The largest Baroque church in Moravia and Bohemia contains at least several Polish monuments, including paintings by Jan Matejko and Wlastimil Hofman, painted especially for the basilica in Velehrad.

Velehrad basilica - the temple of the Solunski brothers

Velehrad, a town in the south-eastern part of the Czech Republic, is famous among Catholics, including Poles, primarily for its monastery basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Cyril and Methodius. We have already mentioned it in connection with scenes from the life of St Jadwiga of Silesia .

It is important to know that from time immemorial the Velehrad temple has been associated with the Solunsky brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius, considered the first apostles of the Slavs. Tradition has it that in the Middle Ages Velehrad was the centre of the Great Moravian state and the episcopal capital of St Methodius. No historical sources or archaeological excavations confirm this information. The fact remains, however, that this place continues to attract crowds of pilgrims, whose prayers to the Solunski brothers ask for Christian unity in Europe through their intercession.

Polish paintings in the Basilica of Velehrad

In the sanctuary, in one of the fourteen chapels, which is situated to the left of the presbytery and just in front of the imposing Baroque stalls from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, there is a feretron (portable painting) measuring 143.6 x 92.8 cm. Its title on the upper and lower frame reads: C(yryl)M(etody) SŁOWIANOM. The author of the work is Jan Matejko (1838-1893), who personally donated the painting on the 1000th anniversary of the death of St Methodius, celebrated in 1885.

Meanwhile, in the chapel of the Mother of Christian Unity, above the marble baptismal font carved by Giovanni Ciani, hangs a painting depicting Saints Cyril and Methodius painted by Wlastimil Hofman (1881-1970). The work was donated to the basilica in 1949 by General and then Minister of National Defence of Czechoslovakia Ludvík Svoboda, who later became President of the country.

Hofman, like Matejko, was the son of a Czech and a Pole. Although he was born in Karlin (today's district of Prague), he spent most of his life in Poland, beginning with the family's move to Krakow in 1889 and ending with his death in Szklarska Poręba in 1970.

Jan Matejko and the painting of the Holy Apostles

There is a story connected with Jan Matejko's painting. Well, in 1880, Pope Leo XIII restored to the universal Church the cult of the Solunski brothers, which had first appeared in the Slavic countries some time beforehand. Five years later, in 1885, the same Pope announced the solemn celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the death of the younger of the brothers, St Methodius.
An organising committee - known as the St Methodius Committee - was then formed in Krakow under the leadership of the then Bishop of Krakow, Albin Dunajewski. As might be expected, one of the first members of the committee was Jan Matejko. The artist declared that he would commemorate this important anniversary for the Slavs and the Church by painting "a picture of the Holy Apostles" and "give to the Moravians as a gift from our country".

The painter's intention was to create a painting that would be noticed by the numerous pilgrims visiting the Velehrad temple. Hence the idea of a feretron, so that during the processions accompanying religious festivities, it could be seen by crowds of the faithful.

What is more, Matejko asked Pope Leo XIII in a letter to consecrate the image of the Slavic Apostles before it was handed over to Velehrad and to celebrate a mass for the intention of "our unfortunate nation, which needs God's name the most". The painting was to be taken to the Vatican by a delegation consisting of eminent Poles themselves, including Matejko. However, in the absence of volunteers, the mission was intended to be undertaken by the artist's secretary, Marian Gorzkowski, but ultimately the task was carried out by Zygmunt Count Cieszkowski. The painter's ambition to accompany the handing over of the feretron with an appropriate setting came to nothing. The image of the saints, consecrated by the Pope, was brought to Velehrad by a modest delegation led by Matejko.

Saints Cyril and Methodius and Polish symbols by Jan Matejko

The feretron donated to the Moravians contained very clear symbols linking the work to Poland. In the background, behind the en face figures of Saints Cyril and Methodius, is the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa and the coats of arms of Poland (on the right, an eagle in an oval) and Ruthenia (on the left, an angel with two swords pointing downwards); below, in the centre, is the Lithuanian Pahonia. At the bottom of the feretron, Matejko placed a shattered statue of Svyatovid, symbolically followed by the Solunski brothers who introduced the Christian faith to the Slavs.

Anniversary of the death of St. Methodius and pilgrimage of Greater Poland to Velehrad

In the same year (1885) and on the same occasion (the 1000th anniversary of the death of St. Methodius), a delegation of pilgrims from Wielkopolska came to the basilica in Velehrad. As a tribute to the shrine, they presented a unique and special gift: a processional flag depicting the image of the Queen of the Polish Crown embroidered with gold and silver thread, with the supplication at the bottom: "Pray for us". On the reverse side was embroidered with silver thread a White Eagle in a golden crown surrounded by the inscription: "In commemoration of the thousandth anniversary of the death of Saint Methodius, the people of Wielkopolska laid down".

One must be aware of the political situation in the Prussian partition in the second half of the 19th century. When the Kulturkampf had not ended and the threat of Germanisation still existed, placing oneself once again under the protection of the Queen of the Polish Crown was a gesture of great courage, not to mention placing the white eagle with the crown on the flag as a symbol of the continuity of the Polish State.

Petr Hudec, author of a guide to the Velehrad basilica, entitled: Kamenná čítanka. Průvodce bazilikou Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a sv. Cyril a Metoděje na Velehradě (Velehrad 2016), provides even more intriguing information - especially to Poles visiting the site. For he writes that the flag was made using the material of the banner of the Polish troops participating in the Battle of Vienna (1683).

The pennant, donated by the people of Wielkopolska, is now displayed in the Basilica, in the Chapel of St Benedict.