Zprávy památkové péče 2017, 77(1-2):74-86

Baroque Architecture of the Ore Mountain foothills

Petr Macek

Ústav pro dějiny umění FF UK v Praze

The article is a general and chronologically structured summary of the most significant architectural achievements created in the 17th and 18th centuries in the foothills of the Krušné hory, or Ore Mountains. In addition to the well-known achievements, the article also deals with the works of local regional masters and lesser known or overlooked buildings.
The beginning of the century saw several realizations in the area that today are under the shadow of "Wallenstein architecture". This is primarily an important building phase in the history of Jezeří and Červený Hrádek castles; the oval shape of the cloister in Bohosudov also likely originates in the early 17th century.
After the Thirty Years' War, all the prominent creators were active in this area, led by Carl Lurage, whose church in Kadaň is an interesting intermediate point between the early and top-level buildings of this architect. The unexecuted faćade of the church in Klášterec nad Ohří is also remarkable, composed as a viewpoint onto the castle garden. Giovanni Domenico Orsi served as builder for the pilgrimage site and the adjoining residence in Bohosudov, Antonio Porta then built the castle in Bílin, bringing the theme of the central pavilion for the castle hall to Bohemia in the reconstruction of the castle in Červený Hrádek. The end of the 17th century brought the activity of the leading creator of the period, Jean Baptiste Mathey, with the castle in Duchcov, the churches in Litvínov, Horní Jiřetín, and Mariánské Radčice, and especially the remarkable three-sided Chapel of the Holy Trinity in Chlumec near Ústí nad Labem.
At the turn of the century, Jan Blažej Santini worked in the area, who we may associate with the early phase of the reconstruction of the Osek monastery. Important Prague artists here include Marcantonio Canevalle, who assumed the work for J. B. Mathey in Duchcov and who also built a church in Křemýž. The same village is also the location of a very interesting castle, dominated by the pavilion-like extension of the orthogonal hall. This building from 1693 to 1695 precedes the major realizations of this type from G. B. Alliprandi with this motif.
In the first half of the 18th century, the area here was dominated mainly by F. M. Kaňka, employed by the Wallensteins. Kaňka designed the reconstruction of the Duchcov castle for them, including the new hospital building, the castle in Litvínov, and also the unique (today unfortunately extinct) textile manufactory complex, composed as a generous residence. Another as yet completely overlooked but exceptionally high-quality building that may be associated with Kaňka is the castle complex in Janov near Litvínov, preserved today as a torso inside a garden colony.
The true architectural hegemonist of this area was the Litoměřice builder Octavian Broggio, who filled the area with a number of predominantly sacral realizations - he participated in generous projects such as the reconstruction of the Osek monastery as well as in smaller rural buildings in Liptice, Jenišov Újezd, Vtelna, and elsewhere.
The middle of the 18th century was the emergence of two prominent regional figures. The first was Jan Kryštof Kosch, a Kadaň builder whose work intentionally and systematically followed on the works of K. I. Dientzenhofer, after whom he completed the church in Březno. His buildings in Klášterec nad Ohří, Doupov, and Kadaň (Elizabethan Monastery) are well-informed variants of the Dientzenhofer's famous realizations, even the dynamic ones. Another important personality was Jan Pavel Loschy from Žatec. His most important buildings include the churches in Nové Sedlo and Libočany, and the castle in Stekník. His buildings, typical in their rich decoration and a relativisation of architectural forms, could almost be labeled Rococo.
The style's epilogue can be seen in the same place where we noticed its beginnings - in Jezeří. The Viennese architect Andrea Altomonte, among others the author of the Postoloprty exhibition church, designed an (unfortunately) unfinished chapel in the form of a Pantheon miniature, with a morphology that is nearly already classical.
In conclusion, it may be claimed that the events taking place in such a small region copy almost all the changes of Baroque architecture of the whole country in an unexpectedly smooth and complete manner. Perhaps all the famous architects of the period were active in the region, ranging from the early signs of the style to its echo. The reflection of the leading creators in a specific local transcript can also be very well observed. This was not, however, a unilateral adoption of certain concepts, but rather an attempt to independently and personally transform accepted patterns with an acquired knowledge. The period of the second third of the 18th century is mainly exceptional in this respect.

Keywords: Baroque architecture, Ore Mountains, Krušné hory, Octavian Broggio, Jan Pavel Loschy, Jan Kryštof Kosch

Published: March 1, 2017  Show citation