The Baroque church, which is part of the area of the former Augustinian Canonical Monastery in Prague.
The church is also famous for the fact that its patrons are simultaneously the Virgin Mary, as the mother of God, and Charlemagne, as the regenerator of the Roman Empire. In honor of this, Charles IV presented the church with relics that were significant at that time - three teeth of Charlemagne .
Content
History
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built as part of the development of the New City. Its founder is Emperor Charles IV, for whom the main goal was to increase the importance of Prague to the level of the main city of the Roman Empire.
The construction of the church began in 1351 under the supervision of Mathieu of Arras , but the chief architect remained unknown. In 1377, it was lit by archbishop Jan Ochko from Vlashim. It is worth noting that when lighting the church, the monastery was not yet completed, and its construction continued for a considerable time.
During the Hussite Wars, the church was abandoned and damaged, and some time after the end of the war in 1498, it was again lit and restored with the participation of Hans Shpis.
Since 1575, renovation work has been carried out under the supervision of Boniface Volmut, as a result of which a boldly solved dome was attached and the arch was reconstructed, which can be seen today.
In 1603, the church building was damaged by lightning, after which a new reconstruction was required.
In 1676, according to the project of Jovani Orsha, at the expense of Bernard Ignak Jan from Martinitsy , the Mariella chapel was built in the church , which has not been preserved to this day.
In 1704, on behalf of the Schonfeld family, the development of the holy staircase project began on the example of the Lateran Basilica in Rome . In 1708, approval was received for its construction. Fully construction was completed in 1711.
In 1735–40, councils for the interior of the church were held. During the reign, new departments , altars and an organ appeared. In the same period, the Mariella Chapel was demolished to increase the internal space.
In 1785, the monastery lost its status and was converted into a hospital.
In 1871-73, the church was reregistered, which occurred only in a small proportion.
In 1965, the Museum of the Border Guards arose on the territory of the monastery, and in 1990 a decision was made to equip the Police Museum of the Czech Republic.
Today, the temple opens its doors to all who wish to visit it during worship services.
Description
The plan of the church resembles other churches that bear the name of the same patron. So, for example, the octagonal plan of the nave is directly connected with the Church of the Virgin Mary in Aachen , which was built on a hexagonal plan with an internal octogon. Such a solution is very unusual and rarely used for Gothic architecture.
Inside, the octagonal central nave of the church is covered by a Late Gothic brick vault with stone ribs, which form a complex star-shaped pattern. The polygonal presbytery is closed by six sides of the decagon and is covered by a Gothic rib arch, having a width of 22.8 meters. The original vault, unfortunately, has not been preserved to this day. There are speculations that the arch rested on one middle support or on four columns. On the opposite side, the belfry is adjacent to the nave .
Outside, the Nave and the presbytery are fortified with Gothic supports . The entire building is surrounded by an expressive Baroque cornice, above which an attic from the same period stands.
All together (nave, presbytery and belfry) are covered by three baroque dome-shaped roofs with alfalfa.
The baroque elements of the church include the vestibule and the building of the holy staircase on the south side.
It is known from archives that the architect Jan Santini had a hand in rebuilding the temple. Its emphasis can be observed in such details as expressive cornices, pilasters outside, concave arches and an unusual shape of the roof.
Interior
One of the most beautiful details of the interior of the church is the Renaissance vault of the 16th century, which rises above the main nave without any backwater. With its shape, it forms a regular octagon, describing the plan of the hall. Gothic ribs that create a ray-shaped star converge at 24 knots. This composition forms 40 vaulted planes found in the central castle stone in the shape of a circle. At the bottom of the ribs rest on thin consoles protruding from the walls.
The arch of the presbytery is made in the style of Vladislav Late Gothic. Its ribs form 16 vaulted planes that converge in two castle stones on the ceiling. They go to the bottom, flowing smoothly into the pillars, without breaking in anything. The walls of the presbytery are decorated with 6 Gothic windows with stained glass windows.
In the main nave there are six two-story Gothic windows. Two of them have preserved the oldest stained glass windows in Prague - this is a painting of St. Charles the Great with the coat of arms of the Czech Queen Anne de Foix , wife of Vladislav II . It was he who commissioned the restoration of the temple at the end of the Hussite Wars. Now in place of the original stained-glass windows are copies, the original paintings are in the Prague City Museum.
The interior of the church is also filled with baroque altars:
- The main altar of the Virgin Mary and Charlemagne - is in the presbytery, was placed in 1872.
- Altar of St. St. Augustine , the altar of St. Salvator Lutheran, the altar of Charlemagne - are in the main nave at the northwest wall
- Small altars of St. John of Nepomuk and St. Apostle Thaddeus - located on both sides of the north portal
- Altar of St. Liboria , the altar of the Virgin Mary of Charles, altar of St. Anne - located in the main nave near the southeast wall
Literature
Books
- EKERT, František. Posvátná místa královského hlavního města Prahy. Svazek II. Praha: Dědictví sv. Jana Nepomuckého / fotoreprint Volvox Globator, 1884 / 1996. ISBN 80-7207-040-1 . S. 152-170.
- KALINA, Pavel. Praha 1437 - 1610: kapitoly o pozdně gotické a renesanční architektuře. Praha: Libri, 2011. ISBN 978-80-7277-480-7 .
- VLČEK, Pavel a kol: Encyklopedie českých klášterů. Libri, Praha 1997, ISBN 80-85983-17-6 , S. 565-569.
- VILÍMKOVÁ, Milada, LÍBAL, Dobroslav: Umění renesance a manýrismu - Architektura, in: POCHE, Emanuel, a kol. Praha na úsvitu nových dějin, Panorama, Praha 1988. S. 109-110.
- HORYNA, Mojmír JB Santini-Aichel - Život a dílo. Karolinum, Praha 1998, ISBN 80-7184-664-3 , S. 244-245.