Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary in Stara Boleslav 1617-1623, after 1728

Stara Boleslav is connected with the murder of the land's protector St. Wenceslas in the local castle. The cult of  St. Wenceslas was promoted in the 17th century also by the Habsburgs who connected it with the ancient cult of Mary, revived in the re-catholisation times. Based on the incentive of Empress Anna, the Church of Assumption of Virgin Mary was founded at the place of an earlier parochial church, which was constructed in the years 1617-23 by Giacomo de Vaccani according o the design of the Rudolphian court architect, Giovanni Maria Filippi. The northern tower was build in 1675 by Abraham Leuthner, the southern tower by Kilian Ignatius Dientzenhofer. In the peak Baroque era, this architect modernised  the whole structure - after 1728, he modified the frontage with portals and adjoined a cloister in the axis of the temple. The single-nave church with lateral chapels belongs to the first examples of the use of the reduced layout promoted by the Jesuits after the Council of Trent. The characteristic panelled frontage with a pronounced tympanum and a couple of lateral volutes reflects also the model of the church Il Gesu in Rome. At the top of the gable, there is an enlarged copy of the Gothic Marian relief kept in the choir of the church  - the so-called palladium (protection) of the Czech lands, which became a symbol of an interrupted continuity of Christian belief in the Czech lands. According to the legend, this medallion was carried by St. Wenceslas at the instant of his martyred death, where it was then hidden underground by his companion hollowed Podiven and later miraculously dug out. In 1668, the Jesuits founded their residence by the church, six years after which this oldest pilgrimage place in Bohemia was connected with Prague by 44 chapels of the Holly Way.

Architect: Giovanni Maria Filippi, Kilian Ignatius Dientzenhofer
Building Principal: Czech province of the order of the Society of Jesus, with the support of the Empress Anna Habsburg
Location: Stara Boleslav (District Prague-East), Wenceslas Square

Church of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xaverius with a Jesuit college in Breznice 1642-1673


The Jesuit residence in Breznice was founded in 1637 by Pribik Jenisek of Ujezd. In the next year, the burgher houses in the square were rebuilt for the purposes of the residence, which was in 1651 promoted to and independent college. The construction of a new church took place in the years 1642-73 (basic structure 1642-49, towers in 1650). The church represents a rather traditional and conservative solution based on the Jesuit concept broadened by the extension of the main nave by the fourth bay. By 1657, the four-wing college and gymnasium (1654) was completed, followed by the hospital (1674) and the seminary of St. Joseph. The architect as well as the master builder of the temple and the college was C. Lurago, a key person of Czech early Baroque architecture, M. Lurago was the foreman and G. Passarini the stone mason. The church cemetery of  St. Rochus from the years 1644-50 is also the work of C. Lurago. In 1647, the pilgrimage place on Svata Hora fell under the administration of the college in Breznice. 17 chapels were constructed along the road from Breznice to Pribram.

Architect: Carlo Lurago
Building Principal: Pribik Jenisek of Ujezd, Supreme Amanuensis
Location: Breznice (District of Pribram), the square

Loretta and chateau Mikulov 1624-1656, 1700-1706


The origins of the Loretta of Mikulov are connected to the person of Cardinal Francis Dietrichstein, bishop of Olomouc and Moravian proconsul, who brought a copy of the Black Madonna from Loreto in Italy and started to built a Lorettan shelter in Mikulov under the protection of the Capuchin Order. This shelter became a model for other buildings of this type in Bohemia and Moravia (e.g. in Prague). At the same time, an oblong single-nave church with a cloister and an oratory was under construction above the chapel in the period 1640-56. The designer and master builder of the complex was Giovanni Giacomo Tencalla, the most important figure active in Moravia in the first half of the 17th century. The remains of preserved vaults and the central chapel near the entrance decorated by stucco indicate that he had a good knowledge of the Italian mannerist works as well as the principle of stereotomous sectioning of the walls by recesses, niches and intruded panels contrasting with flat pilasters. The spectacular façade of the church was constructed only in the period of 1700-06 owing to the Prince Leopold Dietrichstein. The famous Viennese architect Johann Bernard Fischer of Erlach is considered to be the author of the project. Nevertheless, the monumental frontage with the so-called high column order and extraordinarily rich architectural façade repeating the scheme of the Lorettan Saint Shelter belong to exceptional development in Moravia. Unique is especially the stylistic orientation towards the classicising form of monumental Berninian Baroque. Important Moravian sculptors, such as Ignatius Lengelacher and Antonin Riga, participated in the decoration of he front façade. In 1784, the church was destroyed by fire and only in the years 1842-45, it was adapted to serve as a family tomb.
Based on the incentive of cardinal Dietrichstein and with the participation of Tencalla, also the pilgrimage area on the nearby the Svaty Kopecek hill was created, where a Plague Chapel was erected in 1622, replaced after the fire of 1679 by the present building of the floor plan in the shape of a Greek cross. Cardinal Dietrichstein also distinctively modernised and rebuilt the chateau of Mikulov. However, its present appearance, completed around 1730 with the participation of the architect Christian Oedtl a the sculptor Ignatius Lengelachera, is the result of the reconstruction works following the great fire of 1718.

Architect: Giovanni Giacomo Tencalla, Johann Bernard Fischer of Erlach
Building Principal: Cardinal Francis Dietrichstein, bishop of Olomouc and Moravian proconsul; Prince Francis Dietrichstein
Location: Mikulov (District of Breclav)

Baroque architecture - Prague

Wallenste in Palace 1623-1631


The Wallenstein Palace, the first monumental structure of Baroque Prague, was constructed on the place of 26 demolished houses, six gardens, and two brickworks. The construction commenced in 1623 with the participation of Italian architects. Andrea Spezza is in the literature mentioned as the main architect, who was in 1628 succeeded by Niccolo Sebregondi. The role of another master builder Giovanni Pieroni da Gagliano was mainly to carry out the conceptual management, consulting and building supervision. The main wing turning to the Wallenstein Square was created by rebuilding of the house of the Trcka family. Its architectural design connects the elements of Italian late Renaissance and the nordic mannerism expressed by richly decorated portals and dormers. An elaborate functional layout distributed around four interior courtyards functionally separated Wallenstein's apartments from the residence of his nephew and spouse. Richly decorated interiors are also the work of Italian artists. The outstanding structures among them are the elevated chapel of  St. Wenceslas, two communication corridors, and in particular the ceremonial, the so-called Knightly Hall, extending through both floors of the main building. Next to the painter Baccio del Bianca, also the stuccoers Domenico Canevale and Santino Galli participated in its decoration.
The monumental sala terrena is the most spectacular part of the palace, built according to similar structures in Vicenza, Mantova and Genova in Italy. Its decoration was carried out in 1629 by the artists working in the main hall. The loggia belongs to constructions significant for the development of Czech architecture. Its architectural concept is based on Italian late Renaissance, however, the monumental conception of the loggia with three arcades on doubled columns marks the outset of the new Baroque style. The complex includes also stately horse stables, a riding school and an Italian garden with an architectural composition including an aviary, a grotta and a magnificent fountain from Adrian de Vries. The basic structure was completes in 1631; after Wallenstein's death, the property remained in the possession of the family. The palace was repaired in 1950 after it became the seat of the Ministry of Culture. Since 1994, when it became the seat of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, it has been undergoing an overall refurbishment.

Architect: Andrea Spezza, Niccolo Sebregondi, Giovanni Pieroni
Building Principal: Albrecht Wenceslas Eusebius of Wallenstein, Duke of Mecklenburg
Location: Prague 1 - Lesser Town, Wallenstein Square 4, No. 17/III

Church of Virgin Mary Victorious, formerly of the Holy Trinity 1611-1613, 1636-1644, after 1669


For many reasons, the church belongs to structures symbolically marking the rise of Baroque in the Czech lands. The originally mannerist Church of the Holy Trinity, constructed in the period 1611-13 by the Rudolphian court architect G. M. Filippi for German Lutherans, introduced in Bohemia for the first time a longitudinal single-nave layout with lateral chapels, as it is known in the anti-reformation Jesuit architecture. In 1624, the church was given to the Barefooted White Friars, as their superior actively participated in the Battle of White Mountain, it was newly consecrated and completely rebuilt. Within this rebuilding works, the orientation of the church was changed, a new presbytery was constructed and in 1636-44 a new frontage was erected. The panelled frontage with volute wings reflects the example of the church S. M. Vittoria in Rome and represents a Baroque prototype of façade abundantly used in the Czech lands. Since 1628, a statue of Bambino is worshiped in the church, belonging to one of the most famous devotionals of the Catholic world.

Architect: Giovanni Maria Filippi and an unknown master builder
Building Principal: Henry Julius Duke of Branschweig-Luneburg, Order of Barefooted White Friars, with the support of don Balthasar de Marradas
Location: Prague 1 - Lesser Town, Karmelitska street

Large hospital with former chapel of Virgin Mary and St. Charles Boromius 1611-1617, after 1634, 1724


The foundation of the hospital was assisted by the Marian congregation founded by the Jesuit college, based on the initiative of Italian master builders and craftsmen settled in Prague. Its construction was commenced in 1602 by Domenico de Bossi. The central chapel, which can be identified with the present presbytery, was constructed in 1611-17. The construction of the annex of the nave took place in 1643, from when also the twin towers by the choir originated, which were later on removed. In 1724 Bartolommeo Scotti adapted the preserved peak Baroque front façade. Today, the building is the seat of the Italian Cultural Centre.





Architect: unknown Italian architect, Bartolommeo Scotti
Building Principal: Marian congregation by the Jesuit college in the Old Town
Location: Prague 1 - Lesser Town, Vlasska str. 34, No. 335/III

Baroque architecture - the Prague Castle

The Lobkowitz Palace 1651-1668

The palace is based on a monumental Renaissance building constructed in the second half of the 16th century by the family of the noblemen of Pernstejn. In 1602, its ownership passed by a marriage into the possession of the Lobkowitz family, an in 1625, the palace was damaged by fire. The majestic early baroque rebuilding took place between 1651 and 1668 according to the design of the master builder Carlo Lurago and under the conduct of the frontman Giovanni Angelo Soldatti (the literature mentions also an unclear participation of Domenico Antonio Lurago). From the Baroque construction phase, the overall layout, two pilaster portals and in particular the authentic interiors on the first floor have been preserved. In these interiors, we can admire the representative dining hall with a lobby, decorated by massive stuccos of Giovanni Battista Galli and ceiling paintings from Fabian Vaclav Harovnik with antic motives, dating back to the years 1664-69. The façades of the palaces facing the town were unified and adapted in 1791. In the course of the adaptation works in the 19th century, the richly decorated great hall ceased to exist. In the years 1973-86, the building was reconstructed, since when it houses the historic exhibitions from the collections of the National Museum in Prague.

Architect: Carlo Lurago
Building Principal: Wenceslas Eusebius of Lobkowitz
Location: Prague 1 - Prague Castle, Jirska street No. 3/IV

Pavilion in the Hartig garden After 1670 and 1720

The terraced Baroque garden was created simultaneously with the reconstruction of the Lesser Town palace of the family Mansfeld and later Salm (nowadays No. 184 Nove zamecke schody), carried out about in mid-17th century. It included also a "lusthaus" (pleasure house) - a central structure of an oval floor plan and open first floor, which served as a scenic gazebo and shelter for musical productions. The simple façade with a rhythmical pattern of plastic intrusions and pilaster strips was modified in 1720, on the basis of the initiative of count Ludwig Joseph Hartig. At that time, also a new roof cladding was laid and the profile of the roof altered. Repairs of the stucco decoration and wall painting with the motives of landscape sections and architectural perspectives took place in 1884 and in 1923. In 1965, the pavilion with the garden became a part of the Southern Gardens of the Prague Castle and was adopted for classical music concerts. After the reconstruction of the building, completed in 1968 according to the design of the architects Adolf  Bens a Richard Podzemny, the adjoining terrace was fitted with mythological sculptures from the workshop of the sculptor Mathias Bernard Braun dating back to about 1740, which were acquired already in 1947 from the chateau of Stirin.

Architect: unknown
Building Principal: Isabela Svihovska of Salm, Ludwig Joseph Hartig
Location: Prague 1 - Prague Castle, Na Valech garden

Old provostship Around 1662

The provostship was established in the building of the Roman bishop court from mid-11th century and was subsequently several times rebuilt. The author of the early Baroque rebuilding is unknown. However, with respect to its architectural qualities, it is attributable to some of Prague's important master builders of that time. For example, Francesco Caratti comes into consideration here, who provably made the sculpture of St. George located on the new fountain. The statute of the land's protector St. Wenceslas from J.J. Bendl carries the chronogram 1662, which at the same time dates the building itself. In the first quarter of the 18th century, the house was decorated with stucco ceilings with allegories of virtues. At the same time, also the adjoining Chapel of St. Moritz was rebuilt in Baroque style, which was however demolished in 1880.

Architect: Francesco Caratti ?
Building Principal: Jan Frantisek Rasch of Aschenfeld, provost of the Chapter of St. Vitus
Location: Prague 1 - Prague Castle, 3rd courtyard, No. 48/IV

Official Site for the Czech Republic

Information provided by: http://www.czech.cz