Benedikt Rejt (often spelled Benedikt Ried; c. 1450 – between 1531 and 1536) was a leading
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohe ...
, today's
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...
. He built
Vladislav Hall
Vladislav Hall ( cs, Vladislavský sál) is a large hall within the Prague Castle complex in the Czech Republic, used for large public events of the Bohemian monarchy and the modern Czech state. Built between 1493–1502 by Benedikt Rejt dur ...
(1497–1500) in
Prague Castle
Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kin ...
,
St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora, (c. 1482) and other buildings in a late
Gothic and early
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
style.
Historical context
Bohemia became the cultural center of Central Europe when
Charles IV brought the Holy Roman Emperor's court to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a tempera ...
in the 14th century. The Royal Court Workshop under the guidance of
Peter Parler
Peter Parler (german: Peter von Gemünd, cs, Petr Parléř, la, Petrus de Gemunden in Suevia; 1333 – 13 July 1399) was a German-Bohemian architect and sculptor from the Parler family of master builders. Along with his father, Heinrich Parler ...
was one of the highlights of
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. The
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Ca ...
then stopped all plans for cultural development in the region for many decades. When Bohemia was again open to Europe after 1480, during the reign of
Vladislaus II, good architects were in great demand. The king as well as Bohemian noblemen (the
House of Rosenberg being among the richest) searched the surrounding workshops, especially in
Danubian
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
countries, for a master builder to realize their projects.
[Václav Mencl: Architektura, in: Pozdně gotické uměnív Čechách, Odeon Prague 1978 ] The king had a great challenge in the court of
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechts ...
, where
Albert III, Duke of Saxony
Albert III (german: Albrecht) (27 January 144312 September 1500) was a Duke of Saxony. He was nicknamed Albert the Bold or Albert the Courageous and founded the ''Albertine line'' of the House of Wettin.
Biography
Albert was born in Grimma as t ...
started building
Albrechtsburg in 1471.
Life
There is little information about Rejt from historical sources. The dates of birth and death are unclear as well as the place of origin or early life activity (Mencl guesses the
Inn River, probably
Burghausen).
All the knowledge of his life comes from a few documents, especially those of a judicial character.
[Pavel Kalina: Benedikt Ried a počátky zaalpské renesance, Academia Prague 2009, ] From these sources it is obvious that Rejt was a renowned architect and ''baumeister'' ( la, magister operis, "master builder") whose opinion was highly valued at court, where he was called to review work of other contemporary architects. As early as 1489 (when he was asked to review the work of
Matěj Rejsek
Matěj Rejsek or Matthias Rejsek (around 1445, Prostějov – 1 July 1506, Kutná Hora) was a Czechs, Czech stonemason, sculptor, builder and Czech Gothic architecture, architect of the Gothic architecture, Late Gothic style.
Life
Matěj Rejsek ...
),
he was considered an authority in the field of architecture. This fact supports the surmise that he had created some of the masterpieces built before that year with unclear authorship. In addition, Prague,
Most
Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria
* Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic
** Most District, a district surrounding the city
** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city
** ...
, Kutná Hora, and
Annaberg (the latter two were silver-mining centres at that time) were among the richest cities of Central Europe, and it is likely that only the best architects were invited to work there. After 1500 he was often referred to as ''Master Benedikt'' and a Prague architect and stonemason hired by the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
.
There is also a theory that Rejt can be identified with
Benedykt Sandomierski, who rebuilt
Piotrków Trybunalski Castle (1519) and other buildings in Poland.
In 1518, Rejt was a chairman and key participant at the congress of architects and stonemasons from all of Central Europe in Annaberg,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state o ...
.
Many hints in historical sources are disputable. According to some of them Rejt came to Prague as a military engineer to rebuild the Prague Castle fortification (he may have built the walls of the castles
Rabí and
Švihov as well).
He then became famous for his skills in the art of Late Gothic vaults, in which art he reached one of the peaks in all medieval architecture. Earlier he was considered an inventor of the ''tent roof'' of cathedrals (now typical for churches in Kutná Hora and Louny), but it has been discovered from medieval pictures that their use was more common, and Rejt was probably not an exclusive builder of them.
His direct pupil was
Jacob Haylmann von
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...
, who worked with him in Kutná Hora and Annaberg.
Work (with his important participation)
Prague Castle
*
Vladislav Hall
Vladislav Hall ( cs, Vladislavský sál) is a large hall within the Prague Castle complex in the Czech Republic, used for large public events of the Bohemian monarchy and the modern Czech state. Built between 1493–1502 by Benedikt Rejt dur ...
, the largest medieval vaulted secular room in Europe, completed in 1500
Ludvík Wing (Louis Palace), considered to be the first Renaissance building in Bohemia (with examples in
Italy), later the place of the
Second Defenestration of PragueKnight's Stairway with an original vault arrangement
*Fortification with the towers of ''Mihulka'' and ''Daliborka'' (the jail of
Bedřich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...
's opera ''
Dalibor'')
*Plans for completing
St. Vitus Cathedral
, native_name_lang = Czech
, image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption ...
, begun but discontinued
Bohemia
*
St. Barbara's Church in
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was design ...
, from 1512 onward on the aisle and vault,
supervised by Jacob Haylmann von Schweinfurt and a Hans, after Rejt's death by Master Mikuláš and Jan Vlach, tent roof realized by Master Vaněk; restored in 1884–93 by
Josef Mocker and Ludvík Lábler
[ed. Emanuel Poche: Umělecké památky Čech 2, Academia Prague 1978]
*
St. Nicholas Church in
Louny
Louny (; german: Laun) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Administra ...
, from 1519,
supervised by Pavel of Pardubice and Filip of Wimpfen, probably Rejt's disciples; restored in 1885–92 by Josef Mocker and 1898–1902 by
Kamil Hilbert[ed. Emanuel Poche: Umělecké památky Čech 4, Academia Prague 1982]
*
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in
Most
Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria
* Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic
** Most District, a district surrounding the city
** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city
** ...
, mentions of Jörg of
Maulbronn; restored in 1882;
moved 841 metres to make room for the expanding
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low hea ...
mines in 1975
*Villa in Stromovka (Bubeneč)
Outside Bohemia
*
St. Anne's Church in
Annaberg
*Castle in
Ząbkowice Śląskie
Ząbkowice Śląskie ( ; german: link=no, Frankenstein in Schlesien; szl, Ślůnske Zůmbkowicy) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Ząbkowice Śląskie County and of a local municipality called ...
(Frankenstein), for
Münsterberg nobility from 1524 onward
Work of more disputable authorship
Buildings usually assigned to Johannes Spiess (Hans, Hanuš)
*Royal Oratory in
St. Vitus Cathedral
, native_name_lang = Czech
, image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption ...
*Vladislav bedroom in Old Palace of Prague Castle
*Parts of St. Peter and Paul's Church in
Mělník
Mělník (; german: Melnik) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Mělník lies in one of the most im ...
Palace, chapel and other rooms in
Křivoklát Castle
Property of Půta Švihovský of Rýzmberk
*
Švihov Castle, in 1505,
fortification system of the
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
ed castle
[ed. Emanuel Poche: Umělecké památky Čech 3, Academia Prague 1980]
*
Rabí Castle, fortification system of one of the largest castles in Bohemia
Property of Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál
*Palace of
Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál in
Hradčany
Hradčany (; german: Hradschin), the Castle District, is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic surrounding Prague Castle.
The castle is one of the biggest in the world at about in length and an average of about wide. Its history ...
*
Blatná Castle, 1523–1530
Others
*Virgin Mary Chapel (donated by Viktorin Špulíř) in the Church of the Assumption in
Jindřichův Hradec
Jindřichův Hradec (; german: Neuhaus) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.
Administrative par ...
, completed in 1506
[ed. Zdeněk Wirth: Dějepis výtvarného umění v Čechách, I. díl Středověk, Prague 1931]
*Virgin Mary Chapel on Náměť in Kutná Hora, the burial place of
Petr Brandl
Petr Brandl (Peter Johannes Brandl or Jan Petr Brandl) (24 October 1668 – 24 September 1735) was a Czech painter of the late Baroque in the bilingual Kingdom of Bohemia. Brandl was the sixth child in a Czech-German family. His father, Michal ...
, assigned to Master Blažek from Kutná Hora
*The vault of the Church of the Assumption in
Ústí nad Labem
Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway j ...
, damaged in WWII
*The castle in
Březnice, fortification after 1531
Beneš of Louny
In the 19th century, Czech patriots made efforts to claim that Benedikt Rejt had Czech or Bohemian ancestry. In many sources from that time he is referred to under the name Beneš of Louny, e.g., in the Hall of Fame in the 1891 building of
National Museum in Prague. According to tradition, he was buried in St. Nicholas Church in Louny. In 1906, Zikmund Winter concluded the discussion with convincing evidence that Rejt was of German origin and that he learnt Czech as fluently as German, as he could be considered Czech (his offspring identified with Czech nationality).
Legacy
A gallery and a square are named after Rejt in Louny. There is also a 20th-century statue of Benedikt Rejt holding a
plumb line
A plumb bob, plumb bob level, or plummet, is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. It is a precursor to the spirit level and used to establish a vertic ...
.
Gallery of selected works
Cathedral St Barbara.jpg, St. Barbara's Church in Kutná Hora
Louny01.jpg, Church of St. Nicholas in Louny
Prag Vladislav-Saal.jpg, Vladislav Hall at Prague Castle
Most klenba z emp DSCN4602.JPG, Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Most
Notes
References
Further reading
* Pavel Kalina: European Diplomacy, Family Strategies, and the Origins of Renaissance Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe.Artibus et Historiae. Vol. 30, No. 60 (2009), pp. 173–190
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rejt, Benedikt
1454 births
1536 deaths
16th-century German architects
German Bohemian people
Gothic architects