St. Stephen's Church, Prague
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The St. Stephen's Church (
History
The church of St. Stephen was founded together with New Town (on 3 March 1348) by Charles IV. (1316 – 1378), the King of Bohemia and also the Holy Roman Emperor, founder of New Town - a quarter outside the city walls, the youngest and largest of the five independent towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague. An avid collector and admirer of relics, he obtained the remains of St. Stephen in Rome and donated them to the church. The St. Stephen Church served as a parish church for the upper part of New Town (in the lower part of New Town this function is fulfilled by the Church of St Henry and St Kunnigunde). At first the church was managed by the order of Knights of the Cross with the Red Star (Czech: Křižovníci), just when Charles IV. received most of the land for the founding of New Town.[1] The church was built in the years 1351 – 1401, when the main builder master George is mentioned. Completion of the western tower is dated to the year 1401, when the whole church must have already been built. The church also had a large lot, filling most of the space between the present-day streets Štěpánská, Ječná, Na Rybníčku and Žitná. There was a parish garden and a large cemetery. During the plague epidemic in 1502, more than fifteen thousand people were buried there.[2] Several buildings were there: a rectory (in the southwest corner), a school, a wooden belfry (which was rebuilt in stone in the early 17th century), the Chapel of All Saints, Jerusalem chapel,[3] as well as the rotunda of St. Login. In 1686, the Cornel Chapel was built to the south wall of the nave and then the Branberger Chapel to the north wall of the
General characteristic
The church is built as a Gothic basilica with three naves and a presbytery with a polygonal ending in the east. The sacristy buildings, a tower in the frontage, two Baroque chapels and a Neo-Gothic hall are adjacent to the main building. The main nave with the chancel are covered by a gable roof, hipped in the eastern part. The sacristy with Baroque working is located between the northern wall of the presbytery and the eastern wall of the northern aisle.
The unit of the three naves, which has almost a square layout, is designed as a basilica. The main nave is divided into four rectangular fields vaulted with a ribbed cross vault. The vault profile is identical to the profile of diagonal ribs which are pear-shaped, resting on a round shaft, which continues to the ground. The nave is elevated by about one third of the height of the church above the aisles. In the west the nave is supported by a powerful buttress, which adjoins to the wall of the tower, on the sides it is supported by four graduated slender linchpins, which are finished by gables. The aisles are broken by four lancet windows with tracery. The nave along with the chancel are covered by tiles. As the nave, the aisles are also divided into four fields, this time almost square floor plan. The fields are also arched over with ribbed cross vaults. The room of these three naves is divided by three pairs of massive prismatic pillars with the main support function of arches. The aisles are covered in slate. To the southern side of the nave in southwest corner are two graduated abutments. ("They show the fact that according to original plans the tower was at first supposed to be built above the westernmost field of the southern nave. The wall is also thicker there. This intention was later abandoned and the tower was built on its current site.")[This quote needs a citation] In the southern aisle, there is another backrest along with a window to the west and three cuspidate windows to the south side. An early Baroque rectangular chapel later extended the second bay from the west. Abutments of the north side of the nave are deployed in the same way as in the south aisle, but the corner one is designed as oblique. Here again are three cuspidate Gothic windows and in the third field from the west is placed a Neo-Gothic hall built by Josef Mocker. The northern aisle passes to a square sacristy with two semicircular closed windows, between which the Baroque Branberger Chapel is located. From this aisle it is possible to enter into a Neo-Gothic stone hall, which is covered with a cuspidate portal with crabs and pinnacles. This Neo-Gothic portal is accessible due to a narrowing stone staircase.
The presbytery fluently continues to the nave of the church. The presbytery consists of two rectangular bays arched over with ribbed cross vaults and five-sides concluding with a six-beam vault. The room of the chancel and of the nave are separated by just a plain, slightly angled triumphal arch with an almost rectangular profile. The height of the nave is sixteen meters, proportioned at a 2:1 ratio. The chancel is supported by eight back rests of the same type as in the nave, but now twice graded and more massive. Between the abutments there are six high lancet windows.
Tower of the church
In the western frontage, to the axis of the church is designed a quadrangular massive
Chapel of Cornel
The chapel, which adjoints the aisle and disrupts the almost regular arrangement of the plan, was added to the church in 1686. The chapel is from the west and the east sides illuminated by narrow semicircular windows. In the south wall is a blind stone portal with a profilated jamb.[
Chapel Branberger
The chapel was added to the church in 1736. It is not possible to enter directly from the interior of the church, but it is an exterior chapel in the form of a deep
Interior – equipment of the church
The interior of the church is dominated by an early baroque wooden three-storey portal main altar, painted in black and gilded, with the picture "
Belfry
There is a freestanding belfry next to the church in the area of the former cemetery. It was built in the location of an older, wooden tower in 1600–1604. The bells were used for guns during the World War I and World War II, except the bell Stephen weighing about two tons from 1490. It was made by New Town bellfounder George.[4]
Curiosities
In the church is buried the most famous Czech Baroque sculptor
On 29 August 1849, there was a wedding of the Czech classical music composer Antonín Dvořák, the author of the world-famous symphony From the New World, a successful opera Rusalka, and also a piano cycle Humoresques. After this his son-in law, composer and violinist Josef Suk, married Dvořak's daughter Otylka there as well.
Literature
- KOŠNÁŘ, Julius. Staropražské pověsti a legendy. Praha : Vincentinum, 1933. Dostupné online. - kapitola O zvonu Lochmaru u sv. Štěpána na Novém Městě pražském, s. 71-76.
- MIKOVEC, Ferdinand Břetislav. Starožitnosti a Památky země České. Ilustrace Vilém Kandler. Praha : Kober a Markgraf, [1860]. Dostupné online. -kapitola Kostel sv. Štěpána v Praze, s. 12-24.
- PLACHÁ - GOLLEROVÁ, Jitka. Kostel sv. Štěpána a kaple sv. Lognina. Praha : Poklady národního umění, 1940.
- LÍBAL, Dobroslav. Pražské gotické kostely. Praha : Antonín Kovanda Praha.
- KALINA, KOŤÁTKO, Pavel, Jiří. Praha 1310 - 1419, kapitoly o vrcholné gotice. Praha : Libri, 2004.
- BAŤKOVÁ, Růžena. Umělecké památky Prahy 2. - Nové Město, Vyšehrad. Praha : Academia, 1998. 840 s.
- RYBÁR, Ctibor. Ulice a domy města Prahy. Praha : Victoria Pub., 1995. 540 s.
- DAVID, Petr. 111 památek a zajímavostí Prahy. Praha : Kartografie Praha, 2001. 350 s.
External links
- http://www.1pragueguide.com/church-of-st-stephen
- http://stovezata.praha.eu/en-church-of-st-stephen.html
- http://www.praha2.cz/ST-STEPHEN-S-CHURCH.html
- http://www.praguecityline.com/prague-monuments/st-stephen%C2%B4s-church
- http://www.digital-guide.cz/en/poi/new-town-2/church-of-st-stephen/
- http://www.prague-guide.co.uk/articles/church-of-st-stephen.html
References
- ^ LORENC, Vilém. Nové Město pražské. Praha : SNTL, 1973. 232 s. S. 99.
- ^ Lorenc, s. 110.
- ^ Lorenc, s. 166
- ^ "Kostel sv. Štěpána | PRAHA STOVĚŽATÁ". Archived from the original on 2020-12-29.