Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Charles The Great / Chrám Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a Sv. Karla Velikého (Prague)
N 50° 04.131 E 014° 25.703
33U E 459092 N 5546442
The late-Gothic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Charles The Great (Chrám Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a Sv. Karla Velikého) in Prague-Karlov with unusual central octahedral area and presbytery was consecrated in 1377.
Waymark Code: WMMVD6
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 11/08/2014
Views: 45
The late-Gothic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Charles The Great (Chrám Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a Sv. Karla Velikého) in Prague-Karlov with unusual central octahedral area and presbytery was consecrated in 1377.
The gothic triple-aisle building has had a complicated history. A smaller Romanesque basilica, which had existed since before 1178, was gradually replaced by this church during the 14th and 15th centuries. The church was renovated in a Baroque style at the end of 17th century. Gothic renovation was done by Architect Josef Mocker in 1874-1879 and in 1913-1914.
Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV founded the monastery of the canonry of the St. Augustine’s Order and the church consecrated to St. Charles the Great on 18th September 1350. The buildings are situated on the most elevated area of the Prague’s New Town today known as Karlov. This act, which happened two years after the establishment of New Town, was part of a grandiose urban plan and over all concept of the king. His aim was to populate the area, show devotion and pay tribute to Charles the Great, who was his exemplar in many ways.
The church, consecrated in 1377, was built in late-Gothic style. The building has a central octahedral area and presbytery and with its later baroque adjustments takes a unique place in the Prague architectural history. Its shallow ribbed vault with 24 m in diameter is one of the remarkable features of this building and dates from 1575. The roof made of three domes is of Baroque style and dates from 1756.
In 1708-1711 the church gained a new feature in the form of an external staircase, the so called Holy Steps, which were built beside the south side. Under the staircase there is an imitation of the Bethlehem cave, the Chapel of the Birth of the Lord, which was built as a "grotta". Karlov gradually became a place of pilgrimage. In addition there was a painting of the Virgin Mary in the church, whose author, Jan Jirí Heintsch, pictured her as with child. That is why the church had been consecrated to the Virgin Mary in 17th century.
The church at Karlov contributes to Prague’s panorama with its cupolas. Each of them features a Sanctus steeple with lantern, onion shape dome and finial. The middle steeple, with 40 m in height, is accessible by a staircase with which we can appreciate the complicated roof structure of the cupola.
The church, administered directly by Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Prague, is closely connected with Christian police association of the Czech Republic and used for its ecumenical services...