Rotunda Nalezeni sv. Krize - Prague, Czech Republic
Posted by: 
ToRo61
N 50° 04.972 E 014° 24.870
33U E 458110 N 5548009
The Romanesque rotunda of the Finding of the Holy Cross [CZ: Rotunda Nalezení sv. Kríže Menšího]
Waymark Code: WM1874Q
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 06/12/2023
Views: 4
On the corner of Konviktská and Karlolina Svetlá streets stands the oldest Prague Romanesque rotunda of the Finding of the Holy Cross (as opposed to the closed church of St. Cross the Greater at the Cyriac monastery near the Jewish Town). The small, simple building has a round nave and a semicircular apse on the eastern side, decorated with an arched frieze. The rotunda is built of small bricks arranged in rows (larger blocks were not built until the 12th century). The apse and nave were walled with ceramic vessels, with their necks turned inwards, to improve its acoustics. It is possible that it was originally a private sanctuary of one of the manorial courts in the Old Town.
Under Joseph II (
visit link) in 1784 the chapel was closed and became a warehouse. In 1860 it was even threatened with demolition for the construction of a new house. It was only through the decisive intervention of the Art Council that the precious monument was saved. The town council decided to buy the rotunda and the architect Ignác Ullmann undertook to restore its exterior free of charge and designed a new altarpiece, painted by Jan Popelík. The remains of the 14th century Gothic wall paintings were repaired by František Sequens, the most precious Gothic fresco being the Adoration of the Three Kings. During reconstruction works, remnants of the original brick floor and fragments of tombstones from the 13th century were discovered under the pavement. A rare denarius of Prince Jaromir from 1012 was found during the landscaping.