Amazing Prague apartments - Prague accommodation, Prague hotels, Apartments hotels in Prague

 The pre-Romanesque and Romanesque arts from the 9th to mid-13th century began the period of medieval arts in our countries, which lasted up to the first half of the 16th century, when the first signs of Renaissance began to appear.The term "Romanesque arts" was used first by Charles de Gerville, French archeologist, in 1818. He based it on the analogy with the term "Romanic language", which is used by contemporary linguists to describe the languages based on Latin: according to Gerville, in the same manner, in which Latin was replaced by such languages, the Romanesque arts replaced the antique culture in the territory of the former Roman Empire and its provinces. However, the antique culture remained as its templet and foundation. For many years it was believed that the Romanesque is only a primitive substitute of the Roman architecture, which was not perceived by the Barbarian tribes of the 6th to 8th centuries. The Romanesque architecture was called Norman in England, since it was brought there by the conquerors after 1066 from Normandy. It replaced the domestic Anglo-Saxon tradition. In southern Italy, invaded by the Normans just a short time before, the domestic culture surrendered to Arabian-Byzantine influences and a peculiar mixed style emerged, typical for this border territory. Today, you can still find massive rotundas, stone houses and towers, simple churches without side aisles and vaulted basilicas dating back to this time. Some of the most important include the Basilica of St. Prokop from the middle of the 13th century in Třebíč, the stone bridge in Písek from the 13th century (the oldest church in the Czech Republic), St. Catherine´s Rotunda in Znojmo and the old walls in Louny.

 The general term "Gothic" is not really the best one to use for European arts from the mid-12th up to mid-16th century, which are heterogeneous in their forms and content. Famous architects of that time included Matyáš of Arrasu, Petr Parléř and others. While visiting the Czech Republic you will come across examples of preserved monuments at every step. Among the most well-known is the dominant of the Bohemian Středohoří mountains Bezděz, the extensive Pernštejn and Kost Castle , where you will find a collection of historical weapons.The wealth and power of the Catholic Church left its distinct mark on the Middle Ages. We can find their fortified monastery complexes and Gothic churches with incredibly high vaulting, which shows people how small they are in their earthly existence. These includeSt. Barbora´s Cathedral in Kutná Hora, which was entered in the World Heritage list of UNESCO, the only Cistercian convent of Porta Coeli in Tišnov, the monasteries of Zlatá Koruna and Vyšší Brod in South Bohemia. The term itself was created almost by mistake and due to a lack of understanding among the representatives of the following culture, being chronologically subsequent, but totally different, with respect to its direction. The term "Gothic", meaning the arts of the barbarian tribes of Gothes or Germans (maniera dei Goti, maniera tedesca), was used for the first time by the Italian humanists Filarete and Manetti in the 15th century, and then by Vasari in the 16th century, in order to describe the "barbarian" style, ruling before the accession of Renaissance and which, according to their opinion, totally departed from the antique arts.

Whereas in Italy the Renaissance derives from classical antiquity and simultaneously arises rather organically from the national medieval art blended with classical tradition, in the transalpine countries, and hence also in the Czech lands, embracing Renaissance means a sweeping ideological change. It is like an entirely new artistic language, a language of an unknown "lexicography" (vocabulary) of architectural themes, types and textures, unusual and difficult "morphology" and "syntax" (composition) of architectural elements, layout models, compositional and proportional schemes and solutions. This style renewed the human dimension of architecture. People became the reason why buildings were built and they were designed to meet people´s needs. Thus in the 16th century the nobles tended to move out of their uncomfortable Gothic castles and into newly built stately homes with elegant arcaded courtyards and geometrically arranged gardens with fountains and statues. The stress at that time was on comfort and everything was subordinated to this. For example, we can mention the stately homes at Blatná, ve Velkéch Losiny, Hrubý Rohozec and the town centre of Slavonice. Not surprisingly, the Italians were the exponents of the new style also in Bohemia and Moravia, with their characteristic sense of logical order and standardisation; nevertheless, they were strongly influenced by the local environment and adapted themselves to it.

The architectural monuments of the 17th and 18th centuries in Prague have a special and exceptional position in Bohemia and Moravia. This is because they represent the most plentiful, consistent and perhaps also the best preserved layer of the architectural heritage. The development of architecture left behind an abundance of churches, chateaux, palaces, houses, utility buildings and smaller chapels and Calvary crosses and took a decisive share in the creation and forming of the countryside as well as the urban and rural conurbations. Without exaggeration, it can be said that it was precisely the Baroque that artistically enriched and aesthetically accentuated the countryside and forever connected the architecture and its inhabitants with the nature. Prominent architects of this time included Dientzenhofer, Santini and Alliprandi. Monuments include such masterpieces as the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snows in Olomouc, the place of pilgimage Svatá Hora (Holy Mountain) in Příbram, Zelená Hora (Green Mountain), which is part of theUNESCO World Heritage and the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Hejnice.

Characteristic for this country was Bohemian baroque, which greatly affected the appearance of towns, villages and the landscape as a whole. Some of the baroque monuments, which were built to dominate their surroundings include: Kuks, Buchlovice, Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou, Vranov nad Dyjí and others. The extent and the exceptionality of the building production of the Baroque period placed the Czech lands among the classically Baroque countries and contributed to the fact that the Czech Baroque architecture became an important element of the history of art and its value represents an integral part of the treasury of the European culture.

The artistic endeavour of high baroque in Bohemia gradually gave way to the more modest dimensions of rococo, used particularly in interiors until it was pushed out in the middle of the 18th century by neoclassicism, which became the dominant style. Czech monuments of these styles include the Archbishop´s rococo chateau in Kroměříž, the Lednice-Valtice complex, which belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage,UNESCO and the summer residence with unique library in Kačina. However, this does not only include chateaus, but also colonnades in spa towns as well as those built in chateau grounds. The France of the Enlightenment stood at the head of this style, building noble chateaus with columns, theatres, colonnades and victory arches reminiscent of Antiquity.

The abbot Mayer was successful in protecting the Strahov Monastery from the Josephine secularisation and developed cultural activities exceptional for that time. As the old Theological Hall became insufficient for the big order library, he began to build a wing of the Philosophical Hall on the place of the former granary on the opposite side of the courtyard. As the first, the architect Palliardi together with the sculptor Ignac Michael Platzer completed the front facade and its area design with sharp "carving" and particularly the "funeral" character of the ornaments represented the typical borderline of the late Baroque and neo-classicism. When the Premonstratensian monastery in Louka at Znojmo was dissolved in 1784, the Strahov abbot decided to save the famous interior of the local library. He invited its authors to Prague. The original author Johann Lahofer of Tasovice installed majestic furnishing here and monumental ceiling wall painting, and Franz Anton Maulbertsch made a Catholic-Enlightenment apotheosis of the Spiritual development of mankind.

Stormy 20th century brought an unprecedented development of new technologies and a turbulent qualitative change of architectonic styles and trends in Prague city as never before. This led to the decorative art nouveau style, which reached its European peak in Bohemia both as regards quantity and quality. In 1910, Czech architecture was affected by the unique style of cubism, in which objects are represented by geometric forms. The following period of modern architecture removed decorative elements and monumentality and tried to find its style in simplicity. The development was as rapid that the individual trends ended earlier than they managed to be developed. Explorers of the new trends disappeared from the scene earlier than they managed to enforce their visions. No dominating styles could be seen, mostly several architectonic trends were used simultaneously. It was nothing easy to know a lot about this dramatic event, however, let´s give it a try. An example of this is the rather dour functionalism, which dates from the period between the world wars. This was replaced after the Second World War by socialist realism. The present period is an era of modern bank buildings, hotels, trade centres, housing complexes, etc.

Back