Video projections of historic events in St. Jacob’s Church in Brno
The Church of St. Jacob in Brno, one of the country’s most valuable late Gothic buildings, recently reopened to the public after 3 years of extensive repairs. The newly renovated house of prayer now houses a multimedia exhibition that showcases its impressive interior.
The reconstruction, which cost CZ 164 million, has dramatically improved the church’s appearance. Workers repaired the roof and trusses, as well as a number of damaged stone elements on the façade and installed new windows. The biggest change is that visitors are now be able to gain access to a viewpoint halfway up the church tower, at a height of 42 metres, where they can enjoy a panoramic view of the city. On July 25, the feast of St Jacob, the church opened a multimedia exhibition with holographic elements, offering visitors a tour of the church interior and exterior.
With the use of spotlights, loudspeakers and two holographic boards, the 20-minute video projection shows visitors significant events in the history of the church : the Great Fire which ravaged the church in 1515, the siege of Brno by the Swedes in 1645 or images from the Second World War.
The entire roof of St. Jacob’s Church is bathed in red light from the spotlights and the two panels hanging from the ceiling show projections of flames so that visitors feel as if they are standing right in the middle of a fire. Veronika Šmírová, one of the authors of the video projection, says the creative team aimed to draw the viewer into the action as much as possible.
"At the beginning, the church itself is depicted and gradually it is engulfed in flames. And then you see the bell, melting in the flames.”
The VISUALOVE team placed 430 lights and 16 loudspeakers in the trusses, under the beams, under the floorboards and wherever the structure allowed. Jan Machat, another member of the team explains.
"There's video technology hidden under the slats and above the arches - but people won't see it. They just see the images of historic events that happened here and they can hear the church choir. We wanted to have church music in the projection as well, to reflect the spirituality of the place."
Visitors can see the video projection every day from 10am to 10pm outside of church services.
Tickets cost 190 crowns. The parish administration will use the proceeds to repay the loan they took out to help co-finance the reconstruction of the church.
Parish priest Jan Pacner believes that the multimedia exhibition will make the church, which houses the second largest ossuary in Europe, an even greater tourist attraction.
"Visuals, light and sound enhances the beauty of the space, it shows how skilled people were hundreds of years ago and what they could construct. I believe this can inspire people to engage fully in whatever it is that they do.”
The VISUALOVE team wants to add more topics to the exhibit over time - for example, during Advent, the animations could tell a Christmas story.
