Staletá Praha 41, 1/2025, 70-117

The Restoration and Completion of St Wenceslas Church in Zderaz, Prague : A Forgotten Architectural and Urban Planning Project

Josef Holeček

NPÚ ÚOP v Praze, soukromý badatel, CZ-110 00 Praha 1

The restoration of St Wenceslas Church in Zderaz was carried out in stages over a long period, from 1886 to 1930. Integrating the remains of a medieval church into a block of redevelopment-type buildings turned out to be one of the most controversial topics in heritage preservation at the time, distinct from other Prague instances and technically and conceptually demanding. Several sets of urban and construction plans by renowned architects and builders have been preserved to this day. However, the outlined task proved to be too difficult and costly for the Prague municipality to fulfil. The concept of the external form of the restored building progressed from an ideal reconstruction to designs incorporating the morphology of preserved architectural elements and finally to a more restrained conception with no additional materials, in line with the requirements of the Austrian I.R. Central Commission, and, later the First Republic’s State Heritage Office. While this broadly aligns with the evolving interpretation of historical religious buildings in the context of heritage preservation — from reconstruction historicism to a conservationist approach — the history of the designs and discussions about the appearance of St Wenceslas Church in Zderaz prove the process far from being straightforward. Considering the intellectual input and diversity of concepts of restoring a medieval monument in a modern regulated area, the story offers a compelling chapter in architectural thinking and heritage management.

Keywords: Prague-New Town – Saint Wenceslas Church in Zderaz – Saint Wenceslas Prison – Zderaz – Podskalí – Hlávka Dormitory – urban planning – layout plan – rebuilding plan – street pattern – religious architecture – block development – interpreting medieval architecture – heritage restoration – reconstruction historicism – financing the restoration of monuments – Imperial-Royal Central Commission for Artistic and Historical Monuments – State Heritage Office – Josef Fanta – Josef Hlávka – Karl Jänig – Jindřich Fialka – Antonín Wiehl – Karel Pecánek – Max Dvořák – Karel Vlček

Grants and funding:

Odborný recenzovaný článek vznikl na základě institucionální podpory dlouhodobého koncepčního rozvoje výzkumné organizace poskytované Ministerstvem kultury (výzkumná oblast Teorie a dějiny památkové péče).

Published: December 8, 2025