Europe is full of historic churches anywhere you go and it's hard to pick just a few.
During this Christmas weekend, i chose to write about these four below which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and have been important centres of history and culture.
Since Prague was the first european city i saw and the one i spent the most time in during my trip, i have grown partial to it and hence will start from there :)
St Vitus Cathedral, Prague
St Vitus’s cathedral is at the centre of Prague, situated inside the Prague castle grounds. When you catch a glimpse of ‘Prague Castle’ from any other far off point in the city, it is in fact the tall towers and spires of st vitus church that you are seeing.
The church was founded in 1344 on the site of an earlier 10th century church in the same place. Construction of the church went on over the next six centuries, halting in between for wars etc. some of the major work, and the ultimate completion of it happened only in 1929.
The church has ornate details inside and out, and is richly decorated in beautiful stained glass, frescoes, and sculptures. It has seen the coronations of Bohemian kings and queens and also holds the family crypts where the royals are interred.
It houses the chapel of St Wenceslas, patron saint of the Czech Republic. St Wenceslas was a Duke of Bohemia in the 10th century and the one who established the rotunda which was earlier in the site of the present St Vitus’ Cathedral. He was venerated as a saint and ‘Good King Wenceslas’ posthumously after his martyrdom.
Basic entry to the St vitus cathedral, ( as also the castle grounds itself) is free, but this will allow access only to a minimal, front portion of the church (which itself is a great sight no doubt ). If you are interested in a detailed visit, including the chapels, etc you will have to buy one of the circuit tickets of the castle (which is valid for entry into other buildings in the castle too).
The st vitus cathedral is a wonderful sight to behold from outside too, both from the side and from the back (below).
To reach the St Vitus Cathedral you have to get inside the Prague Castle, either taking a tram to the ‘Prazsky Hrad’ (prague castle) stop or walking uphill from the Mala Strana square (which is a bit of a climb). Both the entrances to the castle have a brief security check of your bags. Be prepared for crowds, especially if it’s summer, weekends, etc.
St Stephen's Cathedral Vienna
St Stephen's Cathedral or Stephansdom as it is called in German, is an imposing structure, right at the very heart of Vienna. It is located at the square called Stephansplatz, after the church itself. It was built on the site of a previous church and consecrated in 1263. It suffered severe damages during the second world war in 1945 and was subsequently restored and reconstructed. The cathedral has two towers on either side of it, north and south. The south tower, affectionately called ‘Steffl’, is the taller one, rising up to an impressive 136 ft, dominating the Vienna skyline. The north tower is shorter, at half the height of the south tower.
Both the towers can be accessed and climbed up, for excellent views of the city of vienna and the roof of the cathedral.
Inside, the cathedral has every bit of the grandeur you’d expect, ornately decorated in sculpture and painting literally from floor to ceiling. Mozart got married here and both him and Vivaldi are among those whose funerals were held here. There are also the tombs and catacombs of thousands buried beneath, which include royals and religious heads.
Basic entry into the cathedral is free, which allows access just to the front area. More detailed access, the catacombs, each of the two towers, etc all have their separate fees and you can choose which ones you’d like to see.
St Stephens, being centrally located, is easily reachable from anywhere in Vienna and the Stephansplatz underground U-Bahn station is very nearby. The area is also full of places for eating and shopping once you’re done seeing the church.
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg may be the ‘sound of music’ city, but the cathedral is its literal centrepiece and focal point. The first church at the site was built in 774 and damaged and rebuilt several times, after which construction of the present church began in 1614 and was consecrated in 1628. It was damaged by bombing during WW2 in 1944 and restoration was completed in 1959.
The exterior white facade of the church is made of marble from the Alps, and the interior is a pristine white with rows of ceiling frescoes drawing your eyes up to the imposing dome.
As if to live up to the name of its prodigious son, The Salzburg cathedral has not one, not two, but five organs. Four of the organs are located one each at the corners of the crossing of the transept and nave, and a grand one above the entrance. One of the organs in the crossing is the one on which Mozart himself used to perform.
In complete contrast to the Prague and Vienna churches which were thronged by visitors, the Salzburg cathedral, when i went on a monday afternoon, was mostly quiet and had hardly a handful of people, making it a very peaceful experience.
Salzburg cathedral is in the Old Town area, the whole of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most of the old town area can be covered easily by walk, but if you are coming from a bit far off in the city you could get a bus to the other side of the Salzach river and then walk across one of the bridges.
St Barbara’s Church, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic.
For our last church in this post, we circle back to the czech republic after briefly hopping across to austria.
Kutna Hora is a really small town which makes for a great day (or just half a day) trip from Prague. Most people who come to Prague tend to overlook Kutna Hora and most people who come to Kutna Hora tend to overlook St Barbara’s Church for the more famous Sedlec ossuary.
St Barbara’s however is an architectural beauty and a quiet gem, tucked away from Prague’s crowds.
Kutna Hora, despite its small town feel now, was once a silver mining centre and thrived in importance from around the 13th to 16th centuries.
St Barbara was supposed to be the patron saint of miners, hence the church in her name in a town whose focal point was silver mines.
Construction of the church began in 1388, but after several interruptions went on until the early 1900s
The interior of the church has impressively high vaulted ceilings, and its beautiful stained glasses and wall frescoes depict social life from around the medieval times.
The most striking feature of the church however is its exterior, with its flying buttresses on either side. A flying buttress in an arch or structure providing support to a tall central structure on either side of it. St Barbara’s has a wonderful series of flying buttresses framing the central part of the church. St Vitus in prague also has a flying buttress structure, but somehow it is more evident and more aesthetically appealing in St Barbara’s.
Kutna Hora is about an hour away from Prague by road or train. If you get there by train, you have to take another smaller shuttle train from the main Kutna Hora station to the Kunta Hora ‘Mesto’ or town station, from where the town centre is about a 10-15 mins walk. While buying your ticket at Prague itself make sure to get one to ‘Kunta Hora Mesto’ so that you are covered all the way instead of till the main station (Hl.n) alone. The shuttle or local train stops at Sedlec first, so you can also get down there if you’d like to cover that before you get to the town centre.
All of the Churches covered in today’s post are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is always a favourite thing of mine to see such places with centuries of history behind them and it is also a pleasure to relive the memory once more by writing about it.
However, note that these are based on a visit in 2019 and rules might have changed subject to the currently prevailing conditions so please check official websites for the latest visitor info.
Wow almost got transported there. Well written and great pics
ReplyDeleteHey thank you so much😊. Saw your comment only now 😂
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