Saint Wenceslas cathedral
Encyclopedia
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
: Katedrála svatého Václava) is a neo-gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
at Wenceslas square in Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
, in the Czech Republic. The square was named after Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia
Wenceslaus I , or Wenceslas I, was the duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935, purportedly in a plot by his own brother, Boleslav the Cruel....
on the thousandth anniversary of his death in 1935. The cathedral is also named after him.
The Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. Not much is known about the beginnings of the Diocese of Olomouc...
.
History
The cathedral began in the RomanesqueRomanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style and was consecrated in 1131. Extensive Gothic modifications were made in 13th and 14th century.
Czech king Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III Premyslid was the King of Hungary , King of Bohemia and the king of Poland ....
was murdered in a nearby house of the former dean of the cathedral on August 4, 1306. Wenceslaus III was the last of the male Přemyslid
Premyslid dynasty
The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...
rulers of Bohemia.
Gothic revival changes, which included refacing the building, rebuilding the west front and the construction of the central tower, were made during 1883–1892. These were designed by Gustav Meretta and R. Völkel.
The cathedral was restored from February 2004-2007.