The Church of Saint Wenceslas ( cs, Kostel sv. Václava) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in

Vršovice Vršovice is a district of Prague. All of Vršovice lies within the Prague 10 administrative district. Vršovice is located south-east of the city centre. It borders Vinohrady to the north, Nusle to the south-west, Michle to the south and Straš ...

in Prague 10,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. The church was built in 1930 as a commemoration of the 1,000th anniversary of the death of

St. Wenceslas Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

Description

This was one of three new buildings constructed in 1929 in Prague inspired by the 1000th anniversary of the death of St. Wenceslas. This is the Saint Wenceslas who features in the

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

" Good King Wenceslas", which was based on a poem written by Václav Alois Svoboda The most expensive construction for Wenceslas's commemoration in Prague was the completion of the medieval cathedral, but the Catholic Church also decided to build two new churches. One church was to be built at Jiřího z Poděbrad - the

Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord The Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord ( cs, Kostel Nejsvětějšího Srdce Páně) is a Roman Catholic church at Jiřího z Poděbrad Square in Prague's Vinohrady district. It was built between 1929 and 1932 and designed by the Slovene a ...

by Jože Plečnik and this one, which was to be built on a former cemetery in Svatopluk Čech square in Vršovice.Church of St. Wenceslas in Vršovice
Hundred -spired Prague, Praha.eu, retrieved 17 November 2013 There was already a church in Vršovice dedicated to St. Nicholas whose history went back, via several buildings on the site, to the 11th century,Church of St. Nicholas in Vršovice
virtualni.praha.eu, retrieved 16 November 2013 but this was to be a new church. The idea of a new church had started in 1864 but the process was slow and it took until 1902 to establish a committee to create a new church for Vršovice.History
farnostvrsovice.cz, retrieved 18 November 2013 The design of the new church was settled by competition with over 50 entries being short-listed to three. Czech architect

Josef Gočár Josef Gočár (13 March 1880 in Semín – 10 September 1945 in Jičín) was a Czech architect. It was one of the founders of modern architecture in Czech Republic. Life Josef Gočár received his early instruction at the State Technical School ...

was the winner with a daring Constructivist design. The foundation stone was laid in May 1929 and the church was consecrated by Francis Kordac, the Archbishop of Prague on 21 September 1930.Church of St Wenceslas in Vršovice
1pragueguide, retrieved 18 November 2013 It is said that the overall plan was made by the architect to have a hall that led to the presbytery to cope with the sloping ground. The building is dominated by the 50-metre tower with a large seven-metre cross as its top. The tower also incorporates a clock and it is possible to climb to this and the top just using a ladder. The tower has five bells and the cross at the top is lighted at night. The windows in the church were replaced in 1998 during a refurbishment Up to that date the glass chosen was Luxfer glass which is a glass covered in small prisms which directed the light in the architect's desired direction. The church was open in September 2012 as part of the European Heritage Days initiative.Praha 10 spouští QRpedii. Památky označkuje QR kódy
Lucas Vaclavik, September 2012, CNews.cz, retrieved 17 November 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Wenceslas Church, Vrsovice Churches in Prague 10 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Czech Republic National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic Roman Catholic churches completed in 1930 Josef Gočár buildings Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia