Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Charles the Great[editovat | editovat zdroj]

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Obec	Prague
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The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Charles the Great is located in the Karlov area. The orginally Gothic church was rebuilt and augmented in Baroque style. The church is a part of the former convent of the Augustinian Order in Pragues' Karlov.

History[editovat | editovat zdroj]

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Charles the Great was founded by the imperior Charles IV as a part of the convent of the Augustinian Order within the project of a big development of the New Town district. Such investments into towns' developement were the result of the determination of Charles IV to enchance the City of Prague to match its' new role - the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. The proof for that is the unusual shape of the church that refers to its' patron. Octagonal floor plan refers directly to the main building of the imperial palace of Charles the Great in Aachen - to the Aachen Cathedral, that was erected "on the hexagonal floor plan" with an inserted octagon. "The central floor plan" of the church is very uncommon and seldom used in the gothic architecture. Nowadays the original vaulting system is not documented. It's supposed that the main vault of the church was supported by the pillar in the middle or that it was the vaulting based on 4 columns.

The importance of the church is also proved by its dedication to St. Mary, the mother of Jesus and St. Charles the Great, the reviver of the Roman Empire. Charles IV gave a valuable relic?? to the church: three teeth of Charles the Great.

The erection of the church began in the year of 1351. Matthias of Arras and his building workshop took part in the construction. The richly profiled chancel arch, the antechamber as well as the north entrance to the nave repeat some of the stylistic features of Matthias already seen in St. Vitus. The church was consecrated by the archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim in the year 1377 with the presense of Charles IV and his son Wenceslaus IV. It's evident, however, that the building was not yet finished by the time of consecration. The construction of the convent itself apparently took much more time. During the Hussite Wars the church and the convent were damaged and abandoned. In the year of 1498 after the reconstruction the church was reconsecrated. This time the churches' vaulting was designed by Hans Spiess. Two remarkable stained glasses windows are dated back to the years 1502-1505.

The present vaulting, however, dates back to the year 1575, when the church was revaulted by the boldly designed dome with the net of the Pseudogothic ribs, that was covered with the new roof. The vault was designed by Bonifác Wolmut.

In 1603 the buildings of the convent were damaged by the lightning and fire. The church was then renovated and recovered with a new roof. In 1676 Mariazell chapel was erected in the center of the church, the sponsor was Bernard Ignác Jan z Martinic and the autor was Giovanni Domenico Orsi, the chapel doesn't exist now. Orsi can also be credited with the harmonious Baroque decoration of the interior first floor rooms of the church.

Early in the 18 century, partially thanks to the dominant location, the convent became a destination for pilgrims.Thus the old intention to build Holy Steps by the church according to the template of Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome was only executed after the year 1704 by the count of Schönnfeld. Porovost Luňák recieved the building permission in the year 1708. The building was completed by the year 1711 with all the decoration. Jan Santini Aichel was credited with the project in thirties of 20. century. This theory was then proved by several further investigations, however there is no archival proof for it yet. Beneath the "Holy Steps" Bethlehem Cave of the Nativity Chapel was constructed with trompe l'oiel stucco work on the walls.

The interior of the church undergone some changes in the years 1735-1740. New KRUCHTA was installed that enabled the installation of new organ by Bedřich Semerád. The choir as well as two side galleries was built by František Maxmilián Kaňka . The Mariazell chapel was destroyed. New pulpit, oratories and altars were added.

On the 22nd of april in 1755 there was a fire in the whole convent. The damaged and destroyed roofs were renovated in the year 1756. In the year 1785 the convent was reformed into the hospital by Josef II. The substantial revival of the Gothic form of the church, that was intendend in the years 1871-1873, was executed only in smaller part.

Architecture[editovat | editovat zdroj]

The octagonal central nave is vaulted with Late Gothic brick vaulting supported by the stone ribs that create the sophisticated star figure. Polygonal presbytery is enclosed by the 6 sides of the decagon and vaulted with Gothic rib-supported vault. The vault is 22.8 meter in width. On the opposite side there is a bell tower adjacent to the nave, thats height is not dominating over the nave at all. The nave and the tower are evidently reinforced by external Gothic piers. The whole church is girded with the cornice, over which the attic is built. The nave, the presbytery and the tower have three baroque cupola-shaped roofs with lanterns that create picturesque silhouette of Karlov.

The hall and the "Holy Steps" building are erected in baroque style too. The windows in the first floor are shaped in a Gothic-inspired way according to the template of curtain-shaped windows of the Late Gothic architecture. Structural Gothic elements are abundantly displayed by the building and prove the Jan Santini Aichel authorship of the edifice. There are several other elements inherent to the architects' style. These are expressively articulated cornices, pillars on the corners, concave arches of the cloister that create swaying rhythm.

The interior of the church is decorated with the baroque stucco and enriched by the baroque furniture. Several altar paintings by Jan Jiří Heinsch are to be found in the building. The main altar however is not Gothic, it dates back to 1872. Window traceries are also Neogothic.

Interesting facts[editovat | editovat zdroj]

The 5 churches in New Town district that were founded by Charles IV form a regular cross. The North-South axis is formed by the Church of st. Catherine and the Church of Our Lady on the Lawn. The East-west axis is formed by the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Charles the Great and the church of Virgin Mary on Slovany. The axis are crossing at the church of St. Apollinaire.

The construction of the vault of the nave is reffered to Old Pragues' stories book, according to which the builder of the vault had to have a deal with the devil to finish the construction. When the builder saw the vault finished he was amazed by it's size. Full of fear that the vault would collapse he fired up the supporting scaffolds and hanged himself. The vault survived. The devil kept his word and got the builders' soul.