St. Wenceslas Church at Zderaz () is a Gothic single-nave church in Prague – New Town. It is located at the crossroad of Resslova Street and Dittrichova Street.

History

Origins

The Zderaz settlement has ancient origin and is named after the owner, Zderaz. In 1115, the village was first mentioned with a church, which was probably dedicated to Saint

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

. In the years 1180 to 1190, the settlement belonged to two Czech noblemen, Kojat and Všebor (Svébor), members of the aristocratic House of Hrabischitz, who gave their land to found a monastery of the Order of the Cross – the Guardians of the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...

. However, due to this, the villagers lost their parish church, therefore the brothers founded a new Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Wenceslaus. The new church took over the parish duties of the Church of St. Peter and Paul. St. Wenceslas' Church at Zderaz was consecrated 26 November 1181 by the Bishop Valentine of Prague. Archeological research made by archeologist Karel Guth (1883–1943) in the years 1927–1929, showed that it was a simple one-nave construction with a semi rounded apse on the east and a large square tower on the west. A part of this tower was later included into the Gothic reconstruction and it became a part of the western frontage of the church from 14th century. The church was surrounded by a cemetery. Three gravestones were preserved and are now placed in the City of Prague Museum.

14th century

In 1324, the monastery bought a house with a spa near the church and established a hospital in this new building. After the founding of

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

in 1348 by king Charles IV, St. Wenceslas Church became one of the New Town parish churches. The visitation protocols of the Archdeacon of Prague Paul of Janovice from 1379-1382 state that the church had four altars. There was already a vaulted choir with a two bays of cross vault and a pentagonal ending. The sacristy was built on the south side of choir. The nave remained without a vault, it probably had a wooden ceiling, supported by two pillars. As stated before, the tower of the Romanesque church was included as a part of the Gothic nave.

The Hussite Wars

On 5 August 1420, the monastery was burned down by the

Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...

and St. Wenceslas Church was given to Hussite priests, together with the parsonage. After 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

, the church was restored. Two altars were added next to the pillars, which supported the ceiling, one was dedicated to Saints

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

and

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

, the other to St.

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. Around 1500, a Gothic

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

was added as a decoration to the main altar. The arch was transferred to the parish Church of St. Adalbert in Jílové near

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in 1760.

16th–17th centuries

Until 1586, the church remained without a change, afterwards Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

donated 300 threescopes to the church. The wooden ceiling was replaced with a new Gothic vault with terracotta ribs supported by Tuscan semi columns. Due to this change, the Gothic windows had to be lowered down and their traceries had to be replaced, even the Romanesque tower was demolished. The reconstruction was led by master builder Karel Mělnický. In 1641, a cloister was built for the newcomer community of

Augustinians Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

. Before that, in 1623, the church was given to the Augustinians by emperor Ferdinand II. Three years later, with the support of the emperor and nobility, the Augustinians started to build a monastery on the west side of the church. Around 1645, the church was paved with white marble and green serpentine, brought from the

Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...

, together with four marble pillars. The construction was finished a year later. During the Swedish occupation of Prague, the church was heavily damaged. In 17th century, a new sacristy was built on the place of the old one. The most famous Czech Baroque painter Karel Škréta painted 32 paintings depicting the Legend of St. Wenceslas for the cloister of the church. The monastery and the church became a gallery of Škréta's paintings for the

. There were often held funerals of important people.

18th–19th centuries

In the year 1785, the monastery was abolished and deconsecrated. This was due to the emperor Joseph II, who abolished many monasteries during his reign. From 1809, the building became a prison. In 1827, the church was consecrated again, however it still remained a prison until 1884, when the jail was moved to Pankrác and the complex of buildings was bought by the city.

Reconstruction in the 20th century

Around 1904, the whole monastery was demolished and the terrain was lowered to the level of the street and rent houses were built instead of the monastery. The church was not restored and was in danger of demolition. However, in 1904, the Association for restoration of St. Wenceslas Church ordered a plan for restoration, which was made by acknowledged

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

architects Antonín Wiehl and Josef Fanta. The cemetery was abolished but the church was still not restored. In 1909, the city council appointed architects Eduard Sochor and Ferdinand Čapka with the restoration. A terrace was created around the church, the tracery was restored, nevertheless the renovation works stopped one year later. They were not finished till the church was bought by The Czechoslovak Hussite Church. In 1926 the reconstruction was finally completed. The temple was consecrated again in 1929. In 1936, a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...

was added under the choir loft.

Architecture

Exterior

St. Wenceslas Church is located on a rock terrace above the level of street. The construction is made of rubble stone with remains of Romanesque walls. The building includes a polyhedral chancel, a rectangular nave, a fléche and a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

in the south. The main nave is 14 meters high, the smaller presbytery is 13 meters high with the ending shaped as five sides of an octagon. The pointed windows have new simple

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

traceries, made from the remains of old ones. The main nave is supported by four simple columns in the south and three on the north. The oldest part of the construction are the remains of the Romanesque tower in the north-west. There is a gallery located under the church.

Interior

Vault

The chancel has two bays of cross vault and a spokewise vaulting at the ending. The ribs, which have a pear-like profile, are placed on pentagonal dosserets ending on the same level as the window cornice. The presbytery and the main nave are separated by a pointed triumphal arc. The nave is vaulted with a late Gothic vault with terracotta ribs, supported by Renaissance Tuscan semi columns. The vault is decorated with late Baroque

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

Murals

The murals are tightly connected to book illumination – they capture richly draped figures in rigid groups or epic scenes. There is a symbolic depiction of the maternity of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on the northern wall of the presbytery. It was represented by a number of small depictions in a geometric composition. The

Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

with medallions depicting the miracles of Jesus is displayed on the southern wall above the entrance to the

Choir

The

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

with wooden balustrade stands on Tuscan stone pillars with capitals. There is a painted wooden ceiling under the choir. The western wall under the choir is painted with 4 Latin inscriptions, which were added in the reconstruction from 19th century. There is a

under the choir.

Sedilia

The

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, typically made of stone, located on the liturgical south side of the altar—often within the chancel—intended for use by the officiating priest, deacon, an ...

is divided into two parts and it is located on the southern wall of the presbytery.

Sacristy

The entrance to the sacristy is in the south wall of the chancel. The pointed portal is profiled in the same way as sedilia. There are remains of original mural above the entrance. The painting depicts the genealogy of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The Baroque sacristy was built in 17th century. It is square shaped, it has two window axis and a low barrel vault. The vault is covered with rich stuke decorations of leaves and heads of angels.

Furnishings

A large Statue of the Crucifixion stands in the presbytery. It was carved in 1930 by Czech artist František Bílek, who also made the altar table. It is made from larch wood. The front side of the altar is decorated with carvings of six figures from the Czech history – Forefather Čech, princess Ludmila with prince

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Slavic names#In Slovakia and Czech_Republic, Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are , , , , , , among others. It origina ...

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czechs, Czech military leader and Knight who was a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborites, Taborite faction during the Hu ...

and

John Amos Comenius John Amos Comenius (; ; ; ; Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is considered the father of modern education. He served as the last bishop of the Unit ...

. Worth noticing is the candelabrum shaped as human hands. The benches were designed by František Bílek and made by František Kotyza. Each bench has its own animal motif. The organ is placed in the western part of the church on the organ loft.

Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre

The inspiration for the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in St. Wenceslas Church was the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

in Jerusalem. The construction began 8 November 1643. The finished chapel was consecrated 11 May 1645.

Gallery

Kostel sv.Václava na Zderaze 1.JPG, Benches designed by František Bílek and made by František Kotyza Kostel sv.Václava na Zderaze 3.JPG, Cross vault above the presbytery Kostel sv.Václava na Zderaze 4.JPG, Interior of the church Půdorys kostela sv.Václava na Zderaze..pdf, Plan of the church St. Wenceslas' Church 7.JPG, Sedilia St. Wenceslas Church 5.JPG, Entrance to the sacristy St. Wenceslas' Church 6.JPG, Remains of the murals above the entrance to the sacristy St. Wenceslas' Church 2.JPG, Space under the choir St. Wenceslas' Church 3.JPG, View from the space under the choir St. Wenceslas' Church 9.JPG, Candelabrum shaped as hands St. Wenceslas' Church 13.JPG, The church at Zderaz from Resslova Street

Bibliography

* BAŤKOVÁ, Růžena a kol. Umělecké památky Prahy Nové Město - Vyšehrad - Vinohrady. Praha : Academia, 1998. 839 s. . * BUTTA, Tomáš a kol. Kostel svatého Václava na Zderaze. Praha : Náboženská obec Církve československé husitské v Praze 2, 2004. 70 s. . * CHADRABA, Rudolf a kol. Dějiny českého výtvarného umění I/1. Praha : Academia. * NEUMANN, Eduard. Kostel sv. Václava na Zderaze. Praha : Rada starších CČS v Praze II, 1929. 46 s. * PLATOVSKÁ, Marie (ed.). Slavné stavby Prahy 2. Praha : Foibos Books, 2011. 280 s. . * SEDLÁČKOVÁ, Ema. Kostel svatého Václava na Zderaze. Praha : Výtvarný Odbor Umělecké Besedy, 1946. 24 s. * SOMMER, Jan. Loď kostela sv. Václava na Zderaz v Praze II. Památky a příroda. 1991, roč. 16, čís. 7, s. 403-407. ISSN 0139-9853. * LÍBAL, Dobroslav. Katalog gotické architektury v České republice do husitských válek. 1. vyd. Praha: Unicornis, 2001, 607 s. . * KALINA, Pavel. Praha 1310-1419: kapitoly o vrcholné gotice. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2004, 237 s. .

External links

*http://www.pragueticketoffice.com/prostoradetail.aspx?id=stwenceslas-church-na-zderaze * http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMKKGX_Church_of_St_Wenceslas_at_Zderaz_Kostel_Sv_Vclava_na_Zderaze_Prague {{Authority control Churches in Prague Gothic architecture in the Czech Republic Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia