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Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord (Kostel Nejsvětějšího Srdce Páně)
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December 13, 2018Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord (Kostel Nejsvětějšího Srdce Páně)
At first glance, the most striking feature of this church is the enormous glass clock with a 7.6 m diameter dial on the 42 m high flat tower that spans the entire width of the façade. The design of this distinctive modern building was inspired by old Christian architecture and is the work of the famous Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik. It was built from 1928 to1932, and evokes Noah’s Ark. An interesting fact about this, the most significant Czech sacral building of the 20th century, is the lack of a pulpit.
Contacts
- Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord (Kostel Nejsvětějšího Srdce Páně)
- náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad
- 130 00 Praha 3- Vinohrady
- +420 222 727 713
Object history
The church is the most significant Czech religious building of the 20th century, and was created as the number two church in the Prague neighbourhood of Královské Vinohrady. Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik won a public competition announced in 1919, and in accordance with his plans, a modern and very unique building inspired by old Christian and antique patterns rose up from the site. The consecration to the heart of Jesus expresses thanks for the achievement of national independence and for hearing the plea to save the Czech nation.
The rectangular hall measures 38 and 26 metres by 13 metres and features a high coffered ceiling. The southern-European style tower is 42 metres high and is topped with a three-metre copper dome with a bold four-metre cross. The large round window in the tower originally brought morning light into the church; later a clock 7.6 metres in diameter was installed. The façade is highly decorative, with all but the top quarter made up of glazed bricks. An ambit and low gable are added above the glazed brickwork. Three massive portals are at the front façade. Plečnik also contributed somewhat to the church interior, which is just as original as the exterior. A three-metre gilded figure of Christ in a symbolic heart and six larger-than-life Czech patron saints — St John of Nepomuk, St Agnes, St Adalbert, St Wenceslaus, St Ludmila and St Procopius — hang above the main white marble altar and small gilded hammered doors. An
interesting feature in the Post-Modern church is that there is no pulpit. Of the six bells that the Nazi occupying forces removed and melted down for arms production, only the smallest remains. In 1992 two of the original six bells returned to the tower, the work of the Manoušek family of bell founders. The church belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.
Source: https://www.prague.eu/en/object/places/459/church-of-the-most-sacred-heart-of-our-lord-kostel-nejsvetejsiho-srdce-pane
