Czech Republic Guide
North Moravia
Sarkandrova kaple
The mini-dome of the neo-Baroque Sarkandrova kaple replaced the old prison on Mahlerova at the beginning of the twentieth century. The chapel takes its name from a Catholic priest of Silesian origin, Jan Sarkander (1576–1620), who was incarcerated in the aforementioned prison and died after being tortured by local Protestants. In 1995 Pope John Paul II visited Olomouc and officially canonized Sarkander, whose relics now rest in the gilded casket opposite the pulpit in the local cathedral. His canonization angered the local non-Catholic community, who claimed that Sarkander was a willing instrument of the Counter-Reformation, taking over the parish of Holešov after the local Protestants had been kicked out by the Jesuits.