Top 10 Remarkable Facts about The Cathedral Of The Holy Spirit

Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (Hradec Králové). Author Jerzy Strzelecki. Wikimdia Commons

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about The Cathedral Of The Holy Spirit

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is considered a principal church of the Diocese of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic. This is where the current bishop of the Diocese, Jan Vokál, resides.

It is built of the Gothic brick basilica with two towers and is located in the southwestern corner of Velké Square in Hradec Králové.

The first indirect mention of the Holy Spirit Cathedral dates back to 1238 when Teutonic Knights settled outside of the city walls. They had decided to build their parish church between 1238 and 1250; it was built on the place of today’s Holy Spirit Cathedral.

1. The Cathedral Has Connections With The Royal Family

The history of the cathedral is traditionally described as initiated by Elizabeth Richeza of Poland, wife of King Wenceslaus II and later King Rudolf I in 1307. Elizabeth received dowry towns including Hradec Králové after Rudolf’s death in 1307.

She chose Hradec Králové as her residence town between 1308 and 1318. And for this reason, the beginning of the church is connected with her name. 10th to 13th century.

2. The Interior Reflects The Influence Of The Second Wife Of The king

Perhaps most significantly the interior of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit reflected the influence of the second wife of Wenceslaus IV Sophia of Bavaria, who won dowry town around 1400 after the death of Elizabeth of Pomerania.

She gave its cities due diligence and pushed for their architectural development. It reached mainly through its building works, led by former Prague masters. It was enriched by several elements that resemble Prague patterns. Its gorgeous and breathtaking structure has proven to mankind that indeed God is great.

3. Ribs Form A Special Feature Of The Cathedral Walls

The walls of the church are whitewashed with color underlined ribs of the cross vault. Ribs are led in bundles and ended on brackets with a macaron or floristic motifs.

Ribs are connected in the middle of the vault with the circular keystone, which is thematically painted. In the central nave are also paintings of the saint patrons.

Under the organ loft is a jump vault in the center field, which has ribs decorated with lacy tracery. These ribs converge into a circular keystone with the letter G (Gradec) – as Hradec.

4. It Houses A Place For Spiritual Ceremonies

It also houses the presbytery which is considered a place for spiritual ceremonies. This space is elevated by one step from the rest of the church. The bundles of the ribs in the presbytery are mostly tight to the ground.

Besides painted keystones is the ceiling decorated with painted coats of arms of the diocesan bishops, archbishops, and Pope John Paul II.

5. It Was Designed By The Famous Architect, Peter Parler

Part of the cathedral is the Royal hallway. It is located between the south tower and the dean sacristy. The adjective “royal” was assigned to the hallway mainly due to its high aesthetic value and because of its atypical vaulting.

This may be indicative of the work of Michal Parler, brother of more famous architect Peter Parler.

The hall has a unique use of ribs complemented with tracery. The clash of the ribs in the crown is smooth without any keystone. Ribs are ended in consoles with floral and animal elements.

6. Has Unique Devices As Part Of Decoration

The cathedral is also decorated with unique devices. The devices are mostly from the 19th century, sandstone reliefs are the early work of Josef Václav Myslbek.

 On the altar in the north nave is a painting of St. Anthony the Hermit from Petr Brandy and on the altar in the south aisle is a late Gothic Marian triptych of 1494 and a tin baptismal font from 1406 is the oldest in the country.

7. Its Appearance Show Rich Brick Architecture

The Cathedral also features interesting characteristic brick architecture, which is a rarity among Gothic cathedrals in Czech lands. The uniqueness here is the contrast between red brick and white sandstone used on portals, windows, and cornices of the temple.

This impressive appearance is largely determined by chance, which was influenced by nature itself. At a time when the cathedral was built, in the cities of the East was a common practice to use it as the main building material sandstone.

But builders of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit had to deal with its lack in the vicinity, and therefore they selected as the primary building material brick, for the times, not so ordinary material.

8. The Basilica Church Has Three Naves And Long Choir

Outside of the presbytery in the line of the choir is placed a cross and on the sides of the choir are symmetrically placed two towers, which makes the symbolic connection.

 On the outer walls of the church are several renaissance tombstones. Massive support pillars protrude into the exterior and they are divided into three parts.

9. It Is Currently The Only Surviving Medieval Gothic Church

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is also unique because it has survived as the only medieval Gothic church in the city and suburbs. Other Gothic churches were destroyed because of the construction of a military fort in the 18th century. This required extensive rebuilding of urban space and it had a significant influence on the appearance of the former Hradec Králové.

On 26 April 1997 Pope John Paul II visited the Diocese of Hradec Králové. To commemorate the visit of the Pope a memorial board was attached to the east wall of the church, and on 3 April 2015 the relics of Pope John Paul II. were deposited on the left side of the presbytery in a new reliquary.

10. Built In The 14Th Century

The first period of construction took place between 1339 and 1342, during this time was built the presbytery for serving church purposes. At this stage were also constructed two towers at the corners of the presbytery, piscinium[spp] and sanctuary.