It might be surprising to learn that Jihlava also had a significant population of Protestants. They did not belong to the Hussite Church, though. They were Lutherans who identified with the theology of Martin Luther, a prominent figure in the 16th century reformation. Just like other Moravian towns, Jihlava remained practically untouched by the Hussite Church, mainly due to the fact that there were greater numbers of German inhabitants and also because of domestic politics in Moravia. Therefore, Jihlava became one of the centres of the Catholic Church. By contrast, Czech gentry from nearby areas often joined the Hussite Church. However, this led to isolation from neighbouring countries and endangered the survival of the culture. Jihlava therefore established contact with the German world, and Catholic sermons were preached in churches. However, this changed with the arrival of the Lutheran preacher Paul Speratus in 1522. He came to Jihlava from Vienna, from where he had been expelled, and became one of the first Lutheran preachers in the Czech lands.
The Habsburgs on the Czech throne
tried to prevent the propagation of Protestantism. Due to the
political scene, Moravia enjoyed great religious freedom in
the 16th century. In 1562, the last Jihlava citizen converted
to the Lutheran Church. In view of the situation, Emperor
Ferdinand I allowed support of Lutheran clerics in the town, and
the City Council had two houses near the parish church built for
them. The heyday of the Lutheran Church was during the reign of
Emperor Maximilian II, who came to the throne in 1564. Despite
that, the Lutherans did not take all the positions in the city.
The stormy relationship between the Lutherans and the Catholics
settled with the agreement of 11th February 1574. Until the
Battle of White Mountain, the co-existence of the two churches in
the town had been tense. For example, the city wanted to acquire
the possessions of local Dominicans, and it also opposed other
Catholic monastic orders.
After the Battle of White Mountain,
a period of re-Catholicisation in the Czech lands followed. This
made itself felt by a prohibition on non-Catholic christenings and
weddings. On the 30th of October 1623, the Protestant Latin
Grammar School had to be dissolved. A permanent prohibition on
Protestantism was brought in by the Renewed Land Ordinance
promulgated by the Emperor for Moravia in 1628. During the Thirty
Years’ War, some non-Catholic townsfolk might have hoped that
their church would be re-instituted. However, their illusions were
shattered with the oppression by Swedish conquerors from
1645–1647. In the middle of the 17th century, the Lutheran
church was adhered to only secretly in a few families.
This did not change until the
Enlightenment. At first, Emperor Joseph II issued the Patent of
Toleration in 1781, which allowed the existence of the Lutheranism
and Calvinism. At that time, however, Protestants were only
allowed to build private churches, away from the town centre and
without towers. This changed with the Emperor’s patent of 1861,
when the architecture of Protestant churches was granted equal
rights as that of Catholic churches.
The Lutheran community
existed in Jihlava officially from 1861. They soon started
collecting money for the construction of their house of prayer.
Just like in other places in Bohemia and Moravia, the community in
Jihlava also obtained substantial contributions from Germany, from
the Gustav-Adolph-Verein association. A building permit was
obtained by the Jihlava congregation in 1875, and the construction
cost 26 thousand guldens at the time. In the same year,
designs were drawn up by the architect Alois Netsch. He conceived
the church in the style of romantic historicism, typical of the
Prussian environment, combining Romanesque, Renaissance and Gothic
elements. The Neo-Gothic style is featured primarily in the nave.
The foundation stone was laid by Jihlava’s Protestants on the
5th of August 1875, and the church was consecrated on the
18th of October 1878.
It was named after Saint Peter the Apostle and the Lutheran preacher Paul Speratus. It was therefore known as “Speratuskirche”. It underwent renovation in 1894, and received gas lighting in 1903. It took the form it has today in 1913, when the tower was raised by the architect Eduard Neubauer. According to his design, the church got a new wooden staircase. The church originally had two bells. One of them was confiscated by the army in 1916, the other one is still in operation to this day. It dates back to 1880 and features a portrait of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, who donated metal from cannons captured in the Franco-Prussian War to cast the bell.
Further renovations followed in
1928. At the end of the 1950s, the façade and interior were
modified. In 1975, dehumidification of the walls was carried out.
The church received a new façade in 1995, and a new tower clock
four years later. From 2007–2011, the dehumidification process
was performed again, a granite floor was laid, and the interior
remodelled. In July 2024, renovation of the trussing and
replacement of the roofing material began.
The church
belonged to the German Lutheran Church in Jihlava until the end of
World War II. After 1920, however, it was used by both German
and Czech Protestants. It came under the administration of the
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, existing in Jihlava from
1929, during the deportation of the German population from
1945–1946. Today, a regular Sunday service is held there,
celebrated by the priest Jan Keřkovský. In addition to this
church, the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in Jihlava also
owns the nearby rectory on Vrchlického Street and the church in
Střížov near Brtnice. In 2006, the church was listed as a
cultural monument.
FV
