<html>Před 120 lety byl založen kostel sv. Ludmily na Vinohradech</html> <html>120 years ago, the Church of St. Ludmila was founded in Vinohrady</html>
 |
In the areas of today's Vinohrady, there were still plenty of fields, gardens, and smaller farms such as Pštroska, Kanálka, Saracinka, Eichmanka, Kravín, and Seidlovo pole just 130 years ago. The Royal Vinohrady became an independent municipality only in 1849, and thirty years later, it was elevated to city status. Since the 1880s, Vinohrady experienced bustling construction activity and quickly transformed into one of the most opulent parts of Prague, where the electric tram began operation, a town hall was built, the National House, a stone theater, numerous schools, and a new hospital sprung up, along with a respectable church building.
In early November 1888, the Vinohrady council approved the project for the parish church of St. Ludmila on the main square, which was then called Purkyňovo Square. On the site of the future church, where there were still grain fields and a circus just four years earlier, a ceremony took place on November 25, 1888, for the laying and consecration of the foundation stone. The construction, carried out by the Vinohrady community on its own, progressed rapidly. Its significance was underscored by a visit from Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1892. The Vienna Cabinet Office also contributed to the temple. The Association for the Support of the Construction of the Votive Church of St. Ludmila in Royal Vinohrady also played a significant role. Its members contributed financially but also actively collected contributions from institutions and individuals, as evidenced by the annual reports of the association listing almost every brick.
In five years, the construction of St. Ludmila was completed, and the consecration ceremony on October 8, 1893, was magnificent and lasted six hours. The main consecrator was the Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Franz de Paula Schönborn. Alongside numerous ecclesiastical and secular personalities, more than 300 white-clad bridesmaids, the Hlahol choral society, and thousands of citizens participated in the celebration. In 1929, on the occasion of the Saint Wenceslas Millennium, the parish of St. Ludmila was elevated to an archdeaconry.
The church, built from solid bricks, is a three-nave basilica with a transept shaped like a cross. The interior of the main nave, which is 50 meters long, captivates with the colorful stained glass depicting saints and rich painted and sculptural decorations. The paintings and ornaments on the walls are the work of Johann Jobst. Renowned artists of that time contributed to both the exterior and interior decorations, including sculptors Josef Václav Myslbek, František Hergessel, Antonín Procházka, and painters František Ženíšek and Adolf Liebscher.
The high façade towers, topped with slender octagonal spires, are adorned with pediments featuring clocks and finials. The tympanum of the main portal is famous for Myslbek's relief of Christ, St. Wenceslas, and St. Ludmila, and above the portal, a rose window dominates. The wide single-armed staircase in front of the entrance has been particularly popular since the beginning for countless weddings. Writers like Jaroslav Hašek and President Edvard Beneš got married here.
Together with the surrounding park, the Church of St. Ludmila creates an oasis of calm in today's considerably busy Peace Square. From 1974, the temple was completely closed for ten years due to metro construction, and after subsequent renovations, it was gradually made accessible again. The entire church was reopened and showcased in its new beauty in September 1992, when a new altar facing the congregation was consecrated. A year later, the bells also rang in the towers of the temple after nearly fifty years.
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
0 comments
add comment
