Church of St. Clement / Kostel Sv. Klimenta - Levý Hradec (Central Bohemia)
N 50° 10.165 E 014° 22.459
33U E 455317 N 5557655
The medieval Church of St. Clement (Kostel Sv. Klimenta) in Roztoky-Levý Hradec with pre-Romanesque basements from the 9th century is the oldest Christian church in Bohemia. Nowadays it is a filial church of Roman Catholic parish in Roztoky.
Waymark Code: WMKT0D
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 05/25/2014
Views: 38
The medieval Church of St. Clement (Kostel Sv. Klimenta) in Roztoky-Levý Hradec (ca 10 km north of Prague), with pre-Romanesque basements from the 9th century is the oldest Christian church in Bohemia. Nowadays it is a filial church of Roman Catholic parish in Roztoky.
Levý Hradec was inhabited by Slavic community (Czech tribe) from the 7th century. The ruling Przemyslids built a fortified princely castle here in the 9th century. Prince Borivoj, the first historically provable Czech Prince, was the ruler here a he also founded rotunda of St. Clement (around 884). So, Levý Hradec is sometimes called the place of the beginning of Christianity in Bohemia.
The old wooden Levý Hradec settlement was burnt down by Roman Emperor Henry III (1041) and was never rebuilt. The early Gothic presbytery was attached to the original rotunda at the end of the 13th century. The rotunda was finally demolished and a new oblong Baroque nave with a belfry were attached to the Gothic presbytery in 1684. Only the foundations of the original rotunda have preserved below the existing nave. These foundations together with valuable frescoes from the second half of the 14th century and Renaissance tombstones were uncovered in 1940. A rarity is the Romanesque altar table with four legs made of four different sorts of wood. The church was recently completely reconstructed.