Kostel svatého Petra a Pavla / Church of Ss. Peter and Paul - Cáslav (Central Bohemia)
N 49° 54.656 E 015° 23.360
33U E 527953 N 5528800
Gothic Church of Ss. Peter and Paul (Kostel Sv. Petra a Pavla), with core from the 12th century, is the key historic and architectonic landmark of the town Caslav with from a far visible slender belfry and pointed Gothic tent roof.
Waymark Code: WMQTQ7
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/28/2016
Views: 17
Gothic Church of Ss. Peter and Paul (Kostel Sv. Petra a Pavla), with core from the 12th century, is the key historic and architectonic landmark of the town Caslav with from a far visible slender belfry and pointed Gothic tent roof.
Ss. Peter and Paul is the three nave Gothic hall church (1350) with polygonal chancel (1270) and with slender, almost 90 m tall belfry (finished 1500). Church was erected on the site of the original Romanesque church of St. Michael, which was incorporated into new church as a sacristy. The church was several time rebuilt in Gothic and Baroco style during the centuries almost 700 years of existence. The major puristic Gothic reconstruction was made by renown Czech architect Kamil Hilbert in the years 1908-1911.
Church of St. Peter and Paul is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. From a historical and architectural perspective, the uniqueness of today's church is in an exceptional structural conjunction of the preserved 12th century Romanesque church with its "new" high-Gothic three-nave hall covered by characteristic tent roof and also with dominant slender Gothic belfry.
Stages of church's architectonic development:
- Stage, ca 1150: Romanesque church (nowadays sacristy).
- Stage, ca 1250: Early Gothic presbytery.
- Stage, ca 1350: Construction of the high-Gothic three nave hall and chapel of Virgin Mary Dolorosa.
- Stage, ca 1430: Beginning of the bell tower construction.
- Stage, 1452: Reconstruction after fire, appendx at the north wall added.
- Stage, 1491-1500: Tower finished.
- Stage, 1537-1539: Late-Gothic reconstruction after fire in 1522.
- Stage, 1655—1660: Rebuilding of Chapel of Virgin Mary (new vault).
- Stage, 1703: Repairs of the church.
- Stage, 1826: Repairs of roof and tower.
- Stage, 1841—1863: Reinforcement of the main walls and new crown of the tower.
- Stage, 1908-1911: Puristic Gothic reconstruction by Kamil Hilbert.
Church is also important thanks to so called "Caslav Diet", the medieval assembly of the Czech Kingdom, which was held here in June 3-7, 1421. During this assembly, Czech Hussite (proto-protestants) and Catholic estates, priests and statesmans signed and issued so called "Four Articles", which proposed and constituted coexistence of both political-religious sides and also defined common interests benefitial for the Czech medieval state and Czech nation. The reality was thanks to complicated international situation, role of the Pope / Emperor Sigismund, or later betrayal of some Moravian estates rather different and the Hussite wars continued until their bitter end...
Kostel svatého Petra a Pavla je rímskokatolický chrám v Cáslavi. Je chránen jako kulturní památka Ceské republiky. Jedná se o nízkou, orientovanou, jednopodlažní stavbu; obvodové zdivo presbytáre (se sedlovou strechou) a halovou trojlodí (se stanovou strechou) dosahuje stejné výšky približne 12 m, vež je vysoká 88,5 m. Z historicko-architektonického hlediska spocívá unikátnost dnešního chrámu v zachovalosti a vysokém stárí románského kostela sv. Michala (dnešního presbytáre) a v jeho výjimecném stavebním spojení s vrcholne stredovekým gotickým chrámem. [wiki]