EN An Important Archaeological Discovery at Vyšehrad

 8/23/2014 | Archaeologists have made a unique discovery of the oldest known Vyšehrad church.

Systematic archaeological research in the Vyšehrad area, building on earlier research work, has been carried out since the early 1960s under the leadership of the prominent Czech archaeologist PhDr. Bořivoj Nechvátal. The current research is led by Mgr. Ladislav Varadzin, Ph.D.

This month archaeologists made a startling discovery of the oldest known Vyšehrad church. The building, of which only the foundations have been preserved, was located approximately in the area of ​​the church of St Laurentius and dates back to the period between 950 and 1050. The dimensions of this building are unique, surpassing even the former main Czech church – the Episcopal Rotunda of St Vitus and St Wenceslas at Prague Castle. Archaeologists believe that the builder of the church could come from a Byzantine environment or from an environment familiar with this type of construction.

This important archaeological discovery will transform not only the idea about the origins of Vyšehrad, but also about the development of the oldest Czech architecture. It is the culmination of several years of effort by the staff of the Institute of Archeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The work was financially supported by the City of Prague, the Royal Collegiate Chapter at Vyšehrad and the Institute of Archeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague.  

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Text sources

Mgr. L. Varadzin

Institute of Archeology ASCR Prague

ČBK Press Center

Link to the article and video iDnes

Photos: L. Varadzin, E. Tučková, K. Lojka