architecture

Kostel sv Martina/St Martin’s Church, Markvartice

Today saw the reconsecration of Kostel sv Martina/St Martin’s Church in the nearby village of Markvartice. For the somewhat irreligious Czech Republic, renovating an abandoned Church building and bringing it back into liturgical use, is quite an event.

Whilst there has been a Church on the current site since the thirteenth century, the building in its present baroque appearance, dates from a rebuilding between 1701-04. It started falling into disrepair following the end of the Second World War, a result of the expulsion of the majority Sudetendeutsche population in 1945-6 and the communist takeover of power in Czechoslovakia, shortly afterwards.

The Church was last used for liturgical worship in 1966. By the late 1980s, all that was left standing were the perimeter walls – all of the roof had collapsed. Apparently, in 1989, the communist authorities issued an order for the demolition of the building, but fortunately, the Velvet Revolution took place before the order could be carried out.

Work to restore the Church began fifteen years ago, in 2002. Whilst funds to carry out the restoration have been raised locally, considerable finance has come from various German Roman Catholic dioceses. There has also been financial support from the regional government and from the Czech Ministry of Culture. This governmental support whilst welcome, is more about preserving what is seen as the country’s cultural and architectural heritage, rather than directly supporting the Roman Catholic Church.

Markvartice is about eight kilometres by road from Stará Oleška. Earlier this week, after I first read about today’s reconsecration, I drove across there to visit the Church. Last minute work to get everything ready for today’s celebrations, was taking place, but I was able to explore and take the photographs that follow.

Interior of Kostel sv Martina/St Martin’s Church © Ricky Yates

As you can see, the very baroque interior has been completely restored to a very high standard and a modern forward altar and lectern installed. One rather ‘interesting’ feature is the coloured light under the front of the new altar. It changes between the different liturgical colours, avoiding the need for different coloured altar frontals 🙂

Inscription over chancel arch © Ricky Yates

The inscription above the chancel arch clearly reflects the fact that German was the language of the majority population at the beginning of the eighteenth century until 1945.

A rather elaborate pulpit from which to preach 🙂

The churchyard on the north side of the Church, has been almost completely cleared with the damaged remains of memorials, moved and placed alongside the boundary wall.

John 14. 6 in German & Czech © Ricky Yates

However, this memorial, with its bilingual inscription underneath a large cross, has been renovated and preserved. It is also an example of how much longer it takes to say something in German than in most other languages 🙂

Statue of the Virgin Mary being carried in procession © Ricky Yates

Today’s celebrations began with this statue of the Virgin Mary being carried in procession through the village. The procession started at the railway station, located at the southern end of the village, and proceeded to the Church, located at the northern end.

At the head of the procession, along with a processional cross and four banners, was a small brass band who I’m almost certain had travelled from Germany. There was quite a German presence with many German registered cars parked in the various temporary car parks that had been set up.

Hence this bilingual sign! There were also coaches which had brought people from elsewhere in the Czech Republic, particularly from Moravia which is the more Roman Catholic end of the country. Therefore whilst the Church was packed for the 11.00 mass of reconsecration, I do wonder how well attended it will be by local people, Sunday by Sunday, once all the visitors have left.

Warsaw

Following lunch on Sunday 25^th September, which marked the official end of the 2016 Eastern Archdeaconry Synod, quite a number of the Synod members stayed on for an afternoon walking tour through the centre of Warsaw. It was good to have the opportunity to see something of the Polish capital before returning to Prague the following day.

The first building that caught my eye after the taxi dropped me off in the city centre, was the tower of the Palace of Culture and Science. This building is a classical example of Stalinist-Baroque architecture and bears a striking resemblance to Hotel International here in Prague, located just a few hundred metres from the Chaplaincy Flat. Both are based on the design of Moscow State University.

The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, built between 1952-55, was a ‘gift to the citizens of the city from the nations of the USSR’ 😉 During the communist era, it was seen as a symbol of Soviet domination and, as my Polish guidebook says, ‘still provokes extreme reactions, from admiration to demands for its demolition’.

Ministry of Finance building, Warsaw © Ricky Yates

Other examples of post-WW2 architecture are not so ostentatious such as this building which houses the Polish Ministry of Finance.

Our walk took us the length of Nowy Swiat, one of the historic thoroughfares of Warsaw, which later becomes Krakowskie Przedmiescie. Both streets are lined by a series of attractive buildings, but knowing how much is original, as against that which has been rebuilt since the destruction of World War Two, is difficult to tell.

The Church of the Holy Cross, Warsaw © Ricky Yates

This is the baroque fronted Church of the Holy Cross whose main claim to fame is being the burial place of the heart of the composer Frederic Chopin.

Church of the Visitation, Warsaw © Ricky Yates

Two other Churches along this ‘Royal Route’ as it is known, are the Church of the Visitation……

Carmelite Church of the Assumption of the BVM, Warsaw © Ricky Yates

……and the Carmelite Church, dedicated to the Assumption of the BVM.

Presidential Palace, Warsaw © Ricky Yates

In between is this grand palace which, since 1994, has been the official residence of the President of Poland.

Here, a balcony is being supported by four male figures, an architectural feature which can also be regularly observed in Prague, except that in Prague, the figures are more commonly female 🙂

The Royal Route ends in plac Zamkowy/Castle Square, which is actually more triangular than square 🙂 The original castle was built between 1598 – 1619. Sadly, this was utterly destroyed by the Nazis during World War Two and the current impressive building is a complete reconstruction undertaken between 1971 – 1988.

From the square, there is the view below, across the Vistula River, to a very recent addition to the Warsaw skyline – the National Football Stadium, completed in early 2012 in advance of Poland and Ukraine, hosting the European Football Championship.

National Football Stadium, Warsaw © Ricky Yates

Görlitz

The town of Görlitz is located in the far south-eastern corner of Germany and is about two-and-a-half hours drive directly north from Prague. Back on Tuesday 18^th August 2015, Sybille and I drove to Görlitz, in order to spend the following week walking the first part of Der Ökumenische Pilgerweg. This is the first of three long-promised posts about that week mentioned in my summary post entitled ‘All those things in the second half of 2015 that got missed‘.

Having securely parked the ‘Carly’ in the gated backyard of the Peregrinus Herberge, we spent the rest of Tuesday 18^th August, exploring Görlitz, before setting out walking along our pilgrimage route the following morning. On Monday 24^th August, we returned to Görlitz by train, from Kamenz, which we had reached on foot the previous evening, and decided to further explore Görlitz, before driving back to Prague the next day. On Tuesday 18^th it was grey and cloudy, whilst on Monday 24^th it was fine and sunny with blue skies. Therefore it is fairly easy to tell on which day the photographs illustrating this post were taken 🙂

Beautiful exterior decoration on a Görlitz building © Ricky Yates

The Church of St Peter & St Paul, Görlitz, overlooking the Neiße river © Ricky Yates

Görlitz fortunately suffered relatively little physical damage during the Second World War. Post 1945, whilst part of the communist state of East Germany, it was rather grey and colourless. Since German reunification, many buildings have been redecorated and restored. It is now a very attractive place to visit and is beginning to realise its tourist potential.

The most prominent landmark in Görlitz, is the Protestant Church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, with its intricate twin spires. It stands overlooking the Neiße river which now forms the border between Germany and Poland. Under the 1945 Potsdam Agreement, following the end of the Second World War, the border of Poland was moved westwards to the Oder-Neiße line. As a result, what used to be the eastern half of German Görlitz, is now the Polish town of Zgorzelec.

Looking across the Neiße river from Germany to Poland © Ricky Yates

This relatively recently reconstructed bridge links the two towns.

Waymarking of the pilgrimage routes © Ricky Yates

The Ökumenische Pilgerweg, following the ancient Via Regia, begins on the bridge and links back to the ‘camino’ coming from Wroclaw in Poland.

The Untermarkt, © Ricky Yates — The Untermarkt, Görlitz © Ricky Yates

This is the Untermarkt in the centre of Görlitz.

A side street & ancient tower in Görlitz © Ricky Yates

A side street with an ancient tower.

We discovered a couple of interesting businesses in Görlitz. This shop sells everything imaginable in relation to Christmas but is open all year round.

Jesus' Bakery © Ricky Yates — Jesus’ Bakery © Ricky Yates

And if you have to feed the five thousand, this is where you clearly need to come 🙂

On sunny Monday 24^th August, Sybille and I enjoyed some liquid refreshment on a terrace overlooking the bridge and the Neiße river. The young ladies serving us spoke German and we ordered auf Deutsch. But afterwards Sybille told me that they were Polish as she could tell by their accent 🙂

Buy your cheaper cigarettes here © Ricky Yates

Suitably refreshed, we walked over the bridge into Poland. Clearly there is less tax on cigarettes in Poland than in Germany, hence the advertisement in German for cigarettes, on the side of a Polish shop 😉

Sybille examoining the border marker as we walked back into Germany © Ricky Yates — Sybille examining the border marker as we walked back into Germany © Ricky Yates

We then walked south through part of Zgorzelec, parallel to the Neiße, before crossing another bridge to return to Germany, Freistaat Sachsen and Görlitz. With both Poland and Germany being EU members and part of the Schengen agreement, there were no border controls at all.

Kraków

Ever since moving to Prague just over seven years ago, Sybille and I have adopted the view that we should take full advantage of being based in Central Europe, to explore both the Czech Republic beyond Prague, together with neighbouring countries. So earlier this year, we decided that we would spend two weeks of my 2015 annual leave, visiting the Czech Republic’s immediate northern neighbour, Poland.

Whilst Sybille had made a previous brief visit to Poland in the early 1990s, my only experience of the country was through briefly walking over the border from Ceský Tešín with Sybille, in 2010, and when climbing Snežka in 2011. We also briefly drove into Poland when staying in the Orlické hory in 2013.

Our Polish odyssey began last Wednesday 7^th October, when we set out to drive from Prague to Kraków. Ironically, although Kraków lies north-east of Prague, the quickest way to get there was to drive south-east on the D1 motorway to the outskirts of Brno before then heading north-east, passing around Ostrava and over the border into Poland.

For the first time in our travels, we used airbnb to find appropriate accommodation. Using their website, Sybille found us a studio apartment within walking distance of the historic centre of Kraków which also had secure parking for the ‘Carly’. We spent two nights staying in the apartment and the intervening day exploring the city.

First we visited Rynek Glówny, the main market square, where the title photograph and the following three photographs were taken.

Whilst in the square, we witnessed the filming of part of a TV series featuring my namesake, Ricky Gervais, with a drone being used to take pictures, and several ‘heavies’ to keep the crowds at bay!

Exterior of the Dominican Church of the Holy Trinity © Ricky Yates

We also visited Churches belonging to two different Roman Catholic Orders – the Dominicans and the Franciscans. This is the Dominican Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Below is a photograph of part of the reredos within the Church, seeking to illustrate the Trinity, with God the Father portrayed as an old man with a long beard 🙂

Reredos depicting the Holy Trinity © Ricky Yates

Then it was on to the Wawel, the site of Kraków’s Cathedral and Royal Castle.

Directly opposite the Cathedral was this statue of the late Pope John Paul II. He was Archbishop of Kraków before becoming Pope.

Statue of Pope John Paul II © Ricky Yates

We spent the last part of our day in Kraków, exploring the Kamimierz district, the former Jewish quarter. This area is far less ‘spruced up’ than the other central parts of the city and remains a poignant reminder that around 65,000 Jews from the city of Kraków and the surrounding districts, were murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War.

Hora Ríp

Hora Ríp is a prominent hill, located about 48 km/30 miles north of Prague. It protrudes from the otherwise relatively flat Central Bohemian Plain, and is very visible and easily accessible from the D8, the Prague-Dresden motorway. Of course, there should be a hácek, a little hook, above the ‘R’ in ‘Ríp’, as there should be above the ‘c’ in ‘hácek‘. But as I have explained several times previously, the set-up of this blog cannot cope with many Czech diacritics and instead renders them as ‘?’ 🙁

Wearing my geographer hat, I can tell you that Hora Ríp is the eroded remains of a former volcano. It consists of a variety of igneous rocks that are somewhere between 34 and 23 million years old. But for Czech people, Hora Ríp is believed to be the place where the first Slav people viewed the land and decided to settle here. So it has a great cultural significance.

Climbing Hora Ríp has been on my ‘bucket list’, (to use a very American expression 😀 ), for quite some time. Yesterday evening, I duly did so. My motivation was twofold. As well as wanting to tick it off my ‘bucket list’, I also wanted to see if I could still manage several kilometres of hill walking, being aware that my left leg has been giving me problems in recent days. I don’t want to set off in two weeks time, seeking to climb Swiss mountains with Sybille, if I cannot walk up a much lower Czech hill 🙁

It took me less than an hour, to drive out of Prague to the village of Vražkov, despite having to cope with rush hour traffic and various road works. I parked my car off the road at the edge of the village, and set off along the yellow waymarked route towards the summit. Near the summit, I came to the point where the red waymarked route from the village of Ctineves, joins from the right. The sign at this junction of paths, declared that it is only a further 0.5km to the summit. I have to say that it was one of the the longest 0.5km that I have walked in a very long time 🙂

Looking back towards Vražkov from near the summit of Hora Ríp © Ricky Yates

However, just before the summit, there was this wonderful view, back towards Vražkov and beyond.

Vražkov, as seen from Hora Ríp © Ricky Yates

And by using the zoom feature on my camera, I took this picture of Vražkov. If you look closely, you can just see my car, parked on the opposite side of the road from the large white house on the right of the photograph.

The view north-west from Hora Ríp © Ricky Yates

This view is towards the north-west, with the mountains that form the Czech-German border, in the distance.

The pub is unfortunately zavreno © Ricky Yates — The bar is unfortunately ‘*zavreno*‘ © Ricky Yates

I had read that there was a bar at the summit, offering liquid refreshment to those who have exerted physical effort to climb there. There is – but it isn’t open at 19.00 on Wednesday evenings in July 🙁

Likewise, the ancient Romanesque rotunda of Saint George, built by Sobeslav I in 1126, was also not open. However, despite both of these disappointments, I still very much enjoyed my ascent and decent of Hora Ríp. And as my leg feels better today than in recent days, I hopefully will still be able to walk with Sybille, through Switzerland and into France, in two weeks time.

The Romanesque rotunda of Saint George © Ricky Yates