Issue of the commemorative souvenir sheet / ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL

On the 15th October, 2014 the Ministry of   Industry and Trade  of the Czech Republic will issue a commemorative souvenir sheet with one stamp in the denomination of  58  CZK. On the stamp is a transposition of kneeling Ernest of Pardubice, the first Archbishop of Prague, from his gradual and the first picture of the cathedral from Schedel’s World Chronicle (Nuremberg 1494). The miniature sheet displays a stylised picture of today’s cathedral with invocating angels designed according to the painting of so-called Kłodzko Madonna. The painting was donated by Ernest to the Augustinian monastery established by him in his birth town.

St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral is the dominant structure of  Prague Castle. It is a three-nave Gothic cathedral with three towers and the residential church of the Archbishop of Prague. The present building was built in several stages, in the years 1344–1419, 1490–1510, 1556–1593, and 1873–1929 (its western part). In the years 1060–1920 it was dedicated to three major Czech saints: St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert. Until 1997, the name of St. Vitus Cathedral was used; that is why the abbreviated name became well-established and the cathedral is known by it even in the present time, even though in 1997, the former Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, restored the original full name. 

On the 21st November, 1344, Charles IV, then the Prince and Margrave of Moravia, with his longtime friend Ermest of Pardubice, his father John of Luxembourg and his brother John Henry, laid the founding stone of St. Vitus on the occasion of the promotion of the Prague bishopric to archbishopric. The main architect was Matthias of Arras. The construction started with the east presbytery, in order to be able to serve mass as soon as possible. In the chancel in the shape of a horseshoe, eight chapels were erected with the same plan which corresponds to a trapezoid box gallery. Finally, the choir was built with triforium arcades. The eastern part of the long chancel was built with one chapel on the northern side and two on the southern side. The construction of the southern side began with the perimeter walls of the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which was initially housed separately from the unfinished part of the cathedral. On the north a sacristy begins. After the death of Matthias of Arras, Peter Parler, born of significant architectural lineage, took over the management of construction in 1356. In the cathedral of St.Vitus, an unusual network ribbed vault, later known as the Parleresque type, was used, which is actually a barrel vault with cutouts for windows with beautiful embellishments, at that time still supporting ribs.

St. Vitus is a three-nave cathedral with a transversal nave, triforium and a ring of chapels. The most important of them is the St. Wenceslas Chapel built over his grave. Through this almost cubic room Parler vaulted a star-pattern vault, unique at the time, the support of which, compared to traditional vaults, was shifted from the corner of the room to the third walls. St. Wenceslas Chapel was consecrated in 1367 and adorned in 1373. In addition to the Chapel of St. Wenceslas, a southern hall was finished in 1368. It includes the Crown Chamber where the Czech Crown Jewels are stored. Parler then established a large bell tower which his successors brought up to 55 meters. The chancel was vaulted and finished in 1385. After the death of Charles IV, Parler still continued to work, but twenty years after the emperor he died as well. The interest of the successors then faded. Parler’s sons hammered up boards on the construction site walls and with fragments of the cathedral they closed off the temple wall. The cathedral remained so for the next five hundred years. In the era of Vladislav II (also Vladislaus or Ladislaus) Jagiellon, a late Gothic royal oratory was built, whose authorship is attributed to the architect Benedict Ried and carried out by Hans Spies. It connects the cathedral and the Old Royal Palace. After the great fire of Prague Castle and Lesser Town in 1541, which destroyed many buildings, the west Wohlmut choir was built during the ensuing repairs in the years 1556 to 1561, closing off the unfinished cathedral. The copper helmet of the Baroque tower, where the bells are hung, originated in 1770.

The western part of the nave and the faҫade with two eighty-meter towers, was built between 1873–1929 by Josef Kranner and Josef Mocker. After Mocker’s death in 1899, Kamil Hilbert took over leadership. In September 1929, with the participation of President T.G. Masaryk and the Archbishop František Kordač, the cathedral was completed on the occasion of the thousand-year anniversary of the murder of St. Wenceslas. Besides worship, the cathedral serves as the repository of the Czech Crown Jewels, the mausoleum of Czech kings and a gallery of sculptures and portrait paintings. Many prominent artists contributed to the adornment of the western part of the cathedral, for example František Kysela, Max Švabinský, Alfons Mucha, Karel Svolinský, Otakar Španiel, Vojta Sucharda and others. In the years 1934–1935, the tombs of the kings were reconstructed by the Czech architect Kamil Roškot. The sculptor Ladislav Kofránek assisted with the coats of arms. In the 1950s the southern hall was repaired, with new doors and a vestibule designed by the architect Jan Sokol.

By the decree of Cardinal Vlk of the 23rd April, 1997, at the millennial anniversary of the death of St. Adalbert, the Cathedral was dedicated to St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert. This consecration was already given to the previous Romanesque basilica by Spytihněv II from Bishop Gebhart in 1074. In December 2011, the state funeral of Václav Havel was held in it, the first funeral since 1875.

The author of the souvenir sheet is the academic painter and graphic artist Jan Kavan,  the engravings of some parts of the souvenir sheet and of the envelope FDC are the work of the graphic artist and engraver Miloš Ondráček.

The stamp sized 50 x 40 mm in the souvenir sheet sized 100 x 130 mm  has been printed  by  the Post  Printing House in Prague  by coloured offset combined with black engraving.

There  will be  one First Day Cover incl. commemorative cancellation. In the picture part of the cover is a composition containing images of the first benefactors of the cathedral. Although the heads in the lower triforium suffered a considerable damage, the spirituality of their expression and variety of types are still impressive. These are the heads of Charles IV, John of Luxembourg, Ernest of Pardubice, and the first and second builders and architects Matthias of Arras and Peter Parler (from bottom to top). The composition combines these heads with so-called free ribs of Parler’s vault in the southern vestibule. The cover is  printed by recess print from flat plates in brown-green. The cachet is based on the emblem of Ernest of Pardubice and the Flamboyant window tracery, a typical example of Peter Parler’s work, and bears this text: Praha, 15.10.2014.

The stamp is valid  from  15th October, 2014.

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Issue of the commemorative souvenir sheet / ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL

Date of issue:   15th October, 2014

Graphic arrangement:   Jan Kavan

Engravings:   Miloš Ondráček

Size of the souvenir sheet:   100 x 130 mm

Size of the stamp:   50 x 40  mm

Face value:   58 CZK

Method of the printing of the stamp:   coloured offset combined with black engraving

Method of the printing of the FDC:   recess print from flat plates in brown-green

Subject of the stamp and s/s:   On the stamp is a transposition of kneeling Ernest of Pardubice, the first Archbishop of Prague, from his gradual and the first picture of the cathedral from Schedel’s World Chronicle (Nuremberg 1494). The miniature sheet displays a stylised picture of today’s cathedral with invocating angels designed according to the painting of so-called Kłodzko Madonna.

Number of the FDCs:   1 pc

Subject of the  FDC:   a composition containing images of the first benefactors of the cathedral

Editor:   Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic

Producer:   Post Printing House, Ortenovo nám. 16, CZ-170 04 Praha 7

Supplier:   PostFila, Export Department, Ortenovo nám. 16, CZ-170 24 Praha 7