P411 - Czech Republic - The Church of St. Barbara

The Church of St. Barbara, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic (UNESCO WHS)

St. Barbara's Church (often incorrectly St. Barbara's Cathedral, Czech: Chrám svaté Barbory) in Kutná Hora (Bohemia) is one of the most famous Gothic churches in central Europe and it is a UNESCO world heritage site. St Barbara is the patron saint of miners (among others), which was highly appropriate for a town whose wealth was based entirely upon its silver mines.

Construction began in 1388, but because work on the church was interrupted several times, it was not completed until 1905. The first architect was probably Johann Parler, son of Peter Parler, but studies say that Peter Parler had participated at least as a co-author of the draft design. Work on the building was interrupted for more than 60 years during the Hussite Wars and when work resumed in 1482, Matěj Rejsek and Benedikt Rejt, two architects from Prague, assumed responsibility.

The original design was for a much larger church, perhaps twice the size of the present building. Construction, however, depended on the prosperity of the town's silver mines, which became much less productive. So, in 1588, the incomplete structure was enclosed by a provisional wall until 1884 and the roof was unfinished until the 19th century.

The outside appearance is fascinating. Originally there were eight radial chapels with trapezoidal interiors. Later on, the choir was constructed, supported by double-arched flying buttresses.
Internal points of note are the glass windows, altars, pulpits and choir stalls. Medieval frescoes depicting the secular life of the medieval mining town and religious themes have been partially preserved.

聖巴巴拉教堂是捷克共和國中波西米亞城市庫特納霍拉的一座教堂，中歐地區的一座著名哥德式教堂，被列為世界文化遺產。聖巴巴拉是礦工的主保聖人，因為該鎮的財富完全依賴於銀礦。

始建於1388年，但是工程幾度中斷，直到1905年才得以完成。第一位建築師可能是 Peter Parler的兒子Johann Parler，但是研究者稱 Peter Parler 至少一同參與了草圖設計。建築工程在胡斯戰爭期間中斷了60多年，工程於1482年重新開始，由兩位布拉格建築師Matěj Rejsek和Benedikt Rejt負責。

原來的設計是要建造一座更大的教堂，也許兩倍於今天的建築。但是工程依賴於該鎮銀礦的繁榮，而其產量已在下降。因此在1588年，未完成的建築用臨時圍牆環繞，直到1884年，而屋頂直到19世紀才完成。

其外觀非常迷人。最初在梯形的內部有8個放射狀小禮拜堂。後來，建造了唱經樓，由雙拱的飛扶壁支撐。
內部值得注意的有花窗玻璃、祭台、講道壇和唱經樓隔間。中世紀壁畫描繪了中世紀採礦城鎮的世俗生活和宗教主題，部分得到保護。

References sources : wikipedia