Zprávy památkové péče 2014, 74(1):3-11

History and current renovation of the archeological complex of the St. Lawrence Basilica in Prague's Vyšehrad

Ivana Boháčová, Bořivoj Nechvátal

In 2011 the Royal Collegiate Chapter of St. Peter and Paul at Vyšehrad acceded to the initiative of the Archeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (AV ČR, Praha, v. v. i.) to rehabilitate the archeological complex containing the Basilica of St. Lawrence (St. Vavřinec), which it manages. The complex was built during the middle 1930's, following research led by a commission for Vyšehrad research above the relics of the Basilica's main and south nave immediately south of building No. 14. The Basilica was probably founded by Vratislav II and is situated in the central part of Vyšehrad, southeast of the Basilica of St. Peter and Paul. The rehabilitation project was initiated due to the dire state of the complex, since no rules had been established for it for a long period of time.
Interest in this area began with an accidental discovery of tiles (known as the "Vyšehrad type") in 1884 during the reconstruction of the facilities of the canonical residence. The extensive archeological research of the St. Lawrence Basilica was part of an intensive research campaign that developed on Vyšehrad during the 1920's and was headed up by a specially-appointed inter-institutional expert committee. Alongside and in conjunction with this committee, the Prague Heritage Authority (Památkový sbor hl. města Prahy) provided research and financial support. The Authority also played a major role in documenting uncovered relics of masonry as well as (and especially) the effort to preserve it and present it to the public. The Authority's initiative led to the construction of a publicly accessible complex over the relics of the main and southern naves of the Basilica in 1934. The complex was accessible through a staircase that led directly to a modified floor situated roughly on the level of the original floor, i.e. to the height of 80 cm below the level of the crown of the preserved peripheral walls. The complex was conceived as a passageway. It was not closed to the outer area on the southern side, and air circulation was secured by an open entrance into the western part of the main nave from the north.
The rehabilitation project of the complex in 2011 included an analysis and documentation of the complex's condition, revised archeological research and the subsequent backfilling of the foundations for both structures (with coarse-grained sand) to the level of the base of the above-ground masonry, then necessary conservation and the exceptional restoration of early medieval masonry. The earlier structure was presented only by sketching the original outline by embedding stones in the sand. The project also included a generally limited installation of replicas of floor tiles in the apse of the south nave.
The realization of the project means that the archeological complex's existence, with the remnants of the St. Lawrence Basilica and the relics of earlier sacred buildings, will be extended. Apart from the fact that this site contains the remnants of one of the earliest sacred buildings in the Czech Republic, apart from Prague castle, the importance of this site lies primarily in that in itself, it represents one of the first examples of how archeological heritage in Czechoslovakia was presented using the most modern contemporary materials. Substantial parts of the floor plans of both sacred structures were preserved due to the work of the initiators, the complex was preserved for the present time, and these exceptional monuments were made accessible not only to the general public but also for further research. The research that was carried out as part of the rehabilitation of the complex in 2011 resulted in the extraordinary and unexpected discovery of additional sections of foundations of the building which, according to the information that only a partial uncovering of the ground plan revealed, has no typological analogy in the Czech lands.

Keywords: archeology; remnant architecture; in situ presentation; early Middle Ages; Prague

Published: March 1, 2014  Show citation