Several types of artwork created by talented fifth-graders were auctioned to raise funds for the St. Wenceslas Rotunda Preservation Project (photographs by Linhardtová)

Pupils of the Lesser Town primary school have joined the numerous supporters of the St. Wenceslas Rotunda Preservation Project by taking a very unconventional approach. In art classes, the children created rotunda-themed artwork that was then auctioned off. All proceeds from the auction went to the conservation project devoted to the monument.

Renata Turková, Deputy Head of the Lesser Town primary school, explains the origins of the idea: “Every year we try to support various charitable projects, either by way of auctioning student artwork and other works, or through parental donations. This year it was our colleague and class teacher of the former 4.A, Ms. Jana Pohunková, who initiated the idea to contribute to the Rotunda. So, this year we decided to donate the proceeds from this traditional auction towards the reconstruction of the national monument.”

Pupils and teachers of the nearby school learned about the discovery of the significant historical monument from a lecture by Dr. Jarmila Čiháková of the National Heritage Institute. “I live in the Lesser Town and am interested in history, so I decided to attend Dr. Čiháková’s lecture, thanks to which I came to know about the existence of the Rotunda and its conservation project,” says Jana Pohunková. “Our school is part of the Lesser Town, which is why we are always eager to partake in local events. We encourage the pupils to do the same because the surroundings of our school are quite unique,” she adds.

Children from this year’s 5.A and other classes became acquainted with the Project through the online donation application, and were freely inspired by the motifs of lions and griffins that decorate the original tiles discovered within the Rotunda. During their art lessons, the pupils then created monotypes and ceramic tiles to be auctioned off at the annual meeting. The overall sum collected from the parents, teachers and the Lesser Town primary school exceeded 9,000 CZK.

St. Wenceslas Rotunda Preservation Project is still running, with the public donations collected so far amounting to approximately 60% of the necessary amount. The monument has been conserved and is now awaiting numerous restoration works and other planned modifications that will render it accessible to the wider public. One of the arrangements covered by the Project is the installation of special air-conditioning and ventilation equipment, which will ensure suitable microclimatic conditions necessary for the protection and preservation of the Rotunda’s historic features and artifacts.

“It was a different kind of work, which was really interesting, and we also did something for a good cause,” say the pupils themselves when asked how they enjoyed working on their project. Jana Pohunková confirms the children’s enthusiastic approach and adds: “We will definitely come and have a look at the Rotunda when the Project is successfully over. Our pupils will be delighted to see the unique monument that their joint effort has helped to preserve.”

You may also be interested in:

Several types of artwork created by talented fifth-graders were auctioned to raise funds for the St. Wenceslas Rotunda Preservation Project (photographs by Linhardtová)

Pupils of the Lesser Town primary school have joined the numerous supporters of the St. Wenceslas Rotunda Preservation Project by taking a very unconventional approach. In art classes, the children created rotunda-themed artwork that was then auctioned off. All proceeds from the auction went to the conservation project devoted to the monument.

Renata Turková, Deputy Head of the Lesser Town primary school, explains the origins of the idea: “Every year we try to support various charitable projects, either by way of auctioning student artwork and other works, or through parental donations. This year it was our colleague and class teacher of the former 4.A, Ms. Jana Pohunková, who initiated the idea to contribute to the Rotunda. So, this year we decided to donate the proceeds from this traditional auction towards the reconstruction of the national monument.”

Pupils and teachers of the nearby school learned about the discovery of the significant historical monument from a lecture by Dr. Jarmila Čiháková of the National Heritage Institute. “I live in the Lesser Town and am interested in history, so I decided to attend Dr. Čiháková’s lecture, thanks to which I came to know about the existence of the Rotunda and its conservation project,” says Jana Pohunková. “Our school is part of the Lesser Town, which is why we are always eager to partake in local events. We encourage the pupils to do the same because the surroundings of our school are quite unique,” she adds.

Children from this year’s 5.A and other classes became acquainted with the Project through the online donation application, and were freely inspired by the motifs of lions and griffins that decorate the original tiles discovered within the Rotunda. During their art lessons, the pupils then created monotypes and ceramic tiles to be auctioned off at the annual meeting. The overall sum collected from the parents, teachers and the Lesser Town primary school exceeded 9,000 CZK.

St. Wenceslas Rotunda Preservation Project is still running, with the public donations collected so far amounting to approximately 60% of the necessary amount. The monument has been conserved and is now awaiting numerous restoration works and other planned modifications that will render it accessible to the wider public. One of the arrangements covered by the Project is the installation of special air-conditioning and ventilation equipment, which will ensure suitable microclimatic conditions necessary for the protection and preservation of the Rotunda’s historic features and artifacts.

“It was a different kind of work, which was really interesting, and we also did something for a good cause,” say the pupils themselves when asked how they enjoyed working on their project. Jana Pohunková confirms the children’s enthusiastic approach and adds: “We will definitely come and have a look at the Rotunda when the Project is successfully over. Our pupils will be delighted to see the unique monument that their joint effort has helped to preserve.”

You may also be interested in:

On Tuesday, October 6th, we had the great opportunity to speak with Cardinal Dominik Duka, Bishop of Prague, on the topic of the recent discovery of St. Wenceslas’ Rotunda. The interview took place at the Archdiocese of Prague. It followed the filming of the National St. Wenceslas pilgrimage in Brandýs nad Labem which the Cardinal celebrated. Among other things discussed during the interview, Cardinal Duka expresses his relation to the Czech saint.

Interwiev: https://youtu.be/0M8qePIARH0

A group of ten Members of Parliament of the Czech Republic gathered at Malostranské náměstí 25 on Tuesday, October 6th. To read more about the lecture on the recently discovered St. Wenceslas rotunda and learn about the project for its preservation, visit the personal webpage of one of the MP’s: http://www.augustinandrle.cz/615/

St. Wenceslas rotunda was built in the 11th century in the left-bank settlement around Prague Castle. How this happened will be explained in the following lines.
The left-bank suburbium of Prague Castle has been inhabited since times immemorial. By the time of the arrival of the first Premyslid prince Bořivoj at the Hradčany promontory, a cultural and agriculturally cultivated landscape had already flourished here. Its development since prehistoric times is inscribed in the pollen grains seated in the gradually increasing sediments of a vast wetland located at the site of the present-day south-west corner of the Lesser Town Square.

The prehistoric wetland in the south-west corner of the Lesser Town Square which only disappeared in the 11th or 12th century. Yellow highlights map the archaeologically verified edges of the wetland (based on the archaeological research of the National Heritage Institute, Prague).

Marshy sediments of the wetland located underneath today’s passage from the Lesser Town Square to Třžiště (Market) Street (research of the NHI, Prague).

In the 8th century, a small-sized enclave fortified with a wood-and-soil wall and 6-metre deep moat stood on the bank of the river Vltava, whose function has remained unknown to the present day. It may have functioned as a customs house, the kind familiar from that time thanks to the written records of the Frankish Empire customs tariffs, or another institution related to the trade caravan transits through Central Europe.

Once procured by the Premyslid dynasty, the Hradčany promontory was turned into the central seat of the principality and the Czech State. Settlements in the area of the so-called Lesser Town Amphitheatre were significantly expanded. During the reign of Bořivoj’s son Spytihněv I († 915), St. Wenceslas’ uncle, the fortification of the lower settlement was most probably rebuilt alongside the newly built fortification of the Prague Castle. Compared to that of the 8th century, this structure could protect a much larger area. The 10th and 11th centuries saw lively activity both within the fortified area of the lower settlement of the Castle and in the neighbouring villages outside the fortification. In the era of Prince Vratislav II, the first Bohemian king since 1085, the Czech lands came into much closer contact with Italy and the more advanced Europe than ever before, this thanks to his alliance with the Emperor Henry IV, so that not only its elites would have the opportunity to get acquainted with the heritage of antiquity, contemporary stone-building craftsmanship, urbanism, and various fashion trends.

Vratislav had his new seat built at Vyšehrad in the form of a castle overlooking the river Vltava, (at least) some parts of which were already built of stone, according to chronicler Cosmas. A royal chapel was also located in the area of the castle, the Basilica of St Lawrence, which replaced a voluminous church with a central plan uncovered in 2014. The Prince’s relocation from Prague Castle to Vyšehrad was associated with Vratislav’s disputes with this brother Jaromír, the then bishop.

The somewhat faded state of the principality-turned-royal-residence had also quite undoubtedly played its role. Its decrepit condition at the time is evidenced by a major reconstruction initiated by Vratislav’s son, Soběslav I († 1140), after the consolidation of the political situation. As a result of this reconstruction, the small-scale hillfort with a wood-and-soil fortification became, in mid-12th century, a modern stone Romanesque castle.

Certain changes after the wars in Italy certainly affected the appearance of the Castle settlement. It is therefore possible that the construction of the two rotundas – St. Wenceslas Rotunda on the left bank and St. Lawrence Rotunda on the right bank of the Prague Castle lower settlements – is a manifestation of these changes. The architectural type of the rotunda is perhaps connected with a large parochial organization of church administration, which would indicate the great importance of these two buildings for day-to-day lives of all inhabitants of the Prague Castle settlement.

Exploration under the flooring of a blacksmith’s shop from the 10th century carried out during the construction of a classroom at HAMU (research of the NHI, Prague).

Compiled in cooperation with Dr. Jaromila Čiháková of the National Heritage Institute.

The Czech Statehood Day, a significant anniversary of not only historical, but also spiritual value, is drawing nigh. In the spirit of this Wenceslavian tradition, we are preparing an interview with Cardinal Duka on the topic of St. Wencelas Rotunda and its legends. The interview will be held on October 6 at the Archdiocese of Prague. The video recording of the interview will be completed with footage of the Wenceslavian pilgrimage, the most important spiritual event in Bohemia which traditionally takes place in Stará Boleslav, the site of St Wenceslas’ assassination.

The photograph of the tiling fragment taken in the uncovered St Wenceslas Rotunda appeared on the September page of a calendar issued by the National Heritage Institute. Its twelve pages depict the most significant archaeological discoveries in the Prague area of the last 50 years.

Her Excellency Siri Ellen Sletner, Ambassador of Norway to the Czech Republic, will be paying a visit to the rotunda on the morning of June 25, 2015. Her Excellency will be meeting with the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Prof. Jan Kratochvil, and with the restorers involved in the initial research concerning the discovery of St. Wenceslas Rotunda.

Math-Phys participated in the Prague Museum Night project for the second time by opening some of its spaces normally inaccessible to the public. The total of 2,800 visitors passed through the doors of the Professed House in the Lesser Town between 7PM and 1AM.

For those interested in the discovery of St. Wenceslas Rotunda a brief lecture was held before the closed door leading to the find, and a number of information boards with drawings, photographs, and the history of the rotunda were erected on the walls. However, future visitors will have to wait some more time before they can finally glance at the unique discovery dating back to the 11th century. The rotunda is currently available exclusively to the archaeologists who are getting ready for the fieldwork, and to the restorers working on the plans for its preservation.

We hope that the dream of many history lovers fascinated by this unique Přemyslid monument comes true as they visit the Prague Museum Night next year.

An excursion of about 20 students of Czech Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, and Preservation Institute associates to the Rotunda will take place on Wednesday, April 29, 2015. The tour will be led by Ing. arch. Milena Hauserová, deputy head of the Institute. Dr. Jarmila Čiháková from the National Heritage Institute will also accompany the group.