The time of glory and later decline
The church at Zelená hora has become one of the most visited pilgrimage places and a place where a number of many splendid Baroque feasts has taken place. That did not last long though. The crucial turning point in the life of the monastery as well as of the pilgrimage church occurred due to the fire on 16 July 1784; the fire destroyed the roof of the church and of the ambulatory. This was followed by a totally illogical request of then abbot Otto Steinbach of Kranichstein to close the church; he sent the request to the ruler. King Joseph II accepted the request in October of the same year although he intended to establish there an asylum for guilty priests convicted by religious authorities. Money was collected immediately after the fire, which was to allow to repair the damage caused to the church and the ambulatory. The only result of the collection was that the roof was covered temporarily. The rest of the unused money was returned back to the donators. When the authorities decided to close the church as well as the monastery, a list of all church inventory was made and valuables were taken away immediately. The church had a permit to say masses to celebrate St. John of Nepomuk in 1785. Nevertheless, the equipment was to be removed, which really happened later, though it was not removed completely. The organ was taken to the Church of St. Wenceslas (kostel sv. Václava) in Radešínská Svratka, the pulpit was moved to the Church of Virgin Mary (kostel P. Marie) in Obytčov and benches were given to the Church of St. Martin (kostel sv. Martina) in Jámy.
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