Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene by Václav Jansa - Prague, Czech Republic
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ToRo61
N 50° 05.611 E 014° 24.957
33U E 458224 N 5549191
Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene by Václav Jansa
Waymark Code: WM17XFY
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 04/16/2023
Views: 2
The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene in Prague on the Edvard Beneš Embankment is a circular Baroque chapel and the first building that was relocated within the territory of Czechoslovakia in 1956. It stands on the edge of Holešovice near the borders of Malá Strana, in a small strip of Holešovice territory that belongs to the Prague 1 municipal district.
The early Baroque building was constructed in 1635 by Jan Dominik de Barifis on the vineyard of the Cyriac monks (Order of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star) for the winemakers from the Letná vineyards and the boatmen who gave thanks to God here for their safe passage through the dangerous stretches of the Vltava River and rested in its vicinity.
In 1784, it was abolished by Emperor Joseph II as part of the Josephine reforms. It was restored and consecrated again in 1908, when it came under the care of the Old Catholic Church.
In the 1950s, it was at risk of destruction during the reconstruction of the Letná embankment and the Cech Bridge approach (in connection with the construction of the giant Stalin monument). However, Professor Dr. Ing. Stanislav Bechyne discovered a way to save it by moving it 31 meters upstream of the Vltava River, which was done on February 3rd and 4th, 1956. After its relocation, the chapel was placed on a massive pedestal lined with stones and equipped with a new roof. Stained glass windows by Alena Novotná-Gutfreundová depicting the history of the chapel in various periods of its existence (grape harvesting, rest of the boatmen, the presence of Swedes in Prague, construction of the Cech Bridge, reinforcement of the walls before relocation, relocation) were installed in its six windows.
The author of this painting is Václav Jansa. You can find this painting in book 'Starou Prahou Václava Jansy' (
visit link) .
Vaclav Jansa (October 22, 1859 Slatinice - June 29, 1913 Cernošice) (
visit link) Czech landscape artist and illustrator, best known for these views, originally painted in water-colour.
Jansa was apprenticed to buyers, but later he devoted himself to his hobby of drawing and painting. Vaclav Jansa traveled a lot and took to painting landscapes. He painted mostly southern Bohemia and Giant Mountains. Since 1893 was redeveloped historic districts of Prague, Prague ghetto and parts of the Old and New Town. In this time Jansa painted cca 150 colored watercolors documenting disappearing part of the city.