Rotunda of St. Martin / Rotunda Sv. Martina (Prague - Vyšehrad)
N 50° 03.819 E 014° 25.294
33U E 458600 N 5545867
Rotunda of St. Martin is the only building in the Vyšehrad fortress, preserved from the Romanesque era. It stood there already in the 11th century, when Vyšehrad was the seat of Czech kings. It is one of the oldest buildings preserved in Prague.
Waymark Code: WM6A8C
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 05/01/2009
Views: 217
The city of Prague boasts three extant Romanesque rotundas. They date from the 11th century. These include the famous Rotunda of the Holy Rood. The oldest of these round structures, however, is St. Martin’s Rotunda.
Located in the mythical Prague's fortress - Vyšehrad, Rotunda of St. Martin (In Czech: Rotunda Sv. Martina) is the oldest rotunda in the city and the only structure from the time of Czech king Vratislav I that is still intact. Between the end of the 11th century and the 14th century, it acted as a Parish Church. Construction of a local fort, however, saw the Rotunda become storage space for gunpowder. Under an assault by the Prussians in 1757, the rotunda sustained a cannonball. It remains entombed in the eastern wall. Soon afterwards, the decision came to remove it for road construction. Instead, in 1878–1880, reconstruction produced the current façade. It retains a Neo-Romanesque portal and marble altar. The floor, however, is a reproduction of the original stamped clay. The interior paintings are by F. Sequens. The rotunda is open during services only.
A rotunda (from Italian "rotonda") is any building with a circular ground plan, often covered by a dome. The rotunda have historical and architectural value because it was widespread in the medieval Central Europe. Great number of parochial churches were built in this form in the 9-12th Century A.D. in Central Europe.