Kostel svatého Bartoloměje (Kyje) Church

The church of St. Bartholomew in Kiev is one of the best preserved Romanesque buildings in Prague. It is a single-boat village church from the beginning of the 13th century, which is protected as a cultural monument since 1958.

The Prague Bishop Jan II. z Dražic, whose operation is confirmed by fresco in presbytery, probably founded the monument. Given the time of the late Romanesque style, Bishop Jan III., who worked in the mid-13th century, was also the founder. The first preserved written spring about the church comes from the charter of Bishop John IV of Dražice of 20 July 1306.

The construction was built from sandstone blocks that were imported from Prosek. The church had a tribune plan, which meant dividing the inner space into a part for the people and an elevated tribune with a bunk bed for the bishop or feudal. The bleachers were originally closed by stone wall and had wooden stairs leading from the west side. A massive prism-shaped tower with a rectangular plan has a single window with a broken arch on the west front, while the others are finished with a semi-circle.

During the reign of Charles IV and Václav IV, the Archbishop Jan z Jenštejna and the vicar general Jan Nepomucký worked in the church. Arnošt z Pardubic was briefly present. Between 1570 and 1743, the administration of the building was entrusted to the vicar of the New Town Church of St. Henry. In 1655, side nuggets for altars were demolished in the ship. In the 17th century, a baroque sacristy was added to the north side and a small hall to the west side, which covered the original entrance portal.

In the context of the recovery of the rectory in 1743, building modifications followed. In 1758 four new rectangular windows were broken in the presbytery, which replaced the original medieval windows. In the late 18th century, the bell of a dying man was hung in the south wall, which was not preserved. In 1781 the church was emptied and the inscription was discovered when removing the plaster in the presbytery.

In 1845, the architect Josef Kranner designed a baptist. In the middle of the 19th century frescoes depicting the Last Court on the south side of the ship and the Birth of the Lord on the north side were revealed. The interior has been preserved to this day with original frescos with biblical scenes and depictions of Prague bishops.

The biggest repair took place between 1973 and 1989, when the presbytery was reinforced with concrete and some sandstone blocks were replaced. The Baroque oblong windows were walled up and replaced with new Romanesque windows. The interior was repaired between 1987 and 1991, gradually removing Renaissance and Baroque elements in the sacristy and presbytery.

The Church of St. Bartholomew is a rare testimony about the development of the parish network and Romanesque architecture in Prague. This monument offers a unique view of the Middle Ages and is worth visiting every interested person in history.