Skip to main content

Petr Uličný

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute for History of Art, Faculty Member

Followers

657

Following

639

Public Views

Architectural historian specializing in the history of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture in Bohemia, particularly in Prague, and in the symbolism of European medieval architecture.
Address: Utrecht, the Netherlands

less

Charles University, Prague

Senja Vaatainen

Charles University, Prague

Charles University, Prague

Lenka Chobotová

Digital library Bohemia

University of Pardubice

Pavel Drnovský

University of Hradec Králové

Přemysl Špráchal

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

InterestsView All (30)

Uploads

Books by Petr Uličný

Valdštejnův Jičín. Architektura centra frýdlantského vévodství (1621-1634)

Území dnešní České republiky patřilo díky své geografické poloze, lemované věncem hor, k nejstabi... more Území dnešní České republiky patřilo díky své geografické poloze, lemované věncem hor, k nejstabilnějším územím v Evropě. Jen ojediněle a na krátkou dobu docházelo ke změnám, které narušovaly staletími zpevněné spojenectví zde ležících zemí. Za jedním z takových nevídaných zásahů do uspořádání české státnosti stál mocný demiurg evropské politiky, generalissimus císařských vojsk a vévoda Albrecht z Valdštejna (1583–1634). Po vzoru německých a slezských knížectví odloučil z východního dílu Čech rozsáhlé území. Císařem Ferdinandem II., který byl závislý na Valdštejnových schopnostech, bylo nejprve povýšené na knížectví (1624) a posléze na vévodství (1627). Podle jednoho z hradů v něm stojících bylo symbolicky nazváno Friedland – Svobodná země. Jeho centrum bylo ve městě Jičíně, předtím nevýznamném poddanském městečku, které vévoda během jednoho desetiletí proměnil v pulsující rezidenční sídlo. Za pomoci řady talentovaných italských architektů a stavitelů byli jeho rozrůstající se obyvatelé účastníci obrovského staveniště, které zasahovalo i do okolní krajiny. Protože byla jiná města po neúspěšném stavovském povstání v roce 1547 těžce zasažena restrikcemi, Valdštejnův Jičín vstoupil do dějin jako sice nedokončený, ale i tak impozantní projekt, který neměl do 19. století obdobu.

Architektura Albrechta z Valdštejna: Italská stavební kultura v Čechách v letech 1600-1635 (Architecture of Albrecht of Wallenstein: Italian Building Culture in Bohemia in 1600-1635), Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Praha 2017, 2 vol., 1360 pp.

Publikace Architektura Albrechta z Valdštejna: Italská stavební kultura v Čechách v letech 1600–1... more Publikace Architektura Albrechta z Valdštejna: Italská stavební kultura v Čechách v letech 1600–1635, zpracovaná kolektivem autorů pod vedením Petra Uličného, seznamuje v dosud nebývalém rozsahu se stavebními podniky frýdlantského vévody, s jeho architekty a také s dalšími pozoruhodnými stavbami vznikajícími v té době v českých zemích. V druhém plánu se tu zjevuje v novém kontextu i složitá osobnost stavebníka a jeho jedinečný příspěvek k formování profilu vlastních staveb. Toto neobyčejně důkladné a zároveň inspirativní dílo se vyznačuje několika prvenstvími. Poprvé je tu představena Valdštejnova architektura v plné šíři od prvních fundací na Moravě před Bílou horou až po násilné ukončení vévodova života v roce 1634, přičemž těžiště knihy leží ve vylíčení historie pražského paláce a jičínských projektů. Poprvé jsou tu také prakticky v úplnosti vytěženy prameny z českých i zahraničních archivů, umožňující sledovat například postup stavby jičínského zámku takřka den po dni. Díky svým mimořádným znalostem dobových architektonických forem pak Petr Uličný odkrývá či naznačuje mnohdy nečekané souvislosti s evropskou architekturou oné doby. Na základě plánů, ikonografie a dobových svědectví je tu rovněž poprvé rekonstruována řada staveb zaniklých či nikdy nepostavených, z nichž mnohé byly dosud zcela neznámé. Tato mimořádná kniha přispívá zcela zásadním způsobem k poznání české architektury na přelomu renesanční a barokní epochy.

Valdštejnský palác v Jičíně (Wallenstein Palace in Jičín)

The first book ever published on the residence of Albrecht of Wallenstein in Jičín, based on the ... more

Jičínsko na plánech z Trauttmansdorffského archivu (The Jičín Region in the plans from the Trauttmansdorff Archive)

Catalogue with c. one-hundred discovered plans of the key building in Jičín and its surroundings.

Papers by Petr Uličný

Pašije, znovuzrození minulosti a druhý Kristův příchod ve Svatováclavské kapli katedrály sv. Víta v Praze

Pražský sborník historický

Recensiones librorum Recensiones complexivae Jiří Pešek, Praha plánovaná, navrhovaná a nepostaven... more Recensiones librorum Recensiones complexivae Jiří Pešek, Praha plánovaná, navrhovaná a nepostavená Pragensia Pavel Sládek, Jehuda Leva ben Besal'el-Maharal. Obrana uzavřeného světa v židovském myšlení raného středověku (Petr Sláma) Jana Doktorová, Malostranský graduál a jeho donátoři. Renesanční iluminovaný rukopis jako nástroj měšťanské reprezentace (Jiří Smrž) Klára Woitschová-Libor Jůn, Národní muzeum v éře Československa (Ivana Ebelová) Hradu a obci. Sto let Archivu Pražského hradu 1920-2020, (ed.) Martin Halata (Daniela Brádlerová) Josef Sudek. Topografie sutin, (ed.) Katarína Mašterová (Jiří Pešek) Město naruby. Vágní terén, vnitřní periferie a místa mezi místy, (ed.) Radan Haluzík (Ondřej Hojda) Urbana Marie Tošnerová-Miroslava Květová, Paměť měst. Narativní prameny k dějinám Prahy, Českých Budějovic a Litoměřic do roku 1800 (Ivana Ebelová) Ivo Štefan, Čí je ta krajina? Rozhovory s Janem Klápště o středověku a našem světě (Jiří Pešek) Středověké město. Politické proměny a sociální inovace, (ed.) Martin Nodl (Jan Hrdina) Philipp Höhn, Kaufleute in Konflikt. Rechtspluralismus, Kredit und Gewalt im spätmittelalterlichen Lübeck (Petr Kreuz) Extra muros. Vorstädtische Räume in Spätmittelalter und früher Neuzeit. Espaces suburbains au bas Moyen Âge et à l'époque moderne, (Hrsg.

Kouzlo vyhlídky: Hrad Václava IV. na Zderaze v Praze [The Magic of the View: Wenceslas IV's castle in Zderaz in Prague]

Staletá Praha, 2023

The castle in Zderaz, built on the banks of the Vltava River in the New Town of Prague at the tur... more The castle in Zderaz, built on the banks of the Vltava River in the New Town of Prague at the turn of the 15th century as one of the residences of King Wenceslas IV (r. 1378–1419), is depicted on many historical views of Prague. Newly identified drawing by the Dutch painter Roelandt Savery from around 1610 provides a detailed idea of this otherwise completely vanished castle. This drawing, together with already known vedute, enables to reconstruct the formation process of the castle, with a large residential tower in the earlier core, reminiscent of the East Bohemian castle of Kost. King Wenceslas added short wings to this core, probably following the style of French royal residences, allowing views towards the river and the garden. This characteristic feature of the castle and the viewing aspect can be assigned among phenomena of castles built by Wenceslas IV, such as the limitation of fortification elements and the arbitrary play with the structural details of the vaults.

Blood in Stone and the Second Coming: On the Meaning of the Wenceslas Chapel in St. Vitus’s Cathedral in Prague and the Karlstein Chapels

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 2023

The essay attempts a new interpretation of the symbolic meaning of the chapel of St. Wenceslas in... more The essay attempts a new interpretation of the symbolic meaning of the chapel of St. Wenceslas in St. Vitus’s Cathedral in Prague and the chapel of the Passion and Its Instruments, now St. Catherine’s chapel, and the chapel of the Holy Cross, both at Karlstein Castle. They all feature a semiprecious stone dado, which was associated with the Passion of Christ due to its predominant red colour, while the upper part reflected the idea of the Heavenly Jerusalem and Christ’s Second Coming. The chapels were either built to house the Passion relics or were probably planned for their storage, which in the case of the Wenceslas chapel perhaps influenced its unusual form, likely referring to Golgotha, the site of Christ’s Passion.

Hortus Palatinus in the Bohemian Mirror: Listening to Orpheus and Bathing in the Teplice Garden

Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 2018

Castle, 1 and its layout was in three parts, including formal flower parterres divided into quadr... more Castle, 1 and its layout was in three parts, including formal flower parterres divided into quadri, orchard and summerhouse, and for a long time it represented a standard type of the Bohemian garden. It was not until the reign of Emperor Rudolf II (King of Bohemia in 1576-1611) that other elements complemented the architectural vocabulary of the gardens. At that time, for example, the garden of the Rosenberg Palace in Prague Castle was surrounded by an arcade (1573-1574), 2 'triumphal arches' in the form of ars topiaria were created in the Royal Garden near Prague Castle (before 1611) 3 and the Rosenberg garden in Kratochvíle (1583-1589) was directly connected to a large game reserve. 4 It was, however, in the time of the imperial general and Duke Albrecht of Wallenstein (active in 1621-1634) that brought the all-round development of the garden art and its monumentalisation comparable to Italian examples. Inspired by the Neugebäude near Vienna, Wallenstein created sprawling gardens in Valdice near Jičín (figure 1), 5 in Troja near Prague in the form of an artificial ruin, 6 and above all, the largest Czech garden located within the city, in the Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Utilising the talents of his two great stucco masters, Domenico Canevalle and Santini Galli, Wallenstein set up a pair of large grottos there (figure 2) and ordered the exterior of the garden wall to be covered by the stalactite relief on a grandiose scale, accompanied by a remarkable aviary and the monumental Neptune Fountain casted by Adriaen de Vries. 7 It was thus not until the first decades of the 17th century that the interest in the diverse articulation of the gardens was awakened in Bohemia. This era also saw the creation of the garden in the north Bohemian town of Teplice, built by Count Vilém Kinský. While its existence is now almost forgotten, in its day it was one of the most remarkable gardens in the Czech Lands. Moreover, it surprisingly reveals traces of the influence of the renowned Hortus Palatinus in Heidelberg, and its origins can be linked to the short period of rule of Bohemia's 'Winter King', Frederick V of the Palatinate (1619-1620). The town of Teplice (located 90 km northwest of Prague and 70 km southwest of Dresden) was founded for the thermal springs that are located there, the beneficial effects of which have been known for 2000 years. The town takes its name from its thermal waters, as 'teplý' means 'warm' in Czech. 8 The thermal baths in Teplice date from the 16th century. In 1584, large baths, partly open to the public, were built at the site of the main thermal spring. It contained a central hall, the vault of which was supported by a hollow pillar, from which water from the Pravřídlo (Primary Spring) flowed through the pillar and out through the bronze gargoyles. Caspar Schwenkfeld, a doctor from Görlitz, described the site in 1607, when the Teplice estate was managed by Radslav Vchynský. According to Schwenkfeld, the building contained a large bath for men, one for women, and a bath for prominent townsmen. There was also a special ducal bath that was used by the Electress of Saxony and was

The architecture of Prague Castle during the governorship of Archduke Ferdinand II (1547–1567): How to read it?

Sylva Dobalová – Jaroslava Hausenblasová (eds), Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria: A Second-Born Son in Renaissance Europe, Vienna, 2021

It was in the first half of the 16th century that Renaissance architecture began to take root in ... more It was in the first half of the 16th century that Renaissance architecture began to take root in all parts of Central Europe. The royal courts of the Bohemian lands, Austria, Poland, Saxony and Bavaria commissioned important architectural projects from Italian architects and thus embraced a new artistic direction first promoted amongst the sovereigns north of the Alps by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary during the last quarter of the 15th century. 1 He was followed in this by Vladislaus Jagiellon 2 in Buda and Prague, and later by Ferdinand I with the Lusthaus he had built in the Royal Garden at Prague Castle (commonly called the Royal Summer Palace in English). When the King and future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I was elected to the Bohemian throne in 1526, he arrived at Prague Castle to find a palace dominated by the magnificent Vladislaus Hall, and the Ludvík Wing, which was modelled on an Italian examples from the early period of the Renaissance. The king was thus able to focus his attention on building the Royal Summer Palace, work on which began during 1538 in the newly laid out garden under the direction of Giovanni Spazio and Paolo della Stella. 3 The Royal Summer Palace continues to spark wonder in those who see it because of its unusual design, which features a long arcade with decorative reliefs on every side, as well as highly detailed portals and windows displaying a level of quality that was uncommon even in Italy at the time. A structure of the very opposite type might seem to be represented by the Hvězda (commonly known in English as the Star Summer Palace), the hunting lodge that Archduke Ferdinand II built in 1555-1556 at a location that was outside of, but not far from, Prague at that time. Designed by the archduke himself as a combination of a circle and a six-pointed star, 4 the Star Summer Palace stands apart from anything that builders in Italy were creating at the time. It forms a contrast to the Royal Summer Palace, not just because of its architectural shape, but also thanks to the decorative stucco ceilings that it has inside. The charming Royal Summer Palace in the Royal Garden and the enigmatic Star Summer Palace rightly rank among the icons of European Renaissance architecture; 5 the role of the Habsburgs in shaping Europe's architectural culture must thus be noted with favour. However, the process behind the construction of other buildings on the grounds of Prague Castle reveals another side to Habsburg architecture, one that was rather pragmatic. A significant factor in this was the devastating fire at the castle, which occurred in 1541. For this reason, it was not until around the time of the coronation of Ferdinand I as Holy Roman Emperor in 1558 that some projects of a more ambitious nature began to be built at the castle. It was during this period that Ferdinand I turned to more sophisticated forms of

Albrecht von Waldstein. Sein bedeutendstes architektonisches Vermächtnis

Bellum et Artes: Mitteleuropa im Dreißigjährigen Krieg. Eine Einführung, 2021

Matthias Corvinus’s Gardens at the Vienna Hofburg

Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 2022

This article focuses on the gardens of the Vienna Hofburg during the reign of Hungarian King Matt... more This article focuses on the gardens of the Vienna Hofburg during the reign of Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (r. 1485-1490). The prevailing view in the literature to date has been that Corvinus made no changes to these gardens during this time, but hitherto overlooked period sources, namely two texts written by the Italian humanist Antonio Bonfini, indicate that opposite is true. They show that Corvinus had aviaries, a pavilion, fountains, covered porticoes, and baths built in the garden along with a loggia, probably figuring in a town plan drawn up by Bonifaz Wohlmut in 1547, was located in the southeast part of the gardens. The gardens likely influenced the appearance of other Central European projects, specifically the garden that Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, created in Lochau around the year 1500 and in the Royal Garden of Prague Castle, established by Ferdinand I in 1534. Because Corvinus during his earlier garden and villa projects in Hungary commissioned Italian masters, bringing for the first time to Central Europe the Renaissance forms, it is perhaps right to suggest that he continued this practice also in Vienna. This would shed new light on the process of the development of Renaissance architecture outside of Italy.

Erotica & sapientia: Rudolf II’s Early Years at Prague Castle

Umění/Art, 2021

In 1579 Rudolf II envisaged the construction of a grand royal palace at Prague Castle, with an ex... more In 1579 Rudolf II envisaged the construction of a grand royal palace at Prague Castle, with an extensive sculptural programme that he undoubtedly planned to commission from Giambologna’s pupil Hans Mont. However, Rudolf shelved the project and Mont left the Prague court in exasperation. In the early years of his reign, Rudolf was clearly looking for a style, and also the painter Bartholomeus Spranger, who waited for several years in Vienna for the emperor’s commission, fell victim to this search. His biographer Karel van Mander even wrote that Rudolf had little interest in art at that time. Thanks to a valuable report by Hans Ulrich Krafft in 1584, however, we know that the emperor already possessed a collection of art, but which had a distinctly erotic content. This was the reason why Rudolf concealed it from his wider society. It was not until 1588 that envoys at the Prague court began to report Rudolf’s preference for ‘lascivious’ art. It was also at the same time that the emperor decided to build a large picture gallery at the castle, called the Spanish Hall, the present Rudolf Gallery and established his magnificence and his reputation as one of the greatest patrons of art in Europe. On his way to it, he built the Summer House near his palace at the castle in about 1579–1582, and this became the home of his ‘erotic Kunstkammer’. Around 1586 he also had a studiolo created on the second floor of the White Tower, which shows that Rudolf was inspired by the towers of Neugebäude, but unlike this model, he kept the decoration in Prague modest, like in the summer palace in the Imperial Mill, which was completed in 1594. While in the older Habsburg architecture there was a contrast between the austere palaces and richly decorated leisure structures, Rudolf seems to have come up with a new concept: buildings with a representational function were to be elaborately articulated, whereas private structures, including summer houses, were to be of modest form. Spranger’s fresco of Hermathena in the vault of the studiolo, inspired by the studiolo in the Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, was intended to symbolise to symbolise the abode of a wise monarch, as were other planned frescos. It was thus erotica & sapientia that defined Rudolf’s programme in his early years at Prague Castle, and later also played a crucial role in his subsequent magnificent period.

Palác královny Anny Jagellonské. Po stopách zaniklé rezidence na Pražském hradě (Palace of Queen Anne of Bohemia and Hungary: In the footsteps of a vanished residence at Prague Castle)

Průzkumy památek, 2021

The queen’s palace which was probably located at Prague Castle since the time of Vladislaus II of... more The queen’s palace which was probably located at Prague Castle since the time of Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary was inhabited by Anne of Bohemia and Hungary, the wife of King Ferdinand I, until 1541 when a fire dwstroyed it. The palace disappeared without a trace from the castle topography and various opinions have been expressed on its exact location. The article presents the options that are based on the analysis of sources, especially the description of the 1541 fire by Václav Hájek of Libočany, hypothesising that the palace had two parts. The main one was to the north of the White Tower, on the site of today’s central wing, while the other one was to the south of the tower, encompassing the compound that was called the Lion’s Court at the time of Rudolf II.

Albrecht of Waldstein and his Major Architectural Legacy

Bellum et Artes: Central Europe in the Thirty Years’ War, 2021

The Summer Palace in the Royal Garden of Prague Castle and the First Renaissance Leisure Architecture in Central Europe

Umění, 2019

Over just a few decades, starting in the last years of the 15th century, three summer palaces tha... more Over just a few decades, starting in the last years of the 15th century, three summer palaces that were all very similar to one another were built in the Bohemian and Hungarian Lands. One stands close to Prague Castle, and since the 19th century has been known as the Belvedere, another on the edge of the former game reserve of Ovenec near Prague, and the third in the Nyék game reserve near Buda. They all had long rectangular cores surrounded by an arcaded walkway on the ground floor, and although they were among the first Renaissance buildings either in this region or the whole transalpine area, no direct model in this form can be found for them in Italy. This article aims to present a new analysis of the relationship between the three buildings, and one that leads to a new view of the genesis of the architecture of the Prague summer palace, which was built in the years 1538–1563 by Paolo della Stella, Giovanni de Spatio and Bonifaz Wohlmut. Paolo della Stella, who was sought out by King Ferdinand I in Genoa in 1537, and has until now been considered the architect of the palace, seems only to have been responsible for details of the building that were influenced by the contemporary work of Michele Sanmicheli and Jacopo Sansovino, while the overall plan with columned arcades encircling the building has its origin in the Central European architecture of Matthias Corvinus and Vladislav Jagiellon. Ferdinand gained a detailed first-hand knowledge of this architecture in 1527, and because apart from a brief visit to Trent in 1536 he was never in Italy, his experience in Hungary was his main opportunity to get to know Renaissance art, and of a very high standard. The other architectural inspiration for the Prague Belvedere was the summer palace in the Ovenec game park, which was built with the help of stonemasons from Buda around the year 1495, and appears to be older than what is known as Building II of the complex in Nyék, probably built around 1502. The ultimate source for the idea of encircling arcades was probably the Medici villa of Poggio a Caiano, built starting in 1495; its plan was brought to the Buda court of Vladislav Jagiellon by one of the Florentine masters.

The Making of the Habsburg Residence in Prague Castle: History of the journey of the imperial palace from the centre to the periphery

When the Habsburg dynasty came to the Czech throne in 1526 and then ruled the lands of the Czech ... more When the Habsburg dynasty came to the Czech throne in 1526 and then ruled the lands of the Czech Crown for almost four centuries, its first member, Ferdinand I, entered a splendid royal palace in Prague, standing in the centre of the extensive area of Prague Castle. Less than a century later, however, the situation there was completely different. The Czech King and Roman Emperor Rudolf II resided on the very edge of Prague Castle, in a topographically unsuitable place, and the Old Royal Palace was left to the Czech Royal and professional offices and traders. Even though this was a radical change and one of the most important events in the history of Prague Castle, the questions of why, when and how this great transfer of residence took place, fundamental to the understanding of this central location of the Czech State, have not yet been asked. The most important action was the relocation of the vice-regent of the government of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol around 1555 to a small palace by the White Tower. The Habsburg architects Hans Tirol and Bonifaz Wohlmut unsuccessfully proposed linking the small palace with the Old Royal Palace by means of a new wing and thus building a worthy residence with a sufficient number of rooms. After ascending to the throne in 1576 the Emperor Rudolf II returned to this idea and had two Florentine architects (Antonio Lupicini in 1579 and Giovanni Gargiolli in 1586) carry out the new proposal, which was consulted in Florence with Francesco I de’Medici and in the second case also adjusted by Bernardo Buontalenti. In the end, however, Rudolf selected a different strategy and concentrated only on extending the palace by the White Tower to the areas of the former ditches, where he built wings containing areas for his collections. It was Rudolf II, then, who moved the Royal and Imperial Residence in Prague Castle to a new location, quite apart from the historical centre of the Castle.

Hans and Paul Vredeman de Vries in Rudolf II’s Prague Castle

Studia Rudolphina, 2015

During the thirty years that Rudolf II reigned in Bohemia, his residence in Prague Castle underwe... more During the thirty years that Rudolf II reigned in Bohemia, his residence in Prague Castle underwent a remarkable transformation. The main stage of this reconstruction was concentrated into the last decade of the Emperor’s life, when new galleries and stables were built for his expanding collections of art and horses. At this period, a large number of architects and master-builders were active in Prague Castle. They included Giovanni Maria Filippi, Horatio Fontana, and Anton de Moys, while the court carpenter Konrad Engler appeared in the role of building adviser, and the Emperor’s court painter Josef Heintz the Elder also devoted himself to architecture. In addition, the famous Vincenzo Scamozzi paid the Emperor a visit. At the beginning of this sequence came the Netherlandish painter Hans Vredeman de Vries, famous for incorporating architecture with sophisticated compositions into his paintings and for his treatises proposing varied architectural features. He was accompanied to Prague by his son Paul.

The Garden of Archduke Ferdinand II at Prague Castle

Studia Rudolphina, 2018

In 1559–1567, a new garden was created at Prague Castle, which Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, re... more In 1559–1567, a new garden was created at Prague Castle, which Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, residing at Prague Castle as the governor, established under his palace at the White Tower. The garden, which was later called Paradise Garden, was divided into three parts. The middle one was a formal garden arranged into quarters, in the eastern one there were an orchard and
a tower-shaped summer house, and in the western smaller part there was an aviary.

The Palace of Queen Anne Jagiello and Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol by the White Tower in Prague Castle

From the times of Vladislaus II Jagiello the residence in Prague Castle had two parts. After a co... more From the times of Vladislaus II Jagiello the residence in Prague Castle had two parts. After a costly refurbishment, the Old Royal Palace was adapted as the King’s seat and a new palace was built for the Queen by the White Tower on the west side of Prague Castle. Later it became the residence of Queen Anne Jagiello, wife of Ferdinand I, and after her death, in 1547, it became the residence of the second-born, Bohemian Governor Archduke Ferdinand II. Although not much has survived after numerous reconstructions, one can get a rough idea of its extent and furnishings on the basis of several fragments, written sources and iconography. The refurbishing work led by Hans Tirol is documented for the years 1553–1555. Above the gate next to the White Tower was an armoury on the second floor, described by Pietro Andrea Mattioli as “bella, et rara Armaria di sua Altezza”. Only a ground-floor chamber of Ferdinand’s palace has survived to this day.

Hortus Palatinus in the Bohemian Mirror: Listening to Orpheus and Bathing in the Teplice Garden

Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes , 2018

Around 1600, Radslav Vchynský, one of the wealthiest men in the Bohemian Kingdom, established the... more Around 1600, Radslav Vchynský, one of the wealthiest men in the Bohemian Kingdom, established there a large complex containing three gardens with two ponds and a pheasantry. As well as offering shady recesses for comfort and the fragrance of varied flora, the patron was able to boast of one other unique form of recreation: to visit warm curative springs, accessed directly from the premises of the summerhouse that was at the end of the first garden. The garden’s further development was significantly determined by Frederick V of the Palatine’s short reign in Bohemia, who was able to introduce the Bohemian lands to his grand garden in Heidelberg through de Caus’s recently published and richly illustrated book. The idea of year-round bathing in the Heidelberg garden’s ‘large vaulted room’ and the Teplice springs with their curative effects represented two similar concepts, which Vilém Kinský, no doubt with the assistance of Frederick himself, was able to fuse together into one unique whole in the Teplice garden. Following the model of the Heidelberg garden, he tied the grotto and its curative springs to the myth of Orpheus and the music of Antiquity. Orpheus’ voice and lyre music produced such a blissful sound that they attracted the animals of the forest and won the heart of Eurydice. The work on this project, the plans for which almost certainly originated in 1620, was however delayed by the political situation, and as a result in 1634 the Teplice grotto was not yet fully functional. The Teplice garden and grotto, which until recently were not open to the public, its grounds covered with sawdust from the nearby carpentry shop, constitute an example of how ambitious patrons living in Bohemia could be at that time. It also shows that it was possible for such a grand and almost contemporaneous imitation of the famous eighth wonder of the world in Heidelberg to exist in the Czech Lands, one that for centuries up to the present has remained entirely forgotten.

Valdštejnův Jičín. Architektura centra frýdlantského vévodství (1621-1634)

Území dnešní České republiky patřilo díky své geografické poloze, lemované věncem hor, k nejstabi... more Území dnešní České republiky patřilo díky své geografické poloze, lemované věncem hor, k nejstabilnějším územím v Evropě. Jen ojediněle a na krátkou dobu docházelo ke změnám, které narušovaly staletími zpevněné spojenectví zde ležících zemí. Za jedním z takových nevídaných zásahů do uspořádání české státnosti stál mocný demiurg evropské politiky, generalissimus císařských vojsk a vévoda Albrecht z Valdštejna (1583–1634). Po vzoru německých a slezských knížectví odloučil z východního dílu Čech rozsáhlé území. Císařem Ferdinandem II., který byl závislý na Valdštejnových schopnostech, bylo nejprve povýšené na knížectví (1624) a posléze na vévodství (1627). Podle jednoho z hradů v něm stojících bylo symbolicky nazváno Friedland – Svobodná země. Jeho centrum bylo ve městě Jičíně, předtím nevýznamném poddanském městečku, které vévoda během jednoho desetiletí proměnil v pulsující rezidenční sídlo. Za pomoci řady talentovaných italských architektů a stavitelů byli jeho rozrůstající se obyvatelé účastníci obrovského staveniště, které zasahovalo i do okolní krajiny. Protože byla jiná města po neúspěšném stavovském povstání v roce 1547 těžce zasažena restrikcemi, Valdštejnův Jičín vstoupil do dějin jako sice nedokončený, ale i tak impozantní projekt, který neměl do 19. století obdobu.

Architektura Albrechta z Valdštejna: Italská stavební kultura v Čechách v letech 1600-1635 (Architecture of Albrecht of Wallenstein: Italian Building Culture in Bohemia in 1600-1635), Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Praha 2017, 2 vol., 1360 pp.

Publikace Architektura Albrechta z Valdštejna: Italská stavební kultura v Čechách v letech 1600–1... more Publikace Architektura Albrechta z Valdštejna: Italská stavební kultura v Čechách v letech 1600–1635, zpracovaná kolektivem autorů pod vedením Petra Uličného, seznamuje v dosud nebývalém rozsahu se stavebními podniky frýdlantského vévody, s jeho architekty a také s dalšími pozoruhodnými stavbami vznikajícími v té době v českých zemích. V druhém plánu se tu zjevuje v novém kontextu i složitá osobnost stavebníka a jeho jedinečný příspěvek k formování profilu vlastních staveb. Toto neobyčejně důkladné a zároveň inspirativní dílo se vyznačuje několika prvenstvími. Poprvé je tu představena Valdštejnova architektura v plné šíři od prvních fundací na Moravě před Bílou horou až po násilné ukončení vévodova života v roce 1634, přičemž těžiště knihy leží ve vylíčení historie pražského paláce a jičínských projektů. Poprvé jsou tu také prakticky v úplnosti vytěženy prameny z českých i zahraničních archivů, umožňující sledovat například postup stavby jičínského zámku takřka den po dni. Díky svým mimořádným znalostem dobových architektonických forem pak Petr Uličný odkrývá či naznačuje mnohdy nečekané souvislosti s evropskou architekturou oné doby. Na základě plánů, ikonografie a dobových svědectví je tu rovněž poprvé rekonstruována řada staveb zaniklých či nikdy nepostavených, z nichž mnohé byly dosud zcela neznámé. Tato mimořádná kniha přispívá zcela zásadním způsobem k poznání české architektury na přelomu renesanční a barokní epochy.

Valdštejnský palác v Jičíně (Wallenstein Palace in Jičín)

The first book ever published on the residence of Albrecht of Wallenstein in Jičín, based on the ... more

Jičínsko na plánech z Trauttmansdorffského archivu (The Jičín Region in the plans from the Trauttmansdorff Archive)

Catalogue with c. one-hundred discovered plans of the key building in Jičín and its surroundings.

Pašije, znovuzrození minulosti a druhý Kristův příchod ve Svatováclavské kapli katedrály sv. Víta v Praze

Pražský sborník historický

Recensiones librorum Recensiones complexivae Jiří Pešek, Praha plánovaná, navrhovaná a nepostaven... more Recensiones librorum Recensiones complexivae Jiří Pešek, Praha plánovaná, navrhovaná a nepostavená Pragensia Pavel Sládek, Jehuda Leva ben Besal'el-Maharal. Obrana uzavřeného světa v židovském myšlení raného středověku (Petr Sláma) Jana Doktorová, Malostranský graduál a jeho donátoři. Renesanční iluminovaný rukopis jako nástroj měšťanské reprezentace (Jiří Smrž) Klára Woitschová-Libor Jůn, Národní muzeum v éře Československa (Ivana Ebelová) Hradu a obci. Sto let Archivu Pražského hradu 1920-2020, (ed.) Martin Halata (Daniela Brádlerová) Josef Sudek. Topografie sutin, (ed.) Katarína Mašterová (Jiří Pešek) Město naruby. Vágní terén, vnitřní periferie a místa mezi místy, (ed.) Radan Haluzík (Ondřej Hojda) Urbana Marie Tošnerová-Miroslava Květová, Paměť měst. Narativní prameny k dějinám Prahy, Českých Budějovic a Litoměřic do roku 1800 (Ivana Ebelová) Ivo Štefan, Čí je ta krajina? Rozhovory s Janem Klápště o středověku a našem světě (Jiří Pešek) Středověké město. Politické proměny a sociální inovace, (ed.) Martin Nodl (Jan Hrdina) Philipp Höhn, Kaufleute in Konflikt. Rechtspluralismus, Kredit und Gewalt im spätmittelalterlichen Lübeck (Petr Kreuz) Extra muros. Vorstädtische Räume in Spätmittelalter und früher Neuzeit. Espaces suburbains au bas Moyen Âge et à l'époque moderne, (Hrsg.

Kouzlo vyhlídky: Hrad Václava IV. na Zderaze v Praze [The Magic of the View: Wenceslas IV's castle in Zderaz in Prague]

Staletá Praha, 2023

The castle in Zderaz, built on the banks of the Vltava River in the New Town of Prague at the tur... more The castle in Zderaz, built on the banks of the Vltava River in the New Town of Prague at the turn of the 15th century as one of the residences of King Wenceslas IV (r. 1378–1419), is depicted on many historical views of Prague. Newly identified drawing by the Dutch painter Roelandt Savery from around 1610 provides a detailed idea of this otherwise completely vanished castle. This drawing, together with already known vedute, enables to reconstruct the formation process of the castle, with a large residential tower in the earlier core, reminiscent of the East Bohemian castle of Kost. King Wenceslas added short wings to this core, probably following the style of French royal residences, allowing views towards the river and the garden. This characteristic feature of the castle and the viewing aspect can be assigned among phenomena of castles built by Wenceslas IV, such as the limitation of fortification elements and the arbitrary play with the structural details of the vaults.

Blood in Stone and the Second Coming: On the Meaning of the Wenceslas Chapel in St. Vitus’s Cathedral in Prague and the Karlstein Chapels

Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 2023

The essay attempts a new interpretation of the symbolic meaning of the chapel of St. Wenceslas in... more The essay attempts a new interpretation of the symbolic meaning of the chapel of St. Wenceslas in St. Vitus’s Cathedral in Prague and the chapel of the Passion and Its Instruments, now St. Catherine’s chapel, and the chapel of the Holy Cross, both at Karlstein Castle. They all feature a semiprecious stone dado, which was associated with the Passion of Christ due to its predominant red colour, while the upper part reflected the idea of the Heavenly Jerusalem and Christ’s Second Coming. The chapels were either built to house the Passion relics or were probably planned for their storage, which in the case of the Wenceslas chapel perhaps influenced its unusual form, likely referring to Golgotha, the site of Christ’s Passion.

Hortus Palatinus in the Bohemian Mirror: Listening to Orpheus and Bathing in the Teplice Garden

Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 2018

Castle, 1 and its layout was in three parts, including formal flower parterres divided into quadr... more Castle, 1 and its layout was in three parts, including formal flower parterres divided into quadri, orchard and summerhouse, and for a long time it represented a standard type of the Bohemian garden. It was not until the reign of Emperor Rudolf II (King of Bohemia in 1576-1611) that other elements complemented the architectural vocabulary of the gardens. At that time, for example, the garden of the Rosenberg Palace in Prague Castle was surrounded by an arcade (1573-1574), 2 'triumphal arches' in the form of ars topiaria were created in the Royal Garden near Prague Castle (before 1611) 3 and the Rosenberg garden in Kratochvíle (1583-1589) was directly connected to a large game reserve. 4 It was, however, in the time of the imperial general and Duke Albrecht of Wallenstein (active in 1621-1634) that brought the all-round development of the garden art and its monumentalisation comparable to Italian examples. Inspired by the Neugebäude near Vienna, Wallenstein created sprawling gardens in Valdice near Jičín (figure 1), 5 in Troja near Prague in the form of an artificial ruin, 6 and above all, the largest Czech garden located within the city, in the Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Utilising the talents of his two great stucco masters, Domenico Canevalle and Santini Galli, Wallenstein set up a pair of large grottos there (figure 2) and ordered the exterior of the garden wall to be covered by the stalactite relief on a grandiose scale, accompanied by a remarkable aviary and the monumental Neptune Fountain casted by Adriaen de Vries. 7 It was thus not until the first decades of the 17th century that the interest in the diverse articulation of the gardens was awakened in Bohemia. This era also saw the creation of the garden in the north Bohemian town of Teplice, built by Count Vilém Kinský. While its existence is now almost forgotten, in its day it was one of the most remarkable gardens in the Czech Lands. Moreover, it surprisingly reveals traces of the influence of the renowned Hortus Palatinus in Heidelberg, and its origins can be linked to the short period of rule of Bohemia's 'Winter King', Frederick V of the Palatinate (1619-1620). The town of Teplice (located 90 km northwest of Prague and 70 km southwest of Dresden) was founded for the thermal springs that are located there, the beneficial effects of which have been known for 2000 years. The town takes its name from its thermal waters, as 'teplý' means 'warm' in Czech. 8 The thermal baths in Teplice date from the 16th century. In 1584, large baths, partly open to the public, were built at the site of the main thermal spring. It contained a central hall, the vault of which was supported by a hollow pillar, from which water from the Pravřídlo (Primary Spring) flowed through the pillar and out through the bronze gargoyles. Caspar Schwenkfeld, a doctor from Görlitz, described the site in 1607, when the Teplice estate was managed by Radslav Vchynský. According to Schwenkfeld, the building contained a large bath for men, one for women, and a bath for prominent townsmen. There was also a special ducal bath that was used by the Electress of Saxony and was

The architecture of Prague Castle during the governorship of Archduke Ferdinand II (1547–1567): How to read it?

Sylva Dobalová – Jaroslava Hausenblasová (eds), Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria: A Second-Born Son in Renaissance Europe, Vienna, 2021

It was in the first half of the 16th century that Renaissance architecture began to take root in ... more It was in the first half of the 16th century that Renaissance architecture began to take root in all parts of Central Europe. The royal courts of the Bohemian lands, Austria, Poland, Saxony and Bavaria commissioned important architectural projects from Italian architects and thus embraced a new artistic direction first promoted amongst the sovereigns north of the Alps by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary during the last quarter of the 15th century. 1 He was followed in this by Vladislaus Jagiellon 2 in Buda and Prague, and later by Ferdinand I with the Lusthaus he had built in the Royal Garden at Prague Castle (commonly called the Royal Summer Palace in English). When the King and future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I was elected to the Bohemian throne in 1526, he arrived at Prague Castle to find a palace dominated by the magnificent Vladislaus Hall, and the Ludvík Wing, which was modelled on an Italian examples from the early period of the Renaissance. The king was thus able to focus his attention on building the Royal Summer Palace, work on which began during 1538 in the newly laid out garden under the direction of Giovanni Spazio and Paolo della Stella. 3 The Royal Summer Palace continues to spark wonder in those who see it because of its unusual design, which features a long arcade with decorative reliefs on every side, as well as highly detailed portals and windows displaying a level of quality that was uncommon even in Italy at the time. A structure of the very opposite type might seem to be represented by the Hvězda (commonly known in English as the Star Summer Palace), the hunting lodge that Archduke Ferdinand II built in 1555-1556 at a location that was outside of, but not far from, Prague at that time. Designed by the archduke himself as a combination of a circle and a six-pointed star, 4 the Star Summer Palace stands apart from anything that builders in Italy were creating at the time. It forms a contrast to the Royal Summer Palace, not just because of its architectural shape, but also thanks to the decorative stucco ceilings that it has inside. The charming Royal Summer Palace in the Royal Garden and the enigmatic Star Summer Palace rightly rank among the icons of European Renaissance architecture; 5 the role of the Habsburgs in shaping Europe's architectural culture must thus be noted with favour. However, the process behind the construction of other buildings on the grounds of Prague Castle reveals another side to Habsburg architecture, one that was rather pragmatic. A significant factor in this was the devastating fire at the castle, which occurred in 1541. For this reason, it was not until around the time of the coronation of Ferdinand I as Holy Roman Emperor in 1558 that some projects of a more ambitious nature began to be built at the castle. It was during this period that Ferdinand I turned to more sophisticated forms of

Albrecht von Waldstein. Sein bedeutendstes architektonisches Vermächtnis

Bellum et Artes: Mitteleuropa im Dreißigjährigen Krieg. Eine Einführung, 2021

Matthias Corvinus’s Gardens at the Vienna Hofburg

Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 2022

This article focuses on the gardens of the Vienna Hofburg during the reign of Hungarian King Matt... more This article focuses on the gardens of the Vienna Hofburg during the reign of Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (r. 1485-1490). The prevailing view in the literature to date has been that Corvinus made no changes to these gardens during this time, but hitherto overlooked period sources, namely two texts written by the Italian humanist Antonio Bonfini, indicate that opposite is true. They show that Corvinus had aviaries, a pavilion, fountains, covered porticoes, and baths built in the garden along with a loggia, probably figuring in a town plan drawn up by Bonifaz Wohlmut in 1547, was located in the southeast part of the gardens. The gardens likely influenced the appearance of other Central European projects, specifically the garden that Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, created in Lochau around the year 1500 and in the Royal Garden of Prague Castle, established by Ferdinand I in 1534. Because Corvinus during his earlier garden and villa projects in Hungary commissioned Italian masters, bringing for the first time to Central Europe the Renaissance forms, it is perhaps right to suggest that he continued this practice also in Vienna. This would shed new light on the process of the development of Renaissance architecture outside of Italy.

Erotica & sapientia: Rudolf II’s Early Years at Prague Castle

Umění/Art, 2021

In 1579 Rudolf II envisaged the construction of a grand royal palace at Prague Castle, with an ex... more In 1579 Rudolf II envisaged the construction of a grand royal palace at Prague Castle, with an extensive sculptural programme that he undoubtedly planned to commission from Giambologna’s pupil Hans Mont. However, Rudolf shelved the project and Mont left the Prague court in exasperation. In the early years of his reign, Rudolf was clearly looking for a style, and also the painter Bartholomeus Spranger, who waited for several years in Vienna for the emperor’s commission, fell victim to this search. His biographer Karel van Mander even wrote that Rudolf had little interest in art at that time. Thanks to a valuable report by Hans Ulrich Krafft in 1584, however, we know that the emperor already possessed a collection of art, but which had a distinctly erotic content. This was the reason why Rudolf concealed it from his wider society. It was not until 1588 that envoys at the Prague court began to report Rudolf’s preference for ‘lascivious’ art. It was also at the same time that the emperor decided to build a large picture gallery at the castle, called the Spanish Hall, the present Rudolf Gallery and established his magnificence and his reputation as one of the greatest patrons of art in Europe. On his way to it, he built the Summer House near his palace at the castle in about 1579–1582, and this became the home of his ‘erotic Kunstkammer’. Around 1586 he also had a studiolo created on the second floor of the White Tower, which shows that Rudolf was inspired by the towers of Neugebäude, but unlike this model, he kept the decoration in Prague modest, like in the summer palace in the Imperial Mill, which was completed in 1594. While in the older Habsburg architecture there was a contrast between the austere palaces and richly decorated leisure structures, Rudolf seems to have come up with a new concept: buildings with a representational function were to be elaborately articulated, whereas private structures, including summer houses, were to be of modest form. Spranger’s fresco of Hermathena in the vault of the studiolo, inspired by the studiolo in the Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, was intended to symbolise to symbolise the abode of a wise monarch, as were other planned frescos. It was thus erotica & sapientia that defined Rudolf’s programme in his early years at Prague Castle, and later also played a crucial role in his subsequent magnificent period.

Palác královny Anny Jagellonské. Po stopách zaniklé rezidence na Pražském hradě (Palace of Queen Anne of Bohemia and Hungary: In the footsteps of a vanished residence at Prague Castle)

Průzkumy památek, 2021

The queen’s palace which was probably located at Prague Castle since the time of Vladislaus II of... more The queen’s palace which was probably located at Prague Castle since the time of Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary was inhabited by Anne of Bohemia and Hungary, the wife of King Ferdinand I, until 1541 when a fire dwstroyed it. The palace disappeared without a trace from the castle topography and various opinions have been expressed on its exact location. The article presents the options that are based on the analysis of sources, especially the description of the 1541 fire by Václav Hájek of Libočany, hypothesising that the palace had two parts. The main one was to the north of the White Tower, on the site of today’s central wing, while the other one was to the south of the tower, encompassing the compound that was called the Lion’s Court at the time of Rudolf II.

Albrecht of Waldstein and his Major Architectural Legacy

Bellum et Artes: Central Europe in the Thirty Years’ War, 2021

The Summer Palace in the Royal Garden of Prague Castle and the First Renaissance Leisure Architecture in Central Europe

Umění, 2019

Over just a few decades, starting in the last years of the 15th century, three summer palaces tha... more Over just a few decades, starting in the last years of the 15th century, three summer palaces that were all very similar to one another were built in the Bohemian and Hungarian Lands. One stands close to Prague Castle, and since the 19th century has been known as the Belvedere, another on the edge of the former game reserve of Ovenec near Prague, and the third in the Nyék game reserve near Buda. They all had long rectangular cores surrounded by an arcaded walkway on the ground floor, and although they were among the first Renaissance buildings either in this region or the whole transalpine area, no direct model in this form can be found for them in Italy. This article aims to present a new analysis of the relationship between the three buildings, and one that leads to a new view of the genesis of the architecture of the Prague summer palace, which was built in the years 1538–1563 by Paolo della Stella, Giovanni de Spatio and Bonifaz Wohlmut. Paolo della Stella, who was sought out by King Ferdinand I in Genoa in 1537, and has until now been considered the architect of the palace, seems only to have been responsible for details of the building that were influenced by the contemporary work of Michele Sanmicheli and Jacopo Sansovino, while the overall plan with columned arcades encircling the building has its origin in the Central European architecture of Matthias Corvinus and Vladislav Jagiellon. Ferdinand gained a detailed first-hand knowledge of this architecture in 1527, and because apart from a brief visit to Trent in 1536 he was never in Italy, his experience in Hungary was his main opportunity to get to know Renaissance art, and of a very high standard. The other architectural inspiration for the Prague Belvedere was the summer palace in the Ovenec game park, which was built with the help of stonemasons from Buda around the year 1495, and appears to be older than what is known as Building II of the complex in Nyék, probably built around 1502. The ultimate source for the idea of encircling arcades was probably the Medici villa of Poggio a Caiano, built starting in 1495; its plan was brought to the Buda court of Vladislav Jagiellon by one of the Florentine masters.

The Making of the Habsburg Residence in Prague Castle: History of the journey of the imperial palace from the centre to the periphery

When the Habsburg dynasty came to the Czech throne in 1526 and then ruled the lands of the Czech ... more When the Habsburg dynasty came to the Czech throne in 1526 and then ruled the lands of the Czech Crown for almost four centuries, its first member, Ferdinand I, entered a splendid royal palace in Prague, standing in the centre of the extensive area of Prague Castle. Less than a century later, however, the situation there was completely different. The Czech King and Roman Emperor Rudolf II resided on the very edge of Prague Castle, in a topographically unsuitable place, and the Old Royal Palace was left to the Czech Royal and professional offices and traders. Even though this was a radical change and one of the most important events in the history of Prague Castle, the questions of why, when and how this great transfer of residence took place, fundamental to the understanding of this central location of the Czech State, have not yet been asked. The most important action was the relocation of the vice-regent of the government of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol around 1555 to a small palace by the White Tower. The Habsburg architects Hans Tirol and Bonifaz Wohlmut unsuccessfully proposed linking the small palace with the Old Royal Palace by means of a new wing and thus building a worthy residence with a sufficient number of rooms. After ascending to the throne in 1576 the Emperor Rudolf II returned to this idea and had two Florentine architects (Antonio Lupicini in 1579 and Giovanni Gargiolli in 1586) carry out the new proposal, which was consulted in Florence with Francesco I de’Medici and in the second case also adjusted by Bernardo Buontalenti. In the end, however, Rudolf selected a different strategy and concentrated only on extending the palace by the White Tower to the areas of the former ditches, where he built wings containing areas for his collections. It was Rudolf II, then, who moved the Royal and Imperial Residence in Prague Castle to a new location, quite apart from the historical centre of the Castle.

Hans and Paul Vredeman de Vries in Rudolf II’s Prague Castle

Studia Rudolphina, 2015

During the thirty years that Rudolf II reigned in Bohemia, his residence in Prague Castle underwe... more During the thirty years that Rudolf II reigned in Bohemia, his residence in Prague Castle underwent a remarkable transformation. The main stage of this reconstruction was concentrated into the last decade of the Emperor’s life, when new galleries and stables were built for his expanding collections of art and horses. At this period, a large number of architects and master-builders were active in Prague Castle. They included Giovanni Maria Filippi, Horatio Fontana, and Anton de Moys, while the court carpenter Konrad Engler appeared in the role of building adviser, and the Emperor’s court painter Josef Heintz the Elder also devoted himself to architecture. In addition, the famous Vincenzo Scamozzi paid the Emperor a visit. At the beginning of this sequence came the Netherlandish painter Hans Vredeman de Vries, famous for incorporating architecture with sophisticated compositions into his paintings and for his treatises proposing varied architectural features. He was accompanied to Prague by his son Paul.

The Garden of Archduke Ferdinand II at Prague Castle

Studia Rudolphina, 2018

In 1559–1567, a new garden was created at Prague Castle, which Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, re... more In 1559–1567, a new garden was created at Prague Castle, which Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, residing at Prague Castle as the governor, established under his palace at the White Tower. The garden, which was later called Paradise Garden, was divided into three parts. The middle one was a formal garden arranged into quarters, in the eastern one there were an orchard and
a tower-shaped summer house, and in the western smaller part there was an aviary.

The Palace of Queen Anne Jagiello and Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol by the White Tower in Prague Castle

From the times of Vladislaus II Jagiello the residence in Prague Castle had two parts. After a co... more From the times of Vladislaus II Jagiello the residence in Prague Castle had two parts. After a costly refurbishment, the Old Royal Palace was adapted as the King’s seat and a new palace was built for the Queen by the White Tower on the west side of Prague Castle. Later it became the residence of Queen Anne Jagiello, wife of Ferdinand I, and after her death, in 1547, it became the residence of the second-born, Bohemian Governor Archduke Ferdinand II. Although not much has survived after numerous reconstructions, one can get a rough idea of its extent and furnishings on the basis of several fragments, written sources and iconography. The refurbishing work led by Hans Tirol is documented for the years 1553–1555. Above the gate next to the White Tower was an armoury on the second floor, described by Pietro Andrea Mattioli as “bella, et rara Armaria di sua Altezza”. Only a ground-floor chamber of Ferdinand’s palace has survived to this day.

Hortus Palatinus in the Bohemian Mirror: Listening to Orpheus and Bathing in the Teplice Garden

Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes , 2018

Around 1600, Radslav Vchynský, one of the wealthiest men in the Bohemian Kingdom, established the... more Around 1600, Radslav Vchynský, one of the wealthiest men in the Bohemian Kingdom, established there a large complex containing three gardens with two ponds and a pheasantry. As well as offering shady recesses for comfort and the fragrance of varied flora, the patron was able to boast of one other unique form of recreation: to visit warm curative springs, accessed directly from the premises of the summerhouse that was at the end of the first garden. The garden’s further development was significantly determined by Frederick V of the Palatine’s short reign in Bohemia, who was able to introduce the Bohemian lands to his grand garden in Heidelberg through de Caus’s recently published and richly illustrated book. The idea of year-round bathing in the Heidelberg garden’s ‘large vaulted room’ and the Teplice springs with their curative effects represented two similar concepts, which Vilém Kinský, no doubt with the assistance of Frederick himself, was able to fuse together into one unique whole in the Teplice garden. Following the model of the Heidelberg garden, he tied the grotto and its curative springs to the myth of Orpheus and the music of Antiquity. Orpheus’ voice and lyre music produced such a blissful sound that they attracted the animals of the forest and won the heart of Eurydice. The work on this project, the plans for which almost certainly originated in 1620, was however delayed by the political situation, and as a result in 1634 the Teplice grotto was not yet fully functional. The Teplice garden and grotto, which until recently were not open to the public, its grounds covered with sawdust from the nearby carpentry shop, constitute an example of how ambitious patrons living in Bohemia could be at that time. It also shows that it was possible for such a grand and almost contemporaneous imitation of the famous eighth wonder of the world in Heidelberg to exist in the Czech Lands, one that for centuries up to the present has remained entirely forgotten.

A Difficult Mission: The Building of St Vitus’s Cathedral in the time of Ferdinand I and Anna Jagiellon (1526–1547)

Umění, 2020

The The Cathedral of St. Vitus at Prague Castle, founded in 1344, was still incomplete when the H... more The The Cathedral of St. Vitus at Prague Castle, founded in 1344, was still incomplete when the Hussite Wars broke out. King Vladislav Jagiellon took up the project again in 1509, but soon afterwards work on it was halted, evidently because the construction of other parts of the castle fortifications was given priority. After being elected King of Bohemia in 1526, Ferdinand I of Habsburg clearly intended to renew work on the cathedral, and in 1530 — evidently under the direction of Benedikt Ried, he had a row of gables erected over the east choir. But then the building work lapsed again and the prospect of further progress was finally ruined by a great fire in 1541; after the fire the king could do no more than restore only the eastern choir, and he even substantially shortened the cathedral. Work was made difficult by a lack of funds, further complicated by Ferdinand’s unwillingness to look for potential sponsors in the ranks of the (Utraquist) nobility and burghers, without whose contributions an ambitious cathedral church could not be built in this era. It was largely the clergy who were left to restore or replace the damaged or lost furnishings and equipment. The size and form of the building were inadequate to the demands of an expanded royal court and especially the court of Queen Anna Jagiellon, for whose retinue of ladies a wooden platform had to be very awkwardly built into one of the chapels. It seems to have been for the queen, too, that Vladislav’s royal oratory was altered before 1537, by the installation of a heated wooden chamber. After the queen’s death in 1547, Ferdinand gave the order for her tombstone to be erected in the Cathedral, but we do not know whether this happened. Anna was buried in the Marian Choir, where until 1619 there was a superb altar, probably created sometime in the 1520s by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Although it has been suggested that the painting was acquired by the emperor Maximilian I, it is most likely that it was purchased later, by Rudolf II, and installed in the cathedral in connection with the building of a new mausoleum in 1589.

The Choirs of St Vitus's Cathedral in Prague: A Marriage of Liturgy, Coronation, Royal Necropolis and Piety

Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 2015

St Vitus' s Cathedral, founded in 1344, is a prime example of 14th-century cathedral Gothic, a pr... more St Vitus' s Cathedral, founded in 1344, is a prime example of 14th-century cathedral Gothic, a product of the cooperation between the ingenious architect Peter Parler and his patron, Emperor Charles IV. The unusual layout consisted of a pair of choirs set side by side in the eastern section of the cathedral, an arrangement inspired by the earlier Romanesque double-choir basilica. One was dedicated to St Vitus and was used by the canons, the other to the Virgin Mary and operated by the mansionars. The royal and imperial necropolis was placed in the latter of the two choirs, with Charles IV's tomb-chest protected by a sculptured canopy and surrounded by the cenotaphs of deceased family members and later kings and queens. The form of two choirs is probably the result of an extensive rearrangement of the earlier project completed in the 1350s, when initial plans to locate the royal burial ground in the canons' choir were abandoned. The main choir contained a tabernacle of remarkable design, dating from c. 1365. There may originally have been plans for a third choir to be built around the tomb of St Adalbert located in the middle of the nave, the work on which was initiated in 1392.

Chóry katedrály sv. Víta v Praze (Die Chöre der St. Veitskathedrale in Prag)

Christ in Motion: Portable Objects and Scenographic Environments in the Liturgy of Medieval Bohemia

This article concerns itself with the study of the dramatic elements in the mediaeval liturgy in ... more This article concerns itself with the study of the dramatic elements in the mediaeval liturgy in Bohemia and the use of mobile statues of Christ or the symbols of Christ (the host, the cross). It focuses on those feasts in the liturgical calendar that were dramatized: leading the ass on Palm Sunday, depositing the host, the cross, or the body of Christ into the Holy Sepulchre on Good Friday and their retrieval before the play of Visit to the Sepulchre on Easter Monday, and finally raising the statue of Christ on Ascension Day. The rubrics of St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle indicate that on Palm Sunday a live ass used to be led here, and from the 14th century this practice was replaced by a statue of Christ on an Ass, which in 1421 was toppled from the cathedral gallery by revolting Prague citizens. One such statue that has survived to date comes from the commandry of the Order of the Knights of St John in Strakonice. A statue in České Budějovice dating from around 1370 represents the corpora placed in the Sepulchre. Written records attest to the use of such statues in the Monastery of St Thomas in Malá Strana in Prague and in two churches in Olomouc. Also from the Olomouc region are two statues of Christ that have movable arms. The earliest of these statues, which could be removed from the cross and placed in the Easter Sepulchre, is from the Church of St Benedict in Hradčany in Prague and dates from around 1350. A pieta from Lásenice has a detachable Jesus figure with a movable arm. The only portable Holy Sepulchre documented in Bohemia was in the Church of St Barbora in Kutná Hora, it dated from 1464 and was equipped with wheels for portability. The Bohemian example may have been the inspiration for the Czech-born sculptor who carved the entirely transparent Sepulchre for the Busmannkapelle of the Franciscan monastery in Dresden, which was evidently based on the wooden, portable model. The raising of statues on Resurrection Day is illustrated by one such event in Prague in 1509 in the Church of St Thomas in Malá Strana.

Interview Valdštejnský zpravodaj 2017

Objevování jedinečnosti Valdštejnského paláce - Interview Senát 2017/04

Ráje kratochvíle: Renesanční a barokní zámecké zahrady (ČT24, Historie.cz)

Review: Dirk Jacob Jansen, Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court: The Antique as Innovation

Umění/Art, 2021