Architect Josef Mocker restored a number of Czech monuments

Prague - 175 years ago, on November 22, 1835, a significant Czech architect and restorer, Josef Mocker, was born. During his rich career, he participated in the completion and restoration of many important churches and castles in Bohemia, primarily St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, but he also designed numerous new buildings. Most of them were conceived in the spirit of Neo-Gothic style. According to his designs, churches such as St. Ludmila in Vinohrady, St. Peter and Paul in Vyšehrad, St. Procopius in Žižkov, and the New Chapter at Prague Castle were built. He was also the author of the project for the Schwarzenberg Mausoleum in Třeboň and several schools, including a gymnasium in Litoměřice and in Mladá Boleslav.
    Among the monuments that Josef Mocker restored were modifications to the castles of Křivoklát and Karlštejn, the Powder Gate in Prague, and churches in Kolín, Plzeň, and Vysoké Mýto. The extremely diligent Mocker was known for carefully preparing documentation for each building. He also wrote several publications on the issues of restoration of architectural monuments. However, his work still has many critics today. They argue that Mocker lacked artistic sensitivity, that he interfered too much with the original form of valuable objects in his modifications, and that he completely overlooked the intentions of his architectural predecessors.