St. George's Basilica ( cz, Bazilika Sv. Jiří) is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920. It is dedicated to Saint George. Primarily Romanesque in style, it is part of the collection of buildings that comprise the castle, the political capital of the nation, and the spiritual center of the Czech state.

Background

Consecrated in 921, the basilica is one of the oldest churches in Prague built in the Romanesque style. The construction of the church was begun by Vratislaus I. At the time of Vratislaus' death in 921, the church had been completed but not consecrated. Wenceslaus I completed the project, and upon her death he buried his grandmother, Ludmila of Bohemia there. The basilica was prominent at the beginning of the spread of Christianity in Bohemia. Its collegiate church was at the center of the territory until the foundation of the Archdiocese of Prague in 973. In 976, the first building of the Benedictine St. George's Abbey was erected on the north side of the basilica, and the basilica served as an abbey church. The original three- nave building was completed with a choir, a tribune for the

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

of the convent and a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

. Founded in 973 by

Mlada ''Mlada'' (russian: Млада, italic=yes, the name of a main character) was a project conceived in 1870 by Stepan Gedeonov (1816–1878), director of the Saint Petersburg Imperial Theatres, originally envisioned as a ballet to be composed by ...

, the Convent of Saint George sits next to the basilica. The abbess of this community had the right to crown the Bohemian queen consort. In 1142,

Conrad III Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

entered

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

to reinstate his brother-in-law Vladislaus II as duke. Conrad laid siege to the Prague Castle. During the siege, the church and convent suffered heavy damage caused by a fire. The damage was repaired between 1145 and 1151 and two towers were added to the church on that occasion. The northern, smaller tower is nicknamed "Eve", while the southern, larger, tower is nicknamed "Adam". The

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

façade dates from the late 17th century. In the years 1364–1378 the abbess Elisabetta completed the renovation of the chapel of Santa Ludmilla in the Gothic style, while the chapel's altar was consecrated in 1371 by Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim. During the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. M ...

, the monastery was devastated during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

and rebuilt after the return of the Benedictines under

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1 ...

. At the beginning of the 16th century, a new southern portal was built. During the fire of 1541, the basilica burned down again and was rebuilt again. Between 1608 and 1612, the Abbess Sophia of Helfenburg had a large choir for the nuns built in the western part of the central nave. In the late 17th century the

façade was built, probably under the direction of . Between 1717 and 1722, the chapel of

St. John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus ...

was erected by

František Maxmilián Kaňka František Maxmilián Kaňka (9 August 1674 in Prague – 14 July 1766 in Prague) was a Czech architect and builder. He was known for modifying castles, palaces and churches. In 1724 he was appointed emperor's architect. Work He is most famou ...

. A bas-relief on the south portal of the building represents

Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianitydefeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tr ...

. In the 1780s, the condition of the buildings had deteriorated when Joseph II disbanded the monastic orders, and the monastery and basilica were repurposed and used by the army. With the exception of some elements of the façade, and interior of the church, the basilica has maintained the Romanesque style from the restoration after the fire in Prague Castle in 1142. A bas-relief on the outside of the building represents Saint George and the dragon.

Interior

Unlike the

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and rococo churches of Prague, the interior of the basilica is simple and austere limestone block. The church is a three- aisled basilica with two towers located on the eastern end of the church, at the end of the two side aisles. It begins with a square presbytery, and ends in an apse. There is a three-nave crypt under the chancel. The mausoleum holds the tombs of the members of Přemyslid dynasty and the

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of many saints. ;Burials * Ludmila of Bohemia, grandmother of Wenceslaus I and patron of the Kingdom of Bohemia *

Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia Vratislaus (or Wratislaus) I ( cs, Vratislav I.; – 13 February 921), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 915 until his death. Life He was a son of Duke Bořivoj I of Bohemia by his wife Ludmila and the younger brothe ...

* Agnes of Bohemia * Jaromír, Duke of Bohemia * Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia * Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia * Kunigunde of Bohemia

Current usage

The basilica is part of the Prague castle complex of buildings. The castle was the political capital of the nation and the basilica was part of its spiritual center. In 1962, the building was declared a national cultural monument and converted into a concert hall. Between 1969 and 1975, it was converted into an exhibition space. The building now houses the 19th century

n Art Collection of National Gallery Prague. It also serves as a concert hall.

Gallery

File:FFridrich, Prazsky hrad, bazilika sv. Jiří.jpg, View from the Prague Cathedral in 1867 File:FF bazilika sv jiri 3888.jpg, View from the Cathedral in 2005 File:Bazilika Svatého Jiří.jpg, Basilica - eastern side File:Prague Christ sur la Croix basilique St-Georges par Otto Herbert Hajek en 1947 1948.JPG, View inside – Christ – 1947 By OH Hajek File:MZK 001 Nr 10 Charakteristik der Baudenkmale Böhmens - Fig. 03 Grundriss St. Georgskirche - Prag-Hradschin.jpg, Floor plan from 1856 File:Apse, St. George's Basilica, Prague 20160809 1.jpg, Interior view of the apse

References

Bibliography

External links

Basilica of Saint George – Prague-wikipragueexperience.com
{{Authority control Prague Castle Churches in Prague 1 Romanesque architecture in the Czech Republic George's George's