The Church of All Saints () is a church in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

in the

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

. It is one of the oldest churches in the area and it was considered the main

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of the early villages of Plzeň, Malice and Záhorsko before the construction of the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew was completed.

History

The initial Romanesque church was constructed in the 13th century. In 1310, the

Henry of Bohemia Henry of Gorizia (, ; – 2 April 1335), a member of the House of Gorizia, was Duke of Carinthia and Landgrave of Carniola (as Henry VI) and Count of Tyrol from 1295 until his death, as well as King of Bohemia, Margrave of Moravia and titula ...

granted the patronage right to the

Teutonic order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

, which enforced this right and established the church of

St. Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

, which was set to become the

of the early Plzeň. According to result of the new situation the Church of All Saints lost its privileged status and become a

filial church A filial church, in the Roman Catholic Church, is a church to which is annexed the cure of souls, but which remains dependent on another church. The term comes from the Latin ''filialis'', from ''filia'', “daughter”. Description The term ''fi ...

. The church was reconstructed in the Gothic style at the end of the 14th century. 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

, the church's

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was significantly damaged and for this reason the church was repaired during the rest of the century. In 1743, a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

entrance hall was built as an annex to the initial entrance gate. There were numerous continuous repairs during the 19th century. The repairs also focused on the interior. During a World War II bombardment, a stray bomb fell down through the presbytery of the church and the altar and caused a significant damage. Part of the presbytery burned down. After a whole century of repairs the church was opened and consecrated again by Mons. František Radkovský in 1995. Nowadays the church is maintained and operated by the

franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

of Plzeň.

Church exterior

The

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

is a one nave church with a presbytery on the eastern portion, which ends at a polygonal five-sided closure. The wall and

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

lining materials are blocks of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

Entrance

The main entrance at the southern

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

serves as an access to the church. It has two

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon A simple polygon that is not convex is called concave, non-convex or ...

walls with two late Baroque rounded windows lined with pilasters ending in a

baluster A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

with a densely profiled molding.

Presbytery and the church nave

The presbytery and the

are supported by diagonal and setback

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es with roof-like skews. The church's entire parameter is encircled by a window ledge. The presbytery is surrounded by plinths culminating in a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

of the window-sill. All four presbytery windows are Gothic with the

flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

, a flame-like

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

. The other windows in the nave have a form of a pointed shape without traceries.

Church sacristy

The northern part of the presbytery wall is nowadays connected by the portal with the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

, which was originally built as a separate

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

without access to the church. The sacristy is supported by diagonal

es topped with roof-like skews. It is covered with a shed roof connecting to the presbytery. Similarly, as the nave windows, the shape of the window on the eastern side is pointed.

Church interior

Church nave and presbytery

The nave is vaulted by a

groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: La ...

with the ribs leading to decorative

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

s located along the interior walls. A high choir was built on the western end of the nave in the 16th century. Similarly, the space under the high choir is vaulted by a groin vault with a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

leading to the upper level. A linear massive pointed triumphal arch divides the nave from the presbytery. The presbytery is

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

by a figured

rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...

, which is ending in a polygonal five-sided closing. Rectangular supports standing on a plinth surrounding the presbytery support the vault.

Church sacristy

The sacristy is vaulted by a jumping vault that leads to the diagonal

-supported console.

Gallery

Kostel Vsech Svatych Pudorys.png, Ground plan scheme Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 10.JPG, Tower Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 11.JPG, Chancel turret Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 12.JPG, Baroque entrance Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 01.JPG, Church interior and presbytery Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 07.JPG, Interior and high choir Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 08.JPG, Interior, nave pulpit Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 06.JPG, Vault in the presbytery Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 02.JPG, Sacristy, jumping vault Kostel Všech Svatých v Plzni 03.JPG, Jumping vault

References

External links

Plzeň official tourist portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of All Saints (Plzen) Churches in Plzeň Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century