Church of St. Apollinaire, Prague
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The Church of St. Apollinaire (
History
The hill Vetrov was connected to Charles IV New Town of Prague in 1348. Charles IV arranged the transfer of a canonical college there in 1362.
The canonical college was transferred from Sadska to Prague hill of St. Apollinaire after the agreement between Charles IV and Prague archbishop
Construction of the church
There were two periods of the construction of the church. The longitudinal hall nave with five bays was built during the first period, approximately between 1360 and 1376. A small tower was located on the saddleback roof and thus the nave could temporarily work as an individual church, although it did not yet possess a
History
The original chapter of St. Apollinaire consisted of a provost and eight canons. The chapter house was connected to the church by its entry straight to the platform on the east side of the church. Around 1419 the chapter left the church, except for one canon, Peter of Kromeriz, who joined the Hussites. It could be one of the reasons why the church stayed undamaged during the Hussitism movement. There was a church school between years 1414–1418.
One of the
The members of the chapter of
New
Restoration
Baroque Style (1671 and 1757–1768)
The first baroque period took place in connection with the repairs of the church in 1671. The reason for the repair was damage by the strong gale in 1670 which damaged the tower, roof frames and glazing of the windows. The new tower with cupola and baroquization of the interior were probably the work of builder Daniel Rynd. In this period the great bell from 1620 was re-poured by the bellfounder Nicholas Loewe. Also the altar of Staroboleslav's Mother of God was restored.
The second baroque period of reconstruction is related with occupying of the church by the Prussian military in 1757. Those struggles for the church and tests of weapons caused the damage of the masonry and plastering. Restorations were made mainly in the interior. New altars were set. Two new bells were cast by Jan Jiri Kuehner to the tower – bigger bell Apollinaire and smaller one Anna. The set of the new organ with sculptures of
Neo-gothic Style (1893–1898)
Some heavy rifts were detected in the construction of the church in the 19th century. This was a reason for general reconstruction of the church made by architect Mocker. He tore down the old gothic platform in the west part and replaced it with a replica. In the windows of the nave he replaced old tracery for the new ones. Both northern portals were changed. The main portal was only fixed by Mocker but the other one smaller lancet arch is Mocker's pseudogothic replacement for the original gothic portal.
New doors were set up in both portals according to Mocker's plans. The west gable wall of the nave was torn down and replaced. The whole building got new roof frames. Weathered blocks in the exterior were replaced and the church was plastered. Principal moulding was made in pseudogothic style. Mocker revealed the original gothic wall painting and probably also the original polychromium plated of the arch groins and girders in the interior. In the southern wall of the presbytery he perforated a new portal which he led to the new built pseudogothic sacristy. The sacristy was connected to the choir by the hall of stones. He adjusted the enter under the choir to the tower. In the tower he fixed the inner staircase.
One nave with narrower five sided presbytery and side tower by the southwestern corner is in the ground plan of the church. The quadratic sacristy with entrance hall completes the construction.
The ground plan is created by a long rectangle made from five bays. The exterior of the nave is relatively stern, decorated by only ten massive load-bearing pillars. These pillars are reinforced by sandstones blocks and strapped in lower third with shaped moulding. On the tops of rests there is a combination of the counter and saddle shelters. Corner load-bearing pillars are built diagonally. Great windows of the nave provide great illumination of space of the church. Wide trough stone moulding is original. There are visible also some stonemasons' marks. There used to be a window in the western side of the church which was walled up in the 16th century and nowadays it is hidden under the plastering. The nave is ended by steep triangular gable walls in the west and the east. The western gable wall is segmented by three pointed sunken niche. Two entrance portals lead to the nave from the north.
Large cross-shaped ribbed arch is one of the most important parts of inner space. It has nearly semi-circular slightly pointed profile. Stone pear groins fit on the wall's five sided tracery console and on the tops they are tied by moderately appearing circular pins.
Pseudogothic gallery on the west of the nave is created by two pointed profiled arcades with central pillars culminate with parapet decorated by fields of odd traceries. Semi-pillar is approaching to the central pillar and carries profiled socle of an oriel which was originally set as platform altar. The organs located on the church-gallery are from the end of the 19th century.
The Presbytery
Ground plan is created by crosswise fields and deep five sided ending. The presbytery is located on the same socle as the nave. It is supported by eight load-bearing pillars similar to more tiny rests supporting the nave.
The windows in the presbytery are narrower than the windows in the nave and they fill only two sectioned tracery. The windows sit on the window sill on the profiled moulding as same as in the nave. The moulding is also in the presbytery where narrow shafts of the arch ascend from the mouldings. Sculptural decorated heads are situated on the tops of the shafts. On the top of the column heads are closed by slight polygonal profiled covering slabs and pear ribs derive from those slabs. The ribs are attached to the target pins. The whole arch is completed by crosswised ribs in a semi-circle and creates the impression of a spreading arch.
The presbytery is connected with the nave by the stone pointed triumphal arch sitting on the profiled socle with reciprocally cut deeply channelled tracery. The floor of the presbytery and the nave are covered with plasters.
The tower
Ground plan of the tower is squared and it connects to the nave in western field of the north side. The tower stands on the same socle as the rest of the church. Its pointed masonry is plastered and on the individual groins we can spot revealed cubiform reinforce. The construction is divided into two parts. The first part is horizontally divided into three parts. The walls of the bottom part are smooth without any windows. The central and also the biggest part contains two rectangular windows in the south and one window in the east. There are three big pointed windows on the upper part and lead to the south, east and west. There is rectangular slit window heading to the north.
The second part is created by gothic octagon. Its walls are divided by four windows with stone jamb. The tower ends by steep pyramidal column roof.
The space under the tower used to serve as sacristy. During the regothisation this function in this space was stopped. The tower is filled by the stone staircase from the 19th century. It is held by four pillars. Considering the mightiness of the staircase the cross arch in the first floor was removed. Despite the reconstruction in the 19th century the second floor has its cohesive space with brick ground and beam ceiling from the period of regothisation.
There is a bell tower inside the gothic octagon which contains where is nowadays the only bell St. Apollinaire. The bell is decorated by vegetable ornaments and a relief of St. Apollinaire. There is also a Latin inscription with chronograms carved into the bell.
Equipment
The equipment was taken mostly from the near temple of Virgin Mary in Karlov in 1780.
The presbytery
The whole ending of the presbytery is taken by the main altar Assumption of Virgin Mary in Karlov. The altar, which is dated back to 1740–1744, is brought from Karlov. Its tabernacle contains a small carving of
The next altar in the presbytery, the altar of Golgotha, is situated on its southern side. It is decorated by the statues of the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist which come most likely from the Czech Baroque sculptor J. A. Quitainer from 1730. The altar table is covered by a drape from the 18th century, the so-called antependium. There is a coffer inside the altar table with the remains of monks who were killed in 1611, which also comes from Karlov.
There is an original Gothic sanctuarium in the southern wall of the presbytery, late Renaissance sanctuary with massive forged small doors is situated in the north wall. On the north wall of the presbytery are two paintings: the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple and Christ and two adulterous women. Both paintings were painted by the Austrian painter M. V. Halbax.
There is a rococo pulpit from 18th century next to the triumphal arch separating the nave and the presbytery. The ambon is decorated by the scene with two angels which should symbolize the Silence and Life of st. John of Nepomuk. On the small roof of the pulpit there are three more statues of angels. One of them holds bishop's mitre of st. Apollinaire. Statues of little angels come from sculptor R. Prachner. The small roof is ended with a statue of St. John of Nepomuk, apparently made by Czech-Austrian sculptor I. Platzer.
Two side altars are symmetrically situated next to triumphal arch. The altar of Virgin Mary from Karlov is on the south side and altar of the birth of
There is also a copy of the painting of Virgin Mary Pasovska in the attachment of the altar. One more work of art – painting of the breasts of Virgin Mary – is situated in a brass gilt frame and it was brought from Karlov. This work was made by painter J. C. Monnot. There is a grave ledger of Juliana Dlouhoveska from 1671. It is located in the south wall of the nave. There's also a tin baptismal font formed as reversed bell and stands on three legs with paws and heads of beavers.
The walls of the nave are decorated by the original gothic frescos from the period so called
Curiosities
We can find a hypothesis in some sources about the location of significant buildings built in the period of Charles IV. They are set by a lot of field-geometrical relations and a Christian mysticism. The five New town churches established by Charles IV. create a regular crucifix. Branch from north to the south creates a connecting line of Church of St. Catherine and Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Na Slupi, branch from west to east Church of Virgin Mary and St. Charles the Great and Emauzy Monastery. Those branches cross in Church of st. Apollinaire. Towers of churches Na Trávníčku, st. Apollinaire, Catherine's stand in one line and they have the same architectonic characteristic. This hypothesis leads to speculations that location of these churches was planned in the original project of the city, although those individual church buildings were built in this part of New Town one by one (Slovany 1347, Karlov 1352, Catherine 1355, Travnicek 1360, Apollinaire 1362). The cross of those buildings meant an unusual blessing to the town.
There is a modern legend about the origin of the chapter: „Borivoj II. who had a conflict with his brother Vladislaus was arrested by the emperor Henry and taken to Germany. He was a prisoner in fortress Hamerstein on Ryn for six years until the emperor wanted to execute him. Finally st. Apollinaire, an apprentice of st. Peter and a martyr, appeared to
Surroundings
In close surroundings there is botanical garden of
The church also gave a name to nearby maternity hospital by Apollinaire.
References
- Ten centuries of architecture: Architecture of the gothic. 1. vyd. Prague: Prague castle administration, 2001, 319 s., str. 92 ISBN 80-861-6143-9.
- STAŇKOVÁ, Jaroslava, Jiří ŠTURSA, Svatopluk VODĚRA and Jaroslav STANĚK. Prague: eleven centuries of architecture. 1st ed. Praha: PAV, 1992, 357 p., str. 57, 58 ISBN 80-900-0031-2.
- Petr Skalický, Středověké nástěnné malby v kostele sv. Apolináře na Novém Městě Pražském (diplomová práce), FF UK 2009
- URBAN, Miloš. Sedmikostelí. Praha: Argo, 2001
- R. Baťková a kol., Umělecké památky Prahy. Nové Město a Vyšehrad . Praha: Academia 1998, ISBN 80-200-0627-3
- LÍBAL, Dobroslav. Pražské gotické kostely. Praha: Kovanda, 1946
- KALINA, Pavel. Praha 1310–1419: kapitoly o vrcholné gotice. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2004, 237 s. ISBN 80-727-7161-2
- POCHE, Emanuel. Praha středověká: čtvero knih o Praze. 1. vyd. Praha: Panorama, 1983, 784 s. OCLC 10458466, s. 233–239
- "Church of St. Apollinaire". Praha.eu. n.d. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- "St. Apollinaire Church". Prague City Line. n.d. Retrieved 29 October 2023.