Church of St. Wenceslas

Like the whole Mikulov, the church has a rich and turbulent history. Originally, in its place stood a Romanesque temple, which was destroyed in the fifteenth century during the Hussite wars. Its reconstruction took place in subsequent centuries on the initiative of the Dietrichstein family. The current appearance of the church owes its reconstruction from the 17th century. It has a characteristic tower and is located in the immediate vicinity of the castle. It is impossible to ignore it when you visit Mikulov.

Church tower. Safe staircase, without creaking and thumping on the stairs, good solid railing ??.

One of the dominants and rare monuments of the castle hill is the Gothic three-nave church of St. Wenceslas Square with a tower located on the south side of the presbytery. Despite various alterations and additions, the building still retains its Gothic appearance, especially in the presbytery part, vaulted with a net and partly also a star vault. From the outside, the Gothic period is reminiscent of bossage and backrests. The vaults of the three-aisled nave are covered with rich mannerist stucco. The Baroque decoration of the church is the work of sculptors O. Schweigl, I. Legelacher, painter J. F. Adolf and others. An interesting part of the interior are tombstones from the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the great fire of 1784, a love statue of the Black Madonna of Loreto has been worshiped in the side Loreta chapel. The importance of the church, to whose oratory the nobility had access directly from the chateau, increased after Cardinal Dietrichstein established a prominent collegiate chapter next to it in 1625. The church of St. Wenceslas yet.

St Wenceslas' Sting stands on the site of the original oldest Romanesque church, whose existence is supposed to be at the end of the 12th century. Today's building dates back to the early 15th century. Its external appearance is the result of reconstructions in the 16th century and before the 17th century. Since 1625 the church has been the seat of a collegiate chapter. Ilustrační obrázekDnešní kostel sv. Wenceslas is situated in the original village, which later became part of Mikulov. We can assume the existence of a Romanesque church at the same place already at the end of the 12th century, but it is documented in writing until 1276. We do not know the original form of the church. Today's building dates back to the beginning of the 15th century and was attended by a parler-oriented builder. Completion of the construction of the church was forcibly interrupted by the Hussite invasion of the town in 1426, when the new building was burned and destroyed. For a long time the church was only temporarily repaired, and in 1584 it burned down again. A year later, as early as the Dietrichsteins, the prominent representatives of the re-catholicization, the church tower was raised by a residential floor with a towerman's apartment and an arcade gallery. The construction was completed around 1640 with a new three-nave vault with a new stucco decoration. The sacristy with a music hall on the first floor was added and Gothic windows were reconstructed to its present form. Marian chapels and an oratory with a covered corridor leading to the castle were added to the sides of the triple nave. In 1642 a large bell with a relief of Small Calvary and a figure of provost Jiří Otislav of Kopenice was installed in the tower. At this time, the church of st. Wenceslas for several years has been the seat of a collegiate chapter, founded in 1625 by Francis, Cardinal of Dietrichstein. The collegiate chapter still operates in Mikulov. In the years 1762 - 1775 a new interior equipment including new organ was added to the church and the tower roof was restored. In 1846 the church itself was newly roofed. It is necessary to mention the main altar with a monumental painting of the Assassination of Sts. Wenceslas by Franz Anton of Freenthal and especially the statue of the Madonna and Child of cedar wood in the altar in the northern chapel of Our Lady of Loreto, originally located in Loreto Church of Sts. Anny. In 1784 the marble epitaphs of Václav Vilém Popel of Lobkowicz (+1626) and his wife Markéta Františka, born of Dietrichstein (+1617) were installed in the northern part of the chancel. A number of tombstones dating from the second half of the 16th and the first half of the 17th century are located on the outer wall of the church.

After a long reconstruction, reopened, including the church tower, from which there is a breathtaking view of the whole of Mikulov. Admission costs 50 crowns. The ascent up the newly renovated stairs and the original stone ones is definitely worth the view.

Beautiful view from the tower, an interesting church building with an accessible view. Zdeněk