I’m fascinated by the rotundas in Prague. This city has more of them than I’d ever seen in my life. St Martin’s rotunda sits inside the Vyšehrad castle complex. This article explains the history around this old church.

Context

Pragers built St Martin’s sometime in the 11th century^{1 2} which is when rotundas were a popular design choice.

St Wenceslas’ rotunda was recently discovered in the centre of Prague

It is possible this chapel was a private chapel² but no records indicate its original use. To this day it is still the largest and best preserved rotunda in the city^{1 3}. It is the only building from this time that is still around.

History

Looters ransacked the place during the Hussite revolution in 1420^{2 4}. In 1525 the rotunda burned down but there is little about this incident⁴. It was also used as a prison in the 16th century² but there is no indication if this was before or after it was burnt.

They built the Rotunda of the finding of the Holy Cross at around the same time.

During the Thirty Years’ war, the rotunda was a gunpowder store^{1 3}. There is a roofing contract in the castle archives which shows someone fixed the chapel in 1678 and it was being used².

In 1750, they repaired the tower². In 1757, the Prussians bombarded Prague across the Nusle valley. This bombardment damaged the building and there is another cannon ball embedded in the facade of the building above the portal^{2 4}.

The military used it as a warehouse when Emperor Joseph II abolished its use as a chapel^{4 2}. They even used to make artillery shells in the chapel².

Modern times

In 1841, the authorities considered demolishing the rotunda as part of the extension of the city limits from the New Town to the town of Tabor². Their plan was to run a road through what is now the Vyšehrad complex and the rotunda was in the way³. It was only after the culture-loving then-Governor of Bohemia Count Karl Chotek intervened that they abandoned this foolish plan². Instead they converted the apse into a kitchen and rented the building out for poor people^{2 4}.

It took till 1875 for the church to regain control over it. In 1878 they converted it back to its original religious purposes^{2 5}. Architect Antonín Baum restored it², installing the new south-facing pseudo-Romanic portal in the process⁴.

Architectural details

For those of you curious about the architectural details^{1 2}:

• The internal diameter is 650 cm.
• The apse is 220 cm deep and 330 cm wide.
• The walls vary from 95 to 97 cm in width.
• The portal is new because the original one faced west.
• There is a secret underground floor, hidden for centuries⁵. I can’t find much information about this floor, so do write in if you know anything more.

The rotunda nestles along the pathway as you walk into Vyšehrad castle. It’s small, beautiful in its own way. Like any great beauty it invites you to discover it instead of flaunting all its secrets.

References

1. Rotunda of St Martin; Prague.EU; (Retrieved 2020-03-23) [↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Information displayed on site; 2020-03-15[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. St. Martin’s Rotunda; Welcome to Prague; (Retrieved 2020-03-23) [↩][↩][↩]
4. Rotunda of Saint Martin, Vyšehrad; Prague Vitruvius; (Retrieved 2020-03-23) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
5. St Martin Rotunda in Prague; Prague Guide; 2015-11-15[↩][↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.