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Datum: 05. 02.
Rok: 2012
Týden: 05

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Informace města Pelhřimov

Masarykovo náměstí 10
393 01 Pelhřimov

tel.: 565 326 924
e-mail: ic@kzpe.cz

www.pelhrimovsko.cz
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This website was realized with financial contribution of EU funds and The Europien Fund for Regional Development

 

 

    

 

Municipality
Sights

 Lower (Jihlava) Gatehouse

The Gatehouse was built in the 16th century as part of the fortification system. It is a 5-storeyed construction, 36 metres high. It has a medieval tent roof, the crest of which is topped with an octagonal lantern with a bulb cupola and a flag with a star. The ending is formed by a Renaissance cornice with two square clock faces on top (the clock was probably installed here at the end of the 17th century). The gatehouse houses the Museum of Records and Curiosities, which was opened on June 30th, 1994, as a unique institution of this kind in Central Europe and is run by the "Dobrý den" Agency. The exhibition shows results of the skill, endurance, handiness and original ideas and inventiveness of Czech as well as foreign record breakers. The photo exhibition offers unique snapshots from previous International Festivals of Records and Curiosities and other unusual events organised by the agency as well as the atmosphere of other festivals abroad where the "Dobrý den" Agency represented the Czech Republic.

Municipal Hall (No.1 in the square)

The Municipal Hall in Pelhrimov was first mentioned in 1491 (it is believed to have been situated in house No 80 in the square - see also "Period houses in the square"). After the fire of 1582 the Municipal Hall was moved to the chateau of the Lords of Říčany and it remained there until 1849 when the chateau passed on to the District Court. The Municipal Hall then moved to house No 1 which had been in possession of the town since as early as 1671. Originally, the house used to have a gable which was pulled down in 1841. For decades the municipality wanted to renew it, but the reconstruction only took place in 2006. There existed no photographs of the house with the original gable; the reconstruction was done after a drawing by Jaroslav Ziegler, who had access to reliable sources, when he painted Pelhřimov in the first half of the 19th century. From one of the first-floor windows the Declaration of the independent Republic of Czechoslovakia was announced on October 28th, 1918.


House No.3 in the square

The oldest part of the house probably dates back to the 14th century. The house gained its enlarged ground-plan at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. Further adaptations took place after the fire of 1561, apparently in 1566 (which is proved by a plate with a stone-mason mark and the year above the porch).
The main alteration then was a new archway with vaulting preserved until now. Most of the preserved building comes from the adaptation after the following fire of 1766, when the house acquired its Baroque facade. In 1848 the archway was walled-up (it was renewed in 1994 during the general restoration of the house).

The square - period houses, personalities

The large square, one of the largest ones within the Czech Republic, has not changed much in its dimensions since it was founded in the Middle Ages.
All significant styles of architecture are represented here, from the Gothic style to the Functionalism of the First Czechoslovak Republic. The original Gothic houses destroyed in the destructive fires of the 16th century were replaced by those in the Renaissance style (houses Nos. 17 and 61 have retained their Renaissance appearance, houses Nos. 1, 2 and 3 have retained Renaissance stone pillars of the archway). After the great fire of 1766 facades of most houses were rebuilt in the Baroque style (for example houses Nos. 4, 5 and 6). The appearance of the square was also altered in the 19th and 20th centuries due to the buildings of Hotel Slavie built in Art Nouveau (the late 19th century decorative style) and that of Komercní banka (Commercial Bank) in the style of the Functionalism of the First Republic.
In fact, the original period houses with archways can only be seen along the western and northern sides of the square.


Fara House (No.13)

We should also mention house No 13, called Fara House after its first owner. This house, once with a Baroque facade and a mansard roof, used to be "The Golden Keg" Inn. In 1913-1914 it was rebuilt under a project by the well-known Prague architect Pavel Janak in the Cubist style. Architect Pavel Janak designed two more buildings in Pelhrimov. He also projected the Cubist conversion of the southern side of the square, but the only remnant of this plan is his colour schematic project design.


House No.17

This house is one of the finest examples of the influence of Italian Renaissance in architecture. It was built in the middle of the 16th century by Jan Broum of Chomutovice and later on by Jan Krž of Plotistě (the coats-of-arms of both of them as well as of their wives have been preserved in the carriage-way). In the late 1920s the original Renaissance "envelope" graffiti were restored. In its history the building also housed the royal burgrave, in the 20th century it was the seat of the Church Society of the Republic of Czechoslovakia, which provided churches in the whole of the country with mobiliary, statues and furniture. Nowadays you can find here Museum of Bugaboos.


Garden Room in the Dean’s Garden

The garden room in the Dean’s Garden houses a memorial to Msgre. Frantisek Bernard Vanek (1872-1944), the Dean of Pelhrimov and papal prelate, a patriotic priest, who died in 1944 in the concentration camp of Dachau. He liked staying in the garden room and used to write his articles and sermons here.


House of the Srejnar Family - No.10

The north-western tip of the square is dominated not only by the chateau and the Church of St. Bartholomew, but also by house No 10 called after the rich merchant Krystof Srejnar. It was built on the site of earlier houses demolished in the middle of the 16th century, probably because of building works on the chateau. The house was built in 1614 in the Renaissance style. On the ground floor the house has a typical vaulted entrance leading into a small courtyard between two wings of the house. The front side is accentuated by corner bays - one of them has retained remnants of paintings once covering all the facade of the house. The granite porch with a semi-circle arch is topped with a horizontal cornice. Since the mid-1980s, that is since the general reconstruction, it has housed permanent exhibitions of the District Museum.

The eastern side of the square, houses Nos. 79 and 80

When looking at the eastern side of the square, on the right-hand side we notice house No.80 with a blue facade. Allegedly, in the Middle Ages, the Municipal Hall used to be situated here, in which six country’s conventions were held between the years 1444 and 1450, summoned to achieve religious conciliation and settle disputes between the Catholics and the Utraquists, with the participation of Jiri of Podebrady, who later became King of Bohemia.
The neighbouring house No 79, where a confectioner’s shop is to be found these days, used to be the renowned sweetshop called "U Lipskych", where two famous personalities were born - the Lipsky brothers, Oldrich and Lubomir, the actors.

Fountain with the statue of St. James

Fountains used to be a necessity in towns. They were the main source of drinking water. The fountain in the square was first mentioned in 1546. Water was supplied from the Belka spring. The present-day appearance of the fountain dates back to the year 1848. In the middle of the fountain is an octagonal pillar with a decorated cornice and a square capital with four lion heads spouting water. On top of the capital stands a statue of St. James in a pilgrim’s vesture decorated with shells and with a hat put to the back. In his hand he holds a pilgrim’s stick with a little cross on top. St. James is the patron saint of Spain and in addition the patron saint of pilgrims. The statue situated on the fountain is symbolical because Pelhřimov has a pilgrim in the municipal coat-of-arms, and if we take into consideration the fact that the name of Pelhrimov is derived from the Latin Peregrinus, which in fact means the same as “pilgrim“, we can regard St. James to be the patron saint of Pelhrimov as well.


Upper (Rynarec) Gatehouse

Just like the Lower Gatehouse, the Upper Gatehouse was built in the 16th century. In front of the gatehouse itself there used to be rather a complicated fortified approach with a forward gate called "Kolibka" (The Cradle) and a tiny outer gate. The "Kolibka" gate was rebuilt in 1584, after the fire of 1561, and in the 18th century it was provided with a draw bridge. The clock was installed as early as the end of the 17th century. The clock-face as seen from the square is decorated with two metal figures of goats butting each other as the clock is striking.



Chateau of the Lords of Ricany

We do not know much about the chateau in the earliest stages. Originally, it might have been a Gothic construction of a tower-like character probably from the 15th century. Some remnants have been preserved in the so-called Gothic Hall on the ground floor of the chateau, showing that this object used to be part of the municipal fortification system. New parts were added to the oldest one in 1550 – 1551, when Pelhřimov was in possession of Adam Říčanský of Ricany. After the great fire of 1561 this part of the chateau was incorporated in the extensive Renaissance reconstruction comprising two storeys. After the fire of 1682 significant adaptations in the Baroque style began. The adaptations also involved the Salt Gate, and a new staircase and the jail were added. In 1707 a salt-house was built in the immediate vicinity of the chateau (nowadays the Municipal Theatre). The great fire of 1766 destroyed the chateau, too. After the reconstruction which was begun the next year, the chateau gained its appearance which has survived in its original form (with the exception of some minor decorative alterations) up to this day. Between the years 1849 and 1907 it was the seat of the District Court, since 1908 it has housed exhibitions of the District Museum.

Municipal Theatre

The purpose of the original building from 1707 was that of a salt-house. In 1766 it burned down during a great fire and the salt-house was moved to the granary. In 1882 a foundation was established to build the town theatre (The National House). The old building of the salt-house was donated for this purpose by the town. The theatre was built in the years 1885-1896 by the builder Stanislav Rokos, a native of the town, as an oblong one-storeyed building in the Pseudo-Classicist style. The main front faces Solní ulice (Salt Lane) and the Dean’s church. The original building of the salt-house was extended by 6 metres. The entrance is accentuated by a balcony on pillars and a large staircase window topped with a semi-circle. There are niches placed at the sides.


St. Vitus Church

It is the oldest church in Pelhrimov and the former parish church. It was apparently founded in the second or third quarter of the 13th century. It was originally built in the Gothic style which may still be noticed in the presbytery. During the Hussite wars, in 1422, Pelhřimov got into the hands of the Taborites, and Utraquist masses were served here. The rectory was transferred from St.Vitus Church to the Church of St. Bartholomew probably at the beginning of the second half of the 15th century. There used to be a cemetery around the church, and when the rectory had been moved to the Church of St. Bartholomew, it became for a long time a cemetery church. Around the year 1614 it was adapted in the Renaissance style, which resulted in the rebuilding of the frontal part of the nave and galleries. The exterior of the church was decorated with grafitti. It burned down in 1646. It gained its final Baroque appearance in 1739-1740. The church tower (the bell-tower and original cemetery gatehouse) was built in 1575 and one storey was added to it in this Baroque adaptation. The church has a three-nave disposition, oriented to the east, the presbytery is enclosed by five sides of an octagon. The vaulting and walls in the interior of the church show scenes from the life and martyr’s death of St. Vitus as well as allegories of Faith, Hope and Love. The early-Baroque main altar comes from the year 1687. The original tombstones come from the Renaissance period. Nowadays the church is used as an exhibition and concert hall.


Chapel of Virgin Dolores

Kaple Panny Marie Sedmibolestné In 1658 the burgrave of Pelhřimov Jan Eusebius had a devotional pillar erected on this site. After Pelhřimov had experienced some cases of alleged miraculous healing accredited to the picture of Virgin Dolores placed on the pillar, a chapel was built on its site by burgher Tobiáš Grötzel in 1710-1714.
The purest structure in town in terms of styles of architecture was designed by Italian architects the Reverelli brothers, and as the only religious building in Pelhřimov it has retained its original appearance up to this date, only some parts of the ambulatory were demolished because of road building. The cupola of the central octagonal chapel and two prism-shaped towers are shingle-roofed. The above mentioned devotional pillar is built-in in the altar, other valuable works of art include forged railings and paintings in the cupola showing the country´s patron saints. The crypt of the chapel used to be a burial place for members of burgher families. The town cemetery was transferred here from the Church of St Vitus in 1787 and was used up to 1906.


Drechsel´s Villa No. 331

Drechselova vila It was built in the Cubist style in 1912 –1913 by the local builder Karel Postránecký under the project of architect Pavel Janák for His Emperor´s counsellor and district hetman Jan Drechsel. It is regarded a distinguished Cubist building within the whole of Europe. This one-storey house has a distinctive main cornice, the street front on the ground floor is sectioned by four windows with linear and diagonal Cubist decorations. The roofed terrace is decorated with 5 columns of cruciform plan stylised in the form of a Cubist goblet.


Church of the Holy Cross (Calvary)

Kostel sv. Kříže In 1671 the burgher and alderman Jan Kryštof Blažejovský and his spouse Dorota had a small chapel built near the town. The structure consisted of an ante-chapel, chapel and imitation of the Holy Sepulchre. In 1750 the chapel was considerably enlarged. A whole church and a tower were added and the interior was decorated with a cycle of paintings showing the sufferings of Jesus Christ. In the period of the Enlightenment Reforms under Emperor Joseph II (in the 1780s), the church escaped complete dilapidation only because of having been sold to a private proprietor, nevertheless it fell into desrepair due to lack of maintenance. In 1865 the town council decided to demolish the structure and build a new church. At that time Dean P. Vojtěch Holý had been gathering financial means for several years. The project by the local builder J. Štěcha was implemented between 1883 and 1886. The church built in the Neo-Gothic style faces the town with a high tower.