St. Wenceslas Church in Zderaz, Prague

St. Wenceslas Church at Zderaz is a Gothic single-nave church in Prague – New Town. It is located at the crossroad of Resslova Street and Dittrichova Street.

The Zderaz settlement has ancient origin and is named after the owner, Zderaz. In 1115, the village was first mentioned with a church, which was probably dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul.

In the years 1180 to 1190, the settlement belonged to two Czech noblemen, Kojat and Všebor (Svébor), members of the aristocratic House of Hrabischitz, who gave their land to found a monastery of the Order of the Cross – the Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre. However, due to this, the villagers lost their parish church, therefore the brothers founded a new Romanesque church dedicated to St. Wenceslas. The new church took over the parish duties of the Church of St. Peter and Paul. St. Wenceslas’ Church at Zderaz was consecrated 26 November 1181 by the Bishop Valentine of Prague.

Archeological research made by archeologist Karel Guth (1883-1943) in the years 1927 – 1929, showed that it was a simple one-nave construction with a semi rounded apse on the east and a large square tower on the west. A part of this tower was later included into the Gothic reconstruction and it became a part of the western frontage of the church from 14th century. The church was surrounded by a cemetery. Three gravestones were preserved and are now placed in the City of Prague Museum.

In 1324, the monastery bought a house with a spa near the church and established a hospital in this new building. After the founding of New Town in 1348 by king Charles IV, St. Wenceslas’ Church became one of the New Town´s parish churches.

The visitation protocols of the Archdeacon of Prague Paul of Janovice from 1379-1382 state that the church had four altars. There was already a vaulted choir with a two bays of cross vault and a pentagonal ending. The sacristy was built on the south side of choir. The nave remained without a vault, it probably had a wooden ceiling, supported by two pillars. As stated before, the tower of the Romanesque church was included as a part of the Gothic nave.

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