The Cathedral that Isn’t
Five centuries in the making, the late Gothic style Church of St. Barbara is the de facto trade mark and centrepiece of the Central Bohemian city of Kutná Hora.
The structure’s distinctive three spired tented roofline is used in stylized form on many of the city’s plentiful souvenir items. Inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites with the rest of the city’s preserved centre in 1995, St. Barbara’s is the country’s second most visited church.
Started in 1388 and not fully completed until the early 20th century, St. Barbara’s stands as testament to the city’s former wealth in silver and the grand and lofty visions the local burghers had for the city during its heyday and status as a royal city.
The burghers of Kutná Hora commissioned the church to be built in cathedral style in the hopes of having a diocese established in the city to compete with those of nearby Sedlec and Prague.
Ultimately, the city’s silver mines were exhausted before the church could be completed and the much desired diocese was never established. As a result, despite its grand facades, St. Barabara’s has only ever been a church.
In spite of much contemporary toursit information referring to the structure as a cathedral, it most certainly is not one.
Built on Grand Visions
The silver heyday of Kutná Hora lasted from the 13th to the end of the 16th century.
The city’s mines were rich with the metal and Kutná Hora was given the status of a royal city and made the seat of the royal mint of the Bohemian lands. Such things put the city in status of importance after only Prague itself.
Through the silver, the city attracted a strong upper class with great ideas for the city’s future and the money to make many of their visions for it into reality. Their visions included a bishopric and cathedral of their own.
The first architect responsible for the church was Jan Parléř (1359-1406). A member of the famous Parléř family of architects, Jan was the son of Petr Parléř (1330-1399) who had been responsible for St. Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge in Prague.
Using nearby quarried sandstone, work on the church carried on until it was interupted by the Hussite Wars that raged through the early to mid 1400s.
Work resumed on the structure in the late 1400s and continued to the late 1500s when the city’s silver mines had been depleted.
The distinctive roof was put on the church and it has stood, at only half its intended size, to the present.
Shortly after the second period of construction was concluded, the church saw a number of renovations under the watch of the Jesuit order that brought Baroque styling to it.
The final stages of construction, carried out in the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the restoration of much of the church’s original Gothic look.
While the church did not achieve the grand status of a cathedral, it most certainly has achieved a level of greatness through its inclusion on the UNESCO list. A placement it earned through its authenticity, tangible connection to the city’s history and it’s influence on the architecture of subsequent structures around Europe.
The Right Saint for the Job
Owing to the very risky nature of their work, miners have always been an understandably very religious group of people.
In light of this fact, consecrating this church to St. Barbara could be seen as a very obvious choice. Barbara is the patron saint of miners and anyone who works around explosives and thus faces the risk of a very sudden and violent death on a regular basis.
Historically, it was typical to install a small shrine to the saint at the entry or junctions of mineshafts and near military gunpowder storage facilities.
Many organisations, both civilian and military, continue to honour St. Barbara to the present. December 4 is the traditional day of the saint.
When depicted in art, St. Barbara is typically recognised by her attribute of a tower with three windows. Other attributes associated with her are a chalice, palm leaf and lightning.
Paying a Visit and Learning More
Being highly visible and on Kutná Hora’s main tourist route, St. Barbara’s is not at all difficult to find or visit when in the city.
While it is open daily, it should be kept in mind that it is still a functioning church and that respect should be exercised by visitors towards those worshipping there.
Regular services are held there on Sundays.
The following link will give you further information on the church from historical and tourism aspects:
Church’s page at official Kutná Hora website
Beyond Prague 