St. Vitus Cathedral: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:41, 23 February 2006

Revision as of 01:50, 24 February 2006

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==The Gothic Cathedral==

The Gothic Cathedral that now stands was founded in [[1344]] by the [[KingJohn I, Count of the RomansLuxemburg]], (latterthe [[King of Bohemia]] and [[Holy Roman Emperor]]) [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] together with [[Arnost of Pardubice]]. The Emperor, as the main investor, wanted a new cathedral that could function as coronation church, a family crypt, treasury for the most precious relics of the kingdom, a resting place and a pilgirimage site of the patron saint Wenceslaus. The first master builder was a Frenchman [[Matthias of Arras]], summoned from the papal palace in [[Avignon]]. Matthias defined the overall layout of the building as, basically, an import of French Gothic: a triple-naved basilica with [[flying buttress]]es, short [[transept]], five-bayed [[choir]] and decagon [[apse]] with [[ambulatory]] and radiating [[chapel]]s. However, he lived to build only the easternmost parts of the choir: the [[arcade (architecture)|arcades]] and the ambulatory. The slender verticality of Late French Gothic and clear, almost rigid respect of proportions distinguish his work today.

After Matthias' death in [[1352]], a new master builder took over the cathedral workshop. This was [[Peter Parler]], at that time only 23-years old and son of the architect of Heiligenkreutzkirche in Schwabische Gmünd. Parler at first only worked according to the plans left by his predecessor, building sacristy on the north side of the choir and the chapel on the south. Once he finished all that Matthias left unfinished, he continued according to his own ideas. Parler's bold and innovative design brought in an unique new synthesis of [[gothic architecture|Gothic]] elements in architecture. This is best exemplified in [[vaulting|vaults]] he designed for the choir. The so-called Parler's vaults or net-vaults have double (not single, as in classic High Gothic groin-vaults) diagonal ribs that span the width over choir-bay. The crossing pairs of ribs create a net-like construction (hence the name), which considerably strenghtens the vault. They also give a lively ornamentation to the ceiling, as the interlocking bays of vault create a dynamic zigzag pattern down the length of cathedral.