page_title: Czech Gothic architecture
section_title: Early Gothic
hierarchical_section_title: Czech Gothic architecture / Early Gothic
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Hrad v Písku z pohledu od radnice - vchod do Prácheňského muzea. English: Castle in Písek from the town-hall sight - entrance door to Prácheňské muzeum.
context_page_description: Czech Gothic architecture refers to the architectural period primarily of the Late Middle Ages in the area of the present-day Czech Republic.
  The Gothic style first appeared in the Czech lands in the first half of the 13th century and was usual there until the early 16th century. The phases of the development of the Gothic architecture in the Czech lands are often named after the Bohemian ruling dynasty of the corresponding time:
  Early Gothic – Přemyslid Gothic
  High Gothic – Luxembourg Gothic
  Late Gothic – Jagiellonian Gothic
  The most significant Gothic architects who worked in the Czech lands were Peter Parler and Benedikt Rejt.
context_section_description: The Gothic style penetrated the Czech lands in the first half of the 13th century – in the time when the Romanesque style flourished in Bohemia and the High Gothic in France. In the 13th century the Kingdom of Bohemia became a stable country and the growth of the political and economical importance of Bohemia mirrored also in the art. Until that time the cultural development of the Czech lands was obviously delayed in comparison with Western Europe. In the 13th century many monasteries, convents, cities, towns and villages were founded. It was the time of colonization of the still uninhabited areas of the Kingdom. The Czech nobility accepted the culture of knights, so they listened to the German Minnesingers, participated in tournaments, got their coat of arms and built castles of stone. Thanks to the newly found silver mines the Kingdom was becoming richer (e. g. Jihlava, Stříbro or Kutná Hora).
  In the 1240s last purely Romanesque churches were built (e. g. in Vinec, Potvorov, Tismice or Kondrac). In the 1230s first Early Gothic buildings were built in the "transitional" style brought to Bohemia and Moravia by the Order of Cistercians. Their buildings were not very fancy and they often used leaf and berry motifs, especially on the capitals. The Cistercians were the most important builders of the very Early Gothic style architecture in the Czech lands.
  The Church of Teplá Abbey (Premonstratensians) consecrated in 1232 is one of the oldest Gothic churches in Bohemia. Other important Early Gothic building is the Osek Monastery (Cistercians) in Bohemia with its unique Chapter hall. The first Gothic building in Moravia was the Monastery of Cistercian nuns Porta Coeli in Předklášteří u Tišnova near Brno founded by Constance of Hungary, Queen of Bohemia in 1233 and concentrated in 1239. There are the oldest traceries of the rose windows in the Czech lands and the very fancy portal built in the style of the French cathedrals was unique in Central Europe of that time.
  The St. Procopius Basilica in Třebíč is considered to be the most bizarre work of the European architecture of the second third of the 13th century. The architecture of this former Benedictine abbey church in Třebíč is a unique mixture of Romanesque and Gothic style. It was not built in the "transitional" Romanesque-Gothic style but the builders used elements of the both styles in its mature forms and so created a building which is purely Romanesque and Gothic at the same time. Therefore, it is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
  The oldest Gothic building in Prague is the Convent of St. Agnes founded in 1231 by the Bohemian Princess Agnes of Bohemia (later canonized). It was the first convent of the Poor Clares outside Italy. The first church of this convent (St. Francis Church) was completed in 1234 and it is said to be the oldest vaulted mendicant order church north of the Alps. The Church of Christ the Saviour built in 1261–1265 as the royal mausoleum of Přemyslid dynasty by King Ottokar II of Bohemia was directly influenced by the French Gothic architecture.
  In the new-founded rich mining town Jihlava there were built three Early Gothic churches (parish, Minorite and Dominicane) in the 1240s which also belong to the oldest preserved Gothic churches in the Czech lands.
  After the 1260s the influence of the Cistercian style diminished and the Czech architecture was then inspired by the French High Gothic architecture. In southern Bohemia there worked the royal builders employed by the King Ottokar II of Bohemia. In the Royal Town of Písek there they built some important buildings (Royal Castle, Písek Stone Bridge, parish church). They also built the Zvíkov Castle with a central court surrounded by arcades in two levels inspired by the cloister — typical element of the monastic architecture. The chapel of the castle was completed in 1270.
  Other important castles are the royal Bezděz Castle (with its beautiful chapel) and Křivoklát Castle, the bishop's Horšovský Týn Castle (its chapel has been preserved, other parts were later rebuilt). In Moravia there are t
caption: Arcades of Royal Castle in Písek form the second half of the 13th century
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