres or more! The bones were probably deposited there between 1728 and 1750. This is suggested by some historical circumstances. Between 1728 and 1738, the church was built in the time of Abbot Hugo Bartlicius with the intention of having two towers in the façade up to the level of the lower windows. However, shortly after Abbot Kryštof Jiří Matuška took over the management of the monastery (1738), a conceptual change was made to the original project and a single tower was built instead of two towers for cost-saving reasons. The discovered crypt is located right in the centre of these modifications and is most probably the underground of one of the towers. Why the crypt was walled up is a mystery, and the equally mysterious hiding place of the twelve painted skulls is the subject of speculation! In 1750, when the church was completely finished in terms of construction and when the decoration of its interior had been in progress for six years, the ossuary below the tower was probably built and walled up. However, the ossuary could theoretically have been filled and walled up later, as late as 1770, when a large staircase with a platform was built in front of the entrance to the church. To explain the circumstances of the creation of the ossuary, it is crucial to understand the extensive walling that took place at the time when the crypt under the tower was structurally complete. It would seem that the walling up of the space was due to the changed structural conditions during the reconstruction of the front façade of the church due to the construction of one tower in the time of Abbot Matuška. While this explanation is straightforward, it cannot be entirely accepted. Although the walling was made over a long distance and mostly in full transverse profile, it was of poor quality. It is very likely that if the Premonstratensians had been motivated to wall the premises due to structural concerns, the implementation of the walling would have been much more thorough. The nature of the walling proves that the main reason for walling up the vast majority of the underground space was to close it off, but not for the structural protection of the church façade. The very act of establishing the ossuary with the painted skulls and its permanent inaccessibility is therefore most likely the reason for walling up the underground space. It is important to note that if the Premonstratensians decided to put the excavated bones in the underground of the church, they did not have to extensively wall up the crypt under the tower or the access areas under the terrace of the staircase. The purpose of walling up the space seems to have been to ensure the permanent inaccessibility of the small cavity filled with bones that was left there. After a staircase with a terrace was built in front of the entrance to the church in 1770, the underground was completely hidden. Accidental discovery of the ossuary was virtually impossible or extremely difficult. The manner in which the ossuary was walled up would hardly have been given much significance had it not been for the somewhat mysterious discovery of the painted skulls. There is no doubt that these painted skulls were of special significance to their decorators. It is extremely important for the evaluation of this discovery that the character of the pattern does not differ significantly in any of the skulls except for details. Therefore, the motive for painting them could not have been an effort to make them mutually unmistakable – as in the case of Austrian painted skulls – it was an effort to preserve the individuality of the remains. The meaning of the pattern is quite different and it is likely that it expresses something that was common to all twelve of the deceased. The nature of the pattern completely excludes the possibility that it is a random work without deeper meaning. Our ancestors certainly regarded these painted skulls with reverence. Who were the dead whose skulls were so remarkably marked? Under what circumstances and why did they receive such an extraordinary honour? If it is known that they must have been exceptional figures, why were their skulls so undignifiedly buried (hidden?) in the Křtiny ossuary? This is a subject for further interesting reflection. The great significance of this discovery, apart from its practical medical use and the fact that the secrets of the church in Křtiny have been revealed in a fundamental way, lies mainly in the unique discovery of the twelve painted skulls from Křtiny. The task of clearing the ossuary in the crypt under the tower ended in 1991 and the underground was soon abandoned by speleologists. Only isolated archaeological finds were made in the ossuary: mainly 11 fragments of shards from the 18th century and earlier. In addition, several wreaths of grass wrapped in fabric with embroidered glass beads 2 mm in diameter were discovered. Three hand-forged iron nails were found in the joint of the ossuary walls, one clay loaf-shaped object of unclear purpose was also found in the ossuary and one stalactite and two animal bones were identified among the bones. The painted skulls and other skulls and bones made their ceremonial return to Křtiny on 7 October 2005 after a 14-year absence, when they were being professionally examined. Six of the painted skulls were exhibited to the public in the main crypt and the remaining six are still inaccessible at the Department of Anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine. Masaryk University in Brno, with doc. MUDr. Lenka Vargová. On that occasion, the main crypt was rebuilt and niches were made for the bones. The entrance to the crypt under the tower was walled up with a brick wall. The site of the authentic discovery of the painted skulls under the tower cannot be seen today. The painted skulls have been on public display ever since. Unfortunately, lately it seems that the lighting in the crypt and the photography has a negative effect on the black pigment of the painted skulls and the laurels are slowly fading. That is why I urged the parish office in Křtiny in 2020 to do something about it before the drawings are lost for good, that is, to have the painted skulls professionally restored. Hopefully, there will be an artist who will use historical technique to accomplish this task. It is a mixture of charcoal and animal fat. This discovery is still not properly appreciated, although it is a very important archaeological find in the Czech Republic. The painted skulls from Křtiny remain a great challenge and mystery. No one knows why the Premonstratensians hid them in the underground of the church, in that completely inaccessible vault in the tower’s foundations, sparking our imagination.
Outline of the interpretation of painted skulls.
This discovery has its analogues, such as the painted skulls in and around Hallstatt, Austria. However, there is unsubstantiated speculation that the painted skulls are those of Bohemian leaders of the Bohemian Revolt executed in Prague’s Old Town Square on 21 June 1621. Someone came across a newspaper article saying that the skulls of the executed men had mysteriously vanished. From there, it was only a small step to take this remarkable clue and connect it to the painted skulls from Křtiny. Since then, the fabricated rumour has stubbornly held on and has had its defenders among those interested in anomalistics. However, this hypothesis cannot be trusted. Continuity with the Austrian epicentre of the custom of painting the skulls of the dead in the case of the discovery in Křtiny is neither documented nor assumed. In the case of Křtiny, there is an absolutely original aesthetic expression that has no analogue in the Czech Republic. This is perhaps an unusual way of marking the remains resting in the tombs of the original two medieval churches in Křtiny at a time when these churches were being demolished due to the construction of the vast Baroque Santini complex of new buildings. However, it is not at all clear why the painted skulls ended up with other skeletal remains from the abolished cemetery in the underground ossuary in the crypt under the tower of the Church of the Virgin Mary. According to historical sources, the relics of saints brought from Rome and other holy places were kept and venerated in Křtiny. Jakub Tiehan, parish priest of Křtiny, mentions a total of 17 relics in 1738, such as a piece of wood from the cross of Jesus Christ, a hair of the Virgin Mary, a part of the cloak and staff of St. Joseph, bones from the bodies of St. Anne, St. John the Baptist and St. Francis de Paul. Are painted skulls a holy import then? The author of this website leans towards the interpretation that these are Christian saints (in the looser sense of the word, i.e. personalities consecrated to God). This is suggested by the drawn laurel wreath, used as a symbol to mark consecrated places. These are the so-called consecration crosses very widespread on the walls of Catholic churches from the Romanesque, through the Gothic to the Baroque period. In the 17th to 18th centuries, laurel wreaths (or laurel-like plants), so well known from the ossuary in Křtiny, became the consecratory sign of the place of the direct touch of the consecrating bishop during the consecration of these buildings. The patterns on the skulls from Křtiny probably has the same spiritual consecration meaning. The painted skulls from Křtiny were therefore probably consecrated. Some of the most typical consecration crosses in the shape of a laurel wreath from the Baroque period were found in the Church of St. Francis Seraph in Prague. Some of the oldest consecration crosses in the Czech Republic can be seen in the Romanesque Rotunda of St. Catherine in Znojmo and in the Gothic Chapel of the Mother of God at Veveří Castle, as well as in other places. In many places, however, the consecration crosses have been painted over and are therefore relatively rare in churches at present. The key to understanding the entire pattern on the painted skulls, however, lies in an unnoticed symbol in the form of a cross of the letter T on the forehead (tau?), which no one has yet been able to decipher correctly. The appropriate experts on the typology of the symbol of the cross will have the last word here. Yet it is in understanding this tau that the key to solving the whole mystery of the painted skulls from Křtiny lies. This tau may be a reference to the biblical text in Ezekiel 9:4, which reads: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel had a vision of an angel who commanded him to mark all of the righteous with the letter “tau”, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, while the rest would be killed. Perhaps that is why the monks from Křtiny decided to mark the skulls found underground in the original old churches. Why the remains of their ancestors, or the remains of the saints, were so undignifiedly dumped (hidden?) in the ossuary under the tower is not at all clear. According to this clue, the drawing on the painted skulls from Křtiny dates from the 17th to 18th century. They are holy relics. Therefore, they have a consecration sign: a laurel wreath and a cross in the form of the letter tau. It is a mystical find. These remains should be protected in every way possible. They represent the memory of our miraculous Křtiny between from the 17th and 18th centuries, i.e. from the time of the greatest boom of pilgrimages to Our Lady of Křtiny. It is a rare relic. I implore the priests of Křtiny to take care of it and restore it. One thing is certain: the painted skulls are the second most important attraction of Křtiny nowadays, after the Gothic statue of Our Lady of Křtiny. The archaeologist Josef Unger pointed out the idea that the skulls may have come from the Roman catacombs, from where, as the remains of martyrs, they made their way to Křtiny, where they were venerated until their place of worship (the churches) was removed. They were then stored in the ossuary in the underground of the tower. There are now possibilities to confirm this hypothesis. The 14C method would determine their age and there are methods to determine the diet of the people, which is different for the Mediterranean. Their Mediterranean origins could be traced nowadays.
|
|
|
SWAMI GYANESHWARPURI POUSTEVNÍK
