Kostel svatého Petra a Pavla (Čáslav-Staré Město) Church

The Church of St. Peter and Paul presents a sparse archaeological-architectural testimony for centuries of Czech construction tradition. The oldest part of the temple is the Romanesque church of St. Michael, built approximately in the middle of the 12th century. It was founded by the gentlemen of Hlum, an important family who expressed his claim to the land held - at that time all the agricultural equipment belonged to the king, but he pawned it for nobility. In one of the tombs here rests Jistislav himself, a member of this mighty family. The earliest written mention of the construction dates back to the beginning of the 14th century, from 1307 or 1310, so that the first decades of the development of the church can be considered only from the analyzed architectural solution.

Since 1307 or 1310 the knights of the German order took over the patronage of the church, their commendation was located in nearby Drobovice. Later, during the 14th century, the original church began to form itself. After the town was founded (after 1248) the village was forced to build a larger temple - a new presbytery was created, which consists of a single whole with original Romanesque construction. The documents show that in the middle of the 14th century, a tripod was added and the Chapel of Our Lady of Pain was also built, now called the Chapel of Saint Anne. It is assumed that on this occasion the church received its initiation today - the names of the apostles Peter and Paul.

The second half of the 14th century has brought abundance of altars to the temple, suggesting its financial prosperity. Between 1358 and 1405 there were gradually altars - including St. Catherine (1362), St. Zikmund (1387), St. Nicholas (1389), St. Leonard, Felix and Adaukta (1390), and finally St. Cross (1404). Such a concentration of the shrine was not common, and their number of Chaslav temple ranks among the important medieval resorts of pilgrims and believers.

The tower, now majestically elevated to 88.5 metres, was built into corners between the presbyterium and the southern ship at the beginning of the 15th century. But its completion took decades. The work started around 1491 or 1494 and continued systematically: in 1497 the contract with Master Blazek on stonework for the tower, in 1498 the purchase of rope for the extraction of stones, in 1502 the contract for the cropping, and finally in 1506 the corruhvice was placed on top. The memorial is that the church hosted an important state event - in June 1421 it was held here by the Čáslav Assembly.

But medieval buildings suffered. The year 1452 brought the first great fire that required paintings and modifications on it - that's when the northern annex with a vault was created. The fire in 1522 was far worse, after which the municipality decided to rebuild widely. Since 1537, the builders have been targeting the pillars and arches of the three ships, rebuilding parts of the facade. The temple has thus created its own face over seven centuries - uniform, yet multi-layered.

Today, the Church of St. Peter and Paul presents a living book of Czechoslovak history. The visitor sees in the единственé the connection of Romanesque - humble, powerful - with Gothic architecture called to heaven. The tower dominates the city as it once was, and St. Michael's presbytery still guards the oldest layer of Christian traditions in Káslav.