From 29 October to 29 November 2026 the Muzeum Českého ráje v Turnově is showing a new reliquary of Saint Wenceslas made for the basilica in Stará Boleslav.

Image from publication Liberecká Drbna
Image from publication Liberecká Drbna, 2026-10-27

The Muzeum Českého ráje v Turnově is exhibiting a new reliquary of Saint Wenceslas from Thursday 29 October to Sunday 29 November 2026. The work took two years to make, was commissioned by the Stará Boleslav chapter and was ceremonially placed on the main altar of the basilica in Stará Boleslav during the St Wenceslas celebrations in 2026. After the exhibition it is to return to Stará Boleslav, where it is meant to stay permanently on the main altar.[1][2]

The reliquary, shaped as an idealised likeness of the saint's chest and head, was designed by the Turnov goldsmith Jiří Urban, the author of copies of medieval coronation jewels, who is also its main maker. The saint's face was modelled by the sculptor Petr Vogel, and Josef Syrový cast the individual parts in his workshop in Přepeře. Vladimír Komňacký, a jeweller from Jablonec nad Nisou, helped finish the details and chase the face. Urban said he was inspired by the reliquary of Charlemagne in Aachen and took the saint's appearance from the face by Petr Parléř in St Vitus Cathedral in Prague.[1][2]

The reliquary is over seventy centimetres tall. Urban used eight kilograms of silver on it. It is richly gilded, has relief decoration with Czech garnets and large coloured gemstones, among them jasper, lapis lazuli and agate. A relic of Saint Wenceslas in the form of a piece of bone is placed in the saint's chest.[1][2]

Marcela Beranová of the museum said the museum had earlier presented several of Jiří Urban's jewellery works, for example copies of the Crown of St Stephen and of Napoleon's crown. Thanks to the goodwill of the Stará Boleslav chapter it can now also show the reliquary, which will stand in for the Crown of Saint Wenceslas for one month in the exhibition "Crowns of Emperors and Kings".[1]

Chronology

  • — The Český ráj Museum in Turnov will display from 29 October to 29 November 2026 the new reliquary of Saint Wenceslas, an eight-kilogram treasure of silver and precious stones made by goldsmith Jiří Urban. Liberecká Drbna Český rozhlas Liberec

Sources

  1. Liberecká Drbna — 27 October 2026
  2. Český rozhlas Liberec — 29 October 2026