Photographer’s Note
St. Vitus's Cathedral is the largest and the most important church in Prague. Apart from divine services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in it. The remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops are interred here.
The cathedral is the third church consecrated to the same saint on the identical site. About the year 925 Prince Vaclav I founded a Romanesque rotunda here which after 1060 was converted into a triple-naved basilica with two steeples. The importance of the cathedral grew especially after the establishment of the Prague bishopric in 973 and the founding of the body of canons - the St. Vitus chapter, which later became an important cultural and administrative institution.
In 1344 Charles IV began the construction of a Gothic cathedral. Its first builders, Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler, built the choir with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas's Chapel, the Golden Portal and the lower part of the main steeple. In spite of the endeavours of some sovereigns to secure the continuation of the construction work the cathedral remained uncompleted for whole centuries. The main steeple was crowned with a Renaissance helmet and the music choir was built. The facade of the cathedral was provisionally closed.
It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that the Union for the Completion of the Building of St. Vitus's Cathedral began the repair of the original part and the completion of the building of the cathedral in Neo-Gothic style. The cathedral was solemnly consecrated in 1929. Its interior was subjected to adaptations even in later years.
Visitors enter the cathedral through the portal in the western facade, opposite the passage-way between the Second and Third Courtyards of Prague Castle. Its bronze door is decorated with reliefs with scenes from the history of the cathedral and from the legends about St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert.
The Neo-Gothic part of the cathedral consists of the main nave and the narrow side aisles, lined with chapels, and the northern wing of the transverse nave. The chapels have stained glass windows.
The construction of the large southern steeple was started by Peter Parler, but he did not complete it. It gained its originally planned height after being provided with a Renaissance helmet in the 16th century. St. Wenceslas's Chapel partly reaches on to the area of the transverse nave. The different conception of its architecture and its magnificent decoration emphasize its importance as the central point of the cathedral as a whole. The solemn entrance to the cathedral, the Golden Portal, affords access to the chapel from the Third Courtyard.>
More infos about St Vitus Cathedral, from old.hrad.cz
jhm, Maritsa, carper, nwoehnl, papagolf21, avigur_11, bertolucci has marked this note useful
Critiques | Translate
dominique
(11414) 2005-01-15 11:17
Une vue impressionnante , le choix du cadrage est intéressant , beau travail .
jhm
(83742) 2005-01-15 11:49
I find this very nice done Mpampis, but it's very difficult you have to very near are for make this image, but this absolutely sharp and clear.
Greetings John.
Maritsa
(358) 2005-01-15 12:30
Very nice and interesting shot of this impressive cathedral. I like the POV!
carper
(66108) 2005-01-15 12:40
Fantastic one Mpampis,
The angle you took this shot is very nice, the depth lines are great, fantastic details, very good job
nwoehnl
(120) 2005-01-15 14:34
Hi Mpampis - an imposing upward angle along the ornate façade of the old cathedral, well framed and cropped. You also have a high technical level in your presentation - sharpness and contrast appear to be spot-on. Very well done.
papagolf21
(57003) 2005-01-15 18:47
Bonsoir Mpampis,
J'adore l'architecture religieuse, civile et militaire. Cette tour-clocher est splendide, tous les détails ressortent avec magnificence. Très belle prise de vue.
Un grand merci du partage Mpampis.
Bien amicalement.
Philippe
avigur_11
(21307) 2005-01-15 18:51
A very impressive building, Mpampis. It ooks even more impressive thanks to the upward angel and the cloudy sky. Very good note, as well.
bertolucci
(12022) 2005-01-16 9:23
Fine capture with a judicious framing here, Babis. I love the PoV and the fine contrast between the masonry and the copper domes against the vert nicely rendered sky. Very fine job and it's great how you give us y'r personal tour of Prague.
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Mpampis Mantoukas (Xalkida)
(11740) - Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2004-12-25
- Categories: Castles, Architecture, Artwork
- Camera: SONY DSC-P10, Memory Stick 256mb
- Exposure: f/2.8, 1/125 seconds
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Travelogue: My Christmas trip to Prague
- Theme(s): Cathedrals of the world 02, !My Christmas 2004 Trip to Prague [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2005-01-15 10:13








