St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora is a late Gothic church in Kutná Hora, inscribed since 1995 on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the historic core of the town and the cathedral in Sedlec.
St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora is a late Gothic building of cathedral type in Kutná Hora in the Central Bohemian Region. It is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the historic core of the town and the cathedral in Sedlec, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist.[1] The National Heritage Institute states that the centre of the former royal mining town and both churches have appeared on the list since 1995.[2]
Dedication and importance for the town
The church bears the name of the virgin Barbara, an early Christian martyr. People invoke her as a helper in need and an intercessor for a good death, and she is also the patron of people in dangerous occupations, especially miners.[1] According to the church's official website, it was the miners who contributed most to the flourishing of the medieval town and to the construction of the cathedral they dedicated to their protectress.[1] Thanks to the rich silver deposits in the surroundings and the royal mint in the Vlašský dvůr, Kutná Hora earned the epithet "treasury of the Bohemian Kingdom".[2] The town's growth peaked at the end of the 15th century, and at that time the church dedicated to the patroness of miners was founded, described as the architecturally most important one in Kutná Hora.[2]
History of the building
The beginnings of the building reach back to the second half of the 14th century and are linked with the Parler lodge. Its work was continued by other artists and builders, among them Benedikt Ried. He is named as the author of the gallery (the interior upper-storey gallery), as well as of the concept of the tent-like roofs and the ring vaulting of the main space.[1]
In the middle of the 16th century the silver ran out in the Kutná Hora mines and construction had to be provisionally halted.[1] The following centuries brought reconstructions and replacements of furnishings, mostly in the Baroque spirit. The present appearance of the church arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries during extensive re-Gothicisation and overall renovation.[1] According to the National Heritage Institute, stagnation became apparent in the town from the middle of the 16th century and showed itself fully in the 17th century.[2]
Decoration and furnishings
The church is a gallery chiefly of Gothic frescoes and stonemasonry, but every generation has left its traces in it.[1] In the nave stands a Renaissance pulpit with Baroque cladding. The Jesuits acquired a large number of Baroque altars, sculptures and paintings for the church.[1]
At the beginning of the 20th century the donors of the Gothic Revival renovation had a large part of the windows decorated with stained glass. The painter František Urban depicted Christian themes on them as well as significant events of his time.[1] In 2014 the most recent artistic addition was made, a stained-glass window of Saint Agnes of Bohemia in the last clear window of the south aisle.[1]
Kutná Hora as a World Heritage site
Among the symbolic buildings of Kutná Hora, the National Heritage Institute counts both main churches, that is St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora and the Sedlec cathedral, as well as the Church of St. James, the Vlašský dvůr and the Jesuit colleges.[2] According to it, World Heritage status has helped the town with the restoration of most of its important monuments.[2]