Kostel Sv. Jakuba Vetšího / Church of St. James the Greater (Prachatcie - South Bohemia) - Medieval Churches on Waymarking.com

The late Gothic Church of St. James The Greater (Kostel Sv. Jakuba Vetšího), located in Kostelní námestí (The Church's Square) in Prachatice's city centre, is one of the most valuable historical buildings of this pictoresque South-Bohemian town.

St. James is three-aisled church with pentagonal enclosed presbytery with sacristy on both sides and also with the Chapel of St. John N. Neumann (formerly St. Barbara, formerly St. Cross) in the southern part. On the western side of the church are two prismatic towers. The more southern six-storey tower, 53 m tall, is terminated by a covered gallery on cantilevers. The massive appearance of the church is finished by high hipped roof. The church's truss structure, a masterpiece of carpenter's work, surpasses by a sophisticated lightweight construction without a single metal binding element. Professional survey in 2002 showed, that the roof is made of timber fell in 1474-1475. The church's construction, following the founding of the Prachatice, started in the first half of the 14th century. The oldest record about the church's existence is from the 1359. The main three-aisled body's construction, interrupted by the Hussite wars, began in 1410 and finished in the late 15th century. The first presbytery was built in the second half of the 14th century. The church gained its final late-Gothic form in years 1505-1513. During next centuries was St. James reconstructed several times. After the great fire in 1832 was the higher tower adapted to its current form - the original dome was replaced with a lantern tin roofing.