The church here is the work of the architect Jan Santini, who developed his own style mostly based on baroque but with gothic influences. The church is on a hill which can be climbed by the recently renovated stairs. The church is surrounded by an exterior wall which forms an internal cloister containing a grave yard. There are proposals to remove the headstones and return the cloister to its original state. The Church sits proudly in the middle of the ensemble. I found that walking around was a little disorientating as the courtyard is pretty much symmetrical so when I got to a gate it wasn't the one I thought it was.

Every aspect of the ensemble is planned to be significant to the story of Jan of Nepomuk who was martyred in Prague for not revelling royal secrets. The five pointed star and tongues occur consistently in the design and decoration of the church, this is why ICOMS viewed it as being a form of Gesamtkunstwerk as its architecture is linked to symbolism and other art forms of the baroque period.

Inside the church they have a CD to play which gives you a good idea of the significance of the design. The "tour" is available in about 5 or 6 different European languages. The interior is pretty impressive but was being restored when I visited. At the bottom of the hill is a monastery also designed by Santini and its chapel contains an impressive baroque interior which almost verges on Rococo style.

The site was quite impressive for its uniformity and architecturally was very interesting. I don't think it is a "must see" though, but it is close to two other sites in South Moravia so if you are in the area it is worth a visit.

The church is situated on the outskirts of the town of Zdar nad Sazvou, it is not the nicest of towns but has direct train links to Prague (two and half hours) and Brno (one and a half hour), from the station it is about 3km to the site there are local busses that run there.