ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL AT PRAGUE CASTLE DURING THE PERIOD OF NORMALIZATION

Abstract

This paper deals with the building modifications in the building of the Cathedral of St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas, St. Adalbert and St. Mary during the period of normalization - the 1970s and 1980s. This period has so far been neglected by researchers, although many articles and publications have been written about the history, development and artistic decoration of the cathedral. Normalization, like the entire period of communist rule in Czechoslovakia, meant the oppression of church leaders, the suppression of sacred themes in religious buildings and in everyday life. Nevertheless, the cathedral was the scene of necessary reconstruction works, as well as modifications aimed at improving the use of space and interventions based on the change of the Roman Catholic liturgy. St. Vitus Cathedral is the most important Catholic church in the Czech Republic, formerly in Czechoslovakia, and even earlier in the Czech Kingdom. Its construction, spanning almost 700 years, demonstrates the development in culture, technical possibilities, architectural and building art. The cathedral is an essential part of the Prague Castle complex and the Hradčany panorama. Prague Castle was and still is the center of secular and ecclesiastical power. This connection was symbolically fulfilled by the most important ruler ceremonies (coronations, funerals, marriages, christenings), which took place in the cathedral. One of the most beautiful and most photographed views of Hradčany is dominated by the silhouette of Prague Castle and especially the cathedral. The St. Vitus Cathedral rises from the base formed by the uniform design of the facades of Prague Castle, which was created during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa. For a long time the cathedral itself looked like a torso, as only the bell tower with a Renaissance and later Baroque helmet was built. The transept and the towers in the facade were not completed until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On the basis of archival research, interviews with witnesses and the study of specialist literature, the reader is introduced to the interventions in St. Vitus Cathedral and the associated change in the space for the celebration of the liturgy, as well as the space for ordinary visitors to this church during the period under study. Further attention is given to the unrealised designs and other sacred buildings in the grounds of the Castle.