St. Bartholomew's Cathedral

Founded

The church was probably founded with the city, around 1295

The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew was probably established at the same time as the city of Plzeň, around 1295. It stands on the Main Square, an unusual place for a church of its era. It became a cathedral in 1993, when the Plzeň diocese was created.

One tower

Two towers were planned and only the northern one was finished

The plan was to build two towers, the northern and the southern, and the southern was never finished. The church tower is the tallest church tower in the Czech Republic.

103 mheight of the tallest church tower in the Czech Republic

In use

The church was in use under a temporary roof before it was finished

The walls of the nave and side aisles were fully built by the beginning of the Hussite Wars, around the 1420s. The church was roofed only with a frame shaped into a tall tent roof. After 1476 the nave and aisles were roofed with net vaults.

The Madonna

An argillite Madonna from around 1390 stands in the main altar

The most valuable decoration of the church is the argillite sculpture of the Plzeň Madonna, from around 1390. It stands in the middle of the main altar, designed by the architect Josef Mocker. The Sternberg Chapel was added beside the presbytery in the 1470s and 1480s.

Storms

A thunderbolt in 1835 and a windstorm in 1870 both damaged the church

On 6 February 1835 a thunderbolt caused a fire on the northern tower. In 1870 a windstorm brought the eastern gable down onto the presbytery and the Sternberg Chapel. Josef Mocker led the reconstruction from 1879 to 1883.