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kutná hora -

thE JEWEL In thE CroWn oF unESCo

CathEDraL oF St. BarBara

CathEDraL oF thE aSSuMPtIon oF thE VIrGIn MarY

thE hIStorIC toWn CEntrE

Kutná Hora and vicinitytourISt DEStInatIon

Kutná Horaand vicinity

http://guide.kh.cz

ItaLIan Court

This ancient complex of buildings originally served as the royal mint. In the early 15th century, it became a favourite residence of King Václav (Wenceslaus) IV, who ordered the construction of the splendid ceremonial and private rooms along with the tower and chapel, where he placed the treasures of the crown. As a royal palace, the Italian Court played host to many of the diplomatic negotiations and official proclamations of Václav IV, among them the Kutná Hora decree of 1409. The present appearance of the building is the result of a neo-Gothic reconstruction from the 19th century.

http://guide.kh.cz

SankturIn houSE

One of the oldest buildings in the town, originally Gothic and dating from the 13th century, the house was rebuilt in the Baroque style. Inside the tower is a small chapel with a beautiful late-Gothic rib vaulting. Inside are located the town information centre, the Museum of Alchemy, and the Museum of Historic Prams.

CLoIStEr oF thE urSuLInE orDEr

The nuns of the Ursuline order arrived in Kutná Hora in 1712. At first, they occupied a building leased from the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec; over time, though, their activities required the construction of a cloister of their own. The original project by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer was only realised in part, on financial grounds; likewise, the original plan for a monumental church was reduced to a cloister chapel. Until 1950, the building served as a private girls’ school; currently, it is occupied by a Catholic academic secondary school.

CHURCH OF THE VIRGIN MARY NA NÁMĚTI

In addition to the church of St. James, this is one of the earliest stone ecclesiastical structures in the town, being founded in the early 14th century. Its current appearance is the result of rebuilding after a fire in 1470.

Italian Court

hoW to FInD uS

Informační centrum Kutná Hora

Palackého nám. 377

284 01 Kutná Hora

Průvodcovská služba Kutná Hora s. r. o.

Vlašský dvůr

Havlíčkovo nám. 552

284 01 Kutná Hora

tel./fax: +420 327 512 873

e-mail: vlasskydvur@kh.cz

tel./fax: +420 327 512 378

e-mail: infocentrum@kh.cz

ContaCt

Prahakutná hora

Kutná Hora ChaPEL oF CorPuS ChrIStI

The crypt of this never-completed Gothic structure from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, intended to serve as a catacomb, is one of the few fully preserved High Gothic spaces in the Czech Republic. An impressive view of the town can be had from the

terrace.

http://guide.kh.cz

JEZuIt SEMInarY

This three-storey Baroque building with transverse wings in the

shape of a reversed letter F was built in 1667 by Giovanni Domenico

Orsi. Its highly visible position in the town reflects the key role

that the Jesuit Order hoped to play within the town’s life.

The raised terrace in front of the seminary is closed with a wall

containing 13 sculptures of saints, created from 1703 to 1716

by a lay member of the order, František Baugut, also the author

of the plague column. After the abolition of the Jesuit Order

in Austria (1773), the seminary was used as a military barracks.

Restoration began in 2004; currently the building is occupied

by the Gallery of Central Bohemia.

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

ChurCh oF St. John oF nEPoMuk

This late-Baroque church from 1734-1754 was designed

by F. M. Kaňka, and contains an intriguing ceiling fresco depicting

the legend of the Bohemian saint to whom it is consecrated.

http://guide.kh.cz

thE StonE FountaIn

This late-Gothic fountain was created as part of the town water

system around 1495, with carved stone ornamentation likely created

from the workshop of the master builder Rejsek. It is interesting

not only as an artistic work, but also as a piece of technical heritage.

PLaGuE CoLuMn

This Baroque monument was constructed after the town’s last

epidemic of the Black Death, which struck in 1713. Over 16 m high,

the column was prepared in 1713 – 1715 by the Jesuit sculptor

František Baugut (also the author of the statues in front of the

Jesuit Seminary).

ChurCh oF St. JaMES

Originally, the church was consecrated to the Virgin Mary, but was

later changed to St. James the Greater, the patron of miners.

It is also known as the “high church” because of its 86 m tower.

Construction began in 1330, as the first stone church in the entire

town. Since it is wedged between the Italian Court and older

buildings, it could never have its own cemetery, as is common

practice in other churches. During construction, changes were made

in the design because of the proximity of mining shafts that could

have threatened its structural integrity; among other matters,

its second tower was never built. Now a parish church, it is open

during services.

Kutná Hora

the jewel in the crown of unESCo

CathEDraL oF St. BarBara

A unique monument of High and Late Gothic architecture,

its construction was begun in 1388 by the workshop of master

builder Petr Parléř. With many interruptions, construction of the

monumental church was finished only in 1905, after over 500 years.

Most of the internal ornamentation of the cathedral is also of Late

Gothic date; its greatest achievement is the fresco work

in the chapels, with visual motifs inspired by mining and coining;

moreover, St. Barbara is also the patron of miners. Since 1995,

it has been a national cultural landmark; in December of the same

year it was also inscribed in the UNESCO Register of World Heritage.

http://chramsvatebarbory.cz

CathEDraL oF thE aSSuMPtIon oF thE VIrGIn MarY

The Cistercian monastery in Sedlec dates back as far as 1142,

though its great expansion and strong political influence came

from the discovery of rich deposits of silver, allowing for the

financing of extensive building projects after around 1290.

It was during this decade that construction began on the imposing

Gothic cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, completed

in 1320. After being sacked by the Hussites in 1421, it lay in ruins

for nearly three centuries, until Abbot Snopek ordered its rebuilding

in the years 1699 – 1709, under the hand of Jan Blažej Santini-

Aichel in a bold Baroque-Gothic style that retained much of the

original medieval atmosphere. The forceful portal, the high narrow

windows without stained glass, the lofty silhouette without any

exterior buttresses all attests to the Cistercian principles of humility

and moderation. In 1995, it was officially inscribed in the UNESCO

Register of World Heritage.

http://www.sedleccathedral.eu

thE hIStorIC toWn CEntrE

The centre of Kutná Hora is an architectural treasure of European

importance, and as such was inscribed in the UNESCO register

in 1995 along with St. Barbara’s Cathedral and the Cathedral

of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.