Krypty pod klatovskym jezuitskym kostelem zasvecenym Neposkvrnenemu poceti Panny Marie a sv.Ignacovi, dnes zname jako klatovske katakomby, byly budovany jako soucast stavby kostela v letech 1656 – 1676. Podle planu stavitelu se staly pohrebistem prislusniku jezuitskeho radu a jeho dobrodincu z rad mistni slechty, vojska, mestanu. V letech 1676 – 1783 do nich bylo ulozeno k vecnemu spanku vice nez 200 zemrelych. V roce 1784 panovnik Josef II zakazal pohrbivani v kryptach, a tak poslednim zde pohrbenym se stal v roce 1783 Antonin Weichs. Zrejme nejznamejsim z pohrbenych je Pater Adalbert Chanovsky z Dlouhe Vsi, misionar pusobici v jihozapadnich Cechach v 1.polovine 17. stoleti.
Tela polozena na hoblinach v dubovych rakvich byla oblozena chmelem. Kazda rakev byla oznacena olovenou identifikacni destickou. Pusobenim vzduchu dovedeneho do krypt dumyslnym systemem vetracich kanalu doslo k jejich postupnemu vysuseni – k mumifikaci – tak, ze dnes vazi 8 – 10 kg. Vetraci system, jenz ustil az na strese kostela, zajistoval v katakombach relativne stalou teplotu a vlhkost vzduchu. Po dlouha leta byla tela prakticky nedotcena.
Pri oprave strechy jezuitskeho kostela ve 30. letech 20. stoleti zasypali delnici stavebnim odpadem vetraci sachty a kanaly, ktere stoupaly zdivem piliru az pod stresni rimsu. Tim se zcela zmenilo prostredi ve sklepeni a prevazna cast mumii se rozpadla. Celkem 140 znicenych mumii bylo v roce 1937 pohrbeno do hromadneho hrobu na hrbitove sv. Jakuba v Klatovech. Misto ulozeni ostatku pripomina pametni kamen s textem.
Dnes mohou navstevnici v klatovskych katakombach zhlednout 30 mumifikovanych tel, 7 dalsich je ulozeno ve verejnosti nepristupne casti krypt. Vsechna tela jsou predmetem pece konzervatoru, i klimaticke podminky krypt se stara klimatolog.
Katakomby, jez se behem casu staly vyznamnou klatovskou pamatkou, atmosferou spojujici vecnost s casnosti, pripominaji nejen historii mesta a jezuitskeho radu. Lze v nich pohlednout do tvari tech, jejichz zivoty a ciny se podilely na vytvoreni dodnes viditelne tvare Klatov – k ni patri kostel, kolej, seminar, skola – gymnazium. Vsechny tyto budovy vystaveli jezuite a vyrazne tak zmenili architekturu velke casti jihozapadniho mesta.
Ackoliv dnes klatovske katakomby lze navstivit jako „samostatny objekt“, byly vzdy soucasti kostela. Puvodni vstup do katakomb byl z chramove lodi, dalsi pak z byvale latinske skoly (dnes komplex divadla).
The crypt of the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception and St. Ignatius, nowadays known as the Klatovy Catacombs, was built between 1656 and 1676. As intended by the master builders, the crypt was the last resting place of members of the Jesuit Order and their benefactors from amongst the local nobility, army and burghers. Between 1676 and 1783 over 200 bodies were laid to rest here. In 1784 Emperor Joseph II banned interment in crypts, so the last to be buried here was Antonín Weichs. Perhaps the best-known person resting here is Father Albert Chanovský of Dlouhá Ves, a missionary operating in south-west Bohemia in the first half of the 17th century.
The bodies were laid on a bed of hops in oak coffins. Each coffin was labelled with a lead identification plate. The bodies were gradually mummified by air fed into the crypts through an ingenious system of ventilation ducts, so that they now weigh only 8-10 kg. The ventilation system, which led out onto the roof of the church, ensured a relatively stable temperature and level of air humidity. The bodies remained untouched for many decades.
During the reconstruction of the church roof in the 1930s, the ventilation ducts leading up through the brickwork of the pillars to the eaves of the roof were obstructed by building waste. This resulted in the complete alteration of the atmosphere in the crypt and the majority of the mummies decayed. Consequently, in 1937, 140 mummies were buried in a mass grave in St. James´ graveyard in Klatovy. The burial site is marked by an inscribed commemorative stone.
Currently 30 mummified bodies can be seen in the catacombs. A further 7 bodies are kept apart, inaccessible to the public. All the bodies are maintained by conservationists and a climatologist is in charge of climatic conditions.
The catacombs, with their atmosphere connecting eternity with mortal time, have become an outstanding Klatovy landmark, reminding us of the history of the town and the Jesuit Order. Moreover, you can also look into the faces of those whose lives and deeds helped to create the face of Klatovy, still visible today; the church, the college, the seminary, the grammar school - all these buildings were built by the Jesuits, who substantially changed the architectural face of the south-western part of the town.
Although the catacombs can be visited as a separate monument today, they have always been part of the church. The original entrances to the catacombs were from the nave and from the former Latin school (today the town theatre).
The Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception and St. Ignatius was built to the plans of Carlo Lurago and Dominico Orsini, who also supervised its construction for some time. The adaptation of the church front is attributed to Kilian Ignac Dietzenhofer. The location and the layout of the church was decided by the rector of the Jesuit College, pater Theodor Moretus. The church faces onto the square with the altar, unusually, in the west.
In the interior of the church one can see a splendid example of Baroque illusionism in the decoration around the altar and the dome, painted by Jan Hiebel (completed in 1716). The altar paintings are by Ignac Raab, František Xaver Palek, Jan Jirí Heinsch, and Jofann Peter Molitor.
Although the church was consecrated on St. Ignatius' Day in 1675 and liturgical services began to be celebrated, construction continued for many years after and, what's more, was delayed by fires which damaged the church on more than one occasion.
The church continues to be used for its spiritual purpose and, now and then, becomes a concert hall where, in its excellent acoustic, you can listen to wonderful compositions primarily by Baroque masters.
