Senetářov: Mother-of-Pearl Buttons, a Church Shaped Like a Ship and the Wind Below Kojál

Senetářov (population 585) sits on the slopes of the Drahany Highlands, on the road from Blansko to Vyškov, just a short way from Jedovnice. It’s my home village, so it’s close to my heart. Here you’ll find the Museum of Traditional Housing and Mother-of-Pearl Crafts, set in an original farmstead with a thatched roof, the modern ship-shaped Church of St Joseph, built between 1969 and 1971, and the hill of Kojál above the village, topped by the tallest structure in Moravia. The museum is open daily from 9.30 to 15.30 in July and August (entry 40 Kč, about €1.60 — a rough conversion only, as exchange rates fluctuate); at other times it is open to groups by arrangement. For a place to stay, there’s Penzion Kůlna.

QUICK LINKS 👀 What to see · 🥾 Day trips · 🛏️ Where to stay · ❓ FAQ

The upland above the Moravian Karst was never good farming country, so people here had to find other ways of earning a living. In Senetářov, that mainly meant making mother-of-pearl buttons and bricks. And in 1944, most of the villagers had to leave their homes for a time, as the village was earmarked to become a German firing range.

What to see

Museum of Traditional Housing and Mother-of-Pearl Crafts

The museum is housed in a typical farmstead with a hipped, thatched roof and living rooms furnished as they would have been in the past. In the former cowshed, an exhibition shows step by step how mother-of-pearl buttons were made. For a long time, these supported much of the village, until cheaper plastic pushed them out of the market. There is also an exhibition on brickmaking, and outside you can look round period farm machinery.

Church of St Joseph

This is one of the few churches built in Czechoslovakia under communism. In 1944, the villagers vowed to build it if they returned safely from their forced evacuation. They managed to keep that promise between 1969 and 1971. It was designed by the painter Ludvík Kolek, modelled on Le Corbusier’s chapel at Ronchamp; the roof evokes a ship, and the interior is decorated with a Way of the Cross by Mikuláš Medek. You can read the full story in the article Church of St Joseph in Senetářov.

Kojál and local place names

Above the village rises the hill of Kojál (about 600 m), crowned by a 340-metre television transmitter mast, the tallest structure in Moravia. According to legend, the ghost of Kojálovský, who moved boundary stones, is condemned to run across this hill as punishment. I write about this and dozens of other local names for fields, meadows and woods in the article Place names and legends of Senetářov.

Day trips

• To the north lie the Bílá voda nature reserve and the Sloup-Šošůvka Caves (Sloupsko-šošůvské jeskyně). People from Senetářov used to walk here on pilgrimage to Sloup.
• To the south, you can reach the Rakovec Valley nature park (Rakovecké údolí) on foot or by bike; see The Moravian Karst without the crowds.
• Jedovnice, with its Olšovec pond, is only a few kilometres away; see Jedovnice.

Events: in May the village holds a cauldron goulash cooking competition with a full programme, and in June the volunteer firefighters stage fire-sport contests, including a popular night-time competition for children.

Where to stay

• Penzion Kůlna (Senetářov 114), a guesthouse that also caters for group events. Website: penzionkulna.cz.
• There is more accommodation in nearby Jedovnice, including the Olšovec campsite; see Jedovnice.

Accommodation options change, so do check before you travel.

FAQ

When is the museum in Senetářov open? In 2026, daily from 9.30 to 15.30, from 27 June to the end of August. Outside the season, it is open to groups only, by arrangement on tel. 739 407 244.

What’s special about the church in Senetářov? It was built between 1969 and 1971, at a time when hardly any churches were being built, and the faithful gave more than 30,000 hours of their labour free of charge. The roof is shaped like a ship.

Where is Senetářov? On the road from Blansko to Vyškov, about 11 km east of Blansko, a short way from Jedovnice.

What is Kojál? A hill above Senetářov with a 340-metre television transmitter mast, the tallest structure in Moravia.

Information checked as of 11 October 2026. Sources: brochure of the Moravian Karst Rural Development Association (Spolek pro rozvoj venkova Moravský kras), Senetářov village profile; Senetářov municipality: Museum; Museum of Traditional Housing and Mother-of-Pearl Crafts; Kojál transmitter (Wikipedia); Zukal, A.: History of Senetářov; Penzion Kůlna.

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