Baroque statues

Baroque architecture uses  a considerable amount of statues  and depiction of  human or celestial beings.

A dynamic composition of Baroque statues on the facade of the originally Gothic  St. Jacobs church. www.robsarchitour.com the best private tours of Prague.

This creates the impression that the viewer can identify with something personal on a baroque building,  and it is usually a statue.

Baroque statues are made to convey human emotion with an expression of enlightenment. www.robsarchitour.com, Prague private tour guide, specialized in Prague historical architecture

Baroque uses dynamics in its statues, there is movement and human emotion speaking to the viewer, and sometime these statue are convening a certain message trough their emotional expression, but by all means Baroque statues are used to make the building come alive.

Baroque statues are made to convey human emotion with an expression of enlightenment. www.robsarchitour.com, Prague private tour guide, specialized in Prague historical architecture

A dynamic composition of Baroque statues on the facade of the originally Gothic  St. Jacobs church. www.robsarchitour.com the best private tours of Prague.

Baroque II

And very well so, Baroque had to do a job in new type of religious Europe, in which there was not only the Catholic church, but people had learnt that there were also other options , such as the newly formed Protestant movement.

The Onion dome typical for Central European Baroque architecture, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

Through,  architecture, the catholic church tried to woo the population back into its fold, with the message  that God loves us so that is why he blessed us with such opulence. 

The richly decorated interior of the Baroque St. Nikolas church on the Old Town Square, in Prague, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

The richly decorated interior of the Baroque St. Nikolas church on the Old Town Square, in Prague, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

The theme of baroque is piety, this emphasis on religious devotion led to the emergence of places of pilgrimage such as  the Loreta at the Prague castle, and cult of St. John of Nepomuk, who was said to have been thrown off the Charles bridge

The spot where St. John of Nepomuk is said to have been thrown off the Charles bridge, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

A depiction of St. John of Nepomuk,with his trademark 5 star hail glow over his head, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

Baroque I

Baroque is the other most dominant architectural style in Prague apart from Gothic.

Culturally baroque architecture in the Czech lands are always associated with loss of national independence and the dominance of the Hapsburg monarchy along with the reinstatement of the Catholic church.

Early Baroque,  1620-1700 begins with the onset of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).This war was sparked off when  in 1618 the Czech estates rebelled against the Hapsburg emperor by throwing  3 of his representative out of a window in the Prague castle, this ended in tragedy when all 27 Czech noble men that rebelled we publicly executed at the Old Town Square in the summer of 1621

Along with the Hapsburg's and Catholicism came the Jesuits order  ushering in a new era of Baroque architecture.

 Baroque in it original meaning, meant something imperfect, a coarse or uneven surface.

Baroque used a composition of incomplete ellipse curves triangle and thick lines to break down and play with light, it then used movement and a dynamic elements in the statue, and together this stuns the perception of the viewer. 

An opulent display of grandeur glamour wealth. Which were especially visible  the splendid  interior decor of Baroque Churches

The interior of the Mirror Chapel in Prague as seen on private tours of the  Klementntinum.

 All in an attempt to create a sense of  breathtaking amazement and admiration form the onlooker.

The interior of the Kostel sv.Jiljí in Prague as seen on private tours with

 robsarchitour.com

The interior of the St. Havel's church  in  Prague as seen on private tours with www.robsarchitour.com

Rennisance V

Also as Protestantism spreads through Europe later half of the 15th century, we start seeing the first emergence Protestant Churches which were usually built a Renaissance style. Such as both of the St. Salvador's churches in the Prague Old town.

The symmetrical Renaissance facade of the St. Salvador's church in Prague, seen on guided tours  with www.robsarchitour.com

The symmetrical Renaissance facade of the St. Salvador's church in Prague,seen on guided tours  with www. robsarchitour.com

The classical, Roman styled triangle in combination with  the circular dome  that were typical of  Renaissance churches, as seen on guided tours of Prague with www. robsarchitour.com

The classical, Roman styled triangular facade that is typical of  Renaissance churches, as seen on guided tours  of Prague, with www. robsarchitour.com

Renaissance IV

The wealth that the nobility brought with them also trickled down the social ladder, and  on visible sign of it was that wealthier townsmen could afford  ornate and squared Renaissance windows to adorn their residences.

A Renaissance house facade with it emphasis on a flat and a horizontal effect as seen on guided tours of Prague,with www. robsarchitour.com

A Renaissance window with typical stone frame as seen on guided tours of Prague,with www. robsarchitour.com

An example of a gilded Renaissance widow of the old town hall or Prague bearing the coat of arms of the city as seen on guided tours of Prague,with www.robsarchitour.com

Renaissance III

In Prague, the first Renaissance  element on buildings appears in 1493 – in the form of  the windows Vladislav Hall  the throne hall at the Prague castle.

Early Renaissance elements in combination with Gothic spirals at the Prague castle as seen on private tour, guided by www. robsarchitour.com

Renaissance windows utilizing the classical Roman semi-circular arch as seen on private tour of Prague architecture by www.robsarchitour.com

Then the first  fully coherent Renaissance  buildings  such as the. Old House at Prague Castle, were mostly from  the workshop brilliant architect Benedikt Ried, that still had a tendency to incorporate Gothic elements.

With  the incorporation of the Czech lands into the Hapsburg Empire in 1526, We start seeing the early  Hapsburg's (Ferdinand I, Maximilian II., Rudolf II., And Matthew I.) The early Habsburgs brought in several  great architects such as  - Boniface Wohlmut, Hans Tirol, Paolo della Stella, Ulrico Aostalis . Non the less, they were all very  aware of the strong Gothic tradition and respected it.

Renaissance II

The only purely Renaissance building in Prague is considered to be the Royal Summer Palace. Located in the Royal Garden and had it built by King Ferdinand I. of love to his wife Anna.

Royal Summer Palace in the Royal gardens of the Prague castle as seen on private tour of Prague architecture by www.robsarchitour.com

The Ball Game court in the  Royal gardens of the  Prague castle as seen on private  guided tour, of Prague architecture by www.robsarchitour.com

A  Renaissance Sgrafito decorated hunting lodge in the Prague castle as seen on private  guided tour, of Prague architecture by www.robsarchitour.com

This Royal Summer Palace is even said that it is the only purely Renaissance building north of the Alps.

What made  space for  renaissance in Prague,was a fire in 1541 that swept through the Lesser town bellow the castle.

This fire opened up space for the aristocracy who started building  Renaissance style palaces  with an emphasis  on the horizontal). Perhaps the most articulate building of its kind in Prague Schwarzenberg Palace in Hradcany Square.

The  Schwarzenberg Palace at the Prague kastle with its Sgraffito facade decor, as seen on private  guided tour, of Prague architecture by www.robsarchitour.com

But, during the Renaissance period in Prague, there was an influx of nobility as Prague gradually became the imperial seat of the Hapsburg empire as  Rudolf II. gradually moved his headquarters to Prague because Vienna - the traditional seat of the Habsburgs - was threatened by the Turks.