St. Wenceslas Church (Zderaz)

St. Wenceslas Church at Zderaz (Czech: Kostel svatého Václava na Zderaze) 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

In the years 1180 to 1190, the settlement belonged to two Czech noblemen, Kojat and Všebor (Svébor), members of the aristocratic

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 in 1348 by king Charles IV, St. Wenceslas’ Church became one of the New Town´s 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

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

In 1641, a cloister was built for the newcomer community of Augustinians. 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, 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

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

The pointed windows have new simple Renaissance 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 nord-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.

murals

.

Murals

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

.

Choir

The choir 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 columbarium under the choir.

Sedilia

The

presbytery

.

The 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

.

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 (1872-1941), who also made the altar table. It is made from larch wood.

John Hus, John Žižka and John Amos Comenius

. 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

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

Gallery

• 
  The benches designed by František Bílek and made by František Kotyza.
• 
  The cross vault above the presbytery.
• 
  The interior of the church.
• 
  The plan of the church.
• 
  The sedilia.
• 
  The entrance to the sacristy.
• 
  The remains of the murals above the entrance to the sacristy.
• 
  The choir.
• 
  The vault over the nave.
• 
  The space under the choir.
• 
  The view from the space under the choir.
• 
  The candelabrum shaped as hands.
• 
  The candelabrum shaped as hands.
• 
  The sacristy.
• 
  St. Wenceslas' Church at Zderaz from Resslova Street.
• 
  St. Wenceslas' Church at Zderaz from Dittrichova Street.

Bibliography

• BAŤKOVÁ, Růžena a kol. Umělecké památky Prahy Nové Město - Vyšehrad - Vinohrady. Praha : Academia, 1998. 839 s.
  ISBN 8020005382
  .
• BUTTA, Tomáš a kol. Kostel svatého Václava na Zderaze. Praha : Náboženská obec Církve československé husitské v Praze 2, 2004. 70 s.
  ISBN 8086788172
  .
• 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.
  ISBN 8087073355
  .
• 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.
  ISBN 80-901587-8-1
  .
• KALINA, Pavel. Praha 1310-1419: kapitoly o vrcholné gotice. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2004, 237 s.
  ISBN 80-7277-161-2
  .

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

50°04′31″N 14°24′57″E / 50.0753°N 14.4158°E / 50.0753; 14.4158