Church of St. Barbora in Kutná Hora

The five-aisled Gothic cathedral was to symbolize the importance of this mining town, which began to form in the second half of the 13th century, when the individual mining settlements began to unite. The system of violets, bundles of supporting pillars and especially three tent roofs create a completely unmistakable appearance of this pearl of Gothic architecture in Bohemia.

Jan Parléř probably worked as an architect for the first time on the construction of the church. The original intention was to build a three-nave temple, but the plans changed very soon. From the 1960s, Matyáš Rejsek worked on the construction of the church, making a net vault over the chancel with a total height of 33 m. After that, Benedikt Rejt worked here, under whose leadership a separate three-aisled nave and a vault over the main nave were created. In 1558, the construction of the church was completed mainly due to declining silver reserves. Originally, the temple was supposed to be twice as long as it is today. At present, the temple is 70 m long and 40 m wide.

The temple was not completed until 500 years later, in 1905. Nevertheless, services were held here throughout and the premises served their purpose. The Baroque adaptations come mainly from the time when the church was taken over by the Jesuits, who had a Jesuit college built near it. Restoration work was saved by restoration work at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, in which Josef Mocker also took part.

Inside the church there is a chapel with preserved late medieval murals depicting scenes from the life of miners, nobles, or scenes from Trajan's Court, the arrival of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, etc. An interesting complex is located in Smíškovská Chapel, Hašplířská Chapel and Chapel of Mincíři.

In December 1995, the Church of St. Barbora inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová