Transept zachodni w romańskiej katedrze św. św. Wita, Wacława i Wojciecha na Praskim Grodzie

Abstract

The Romanesque Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert in Prague was erected as a double-chancel basilica with western transept. Occidental transverse nave and two choirs together form an intrinsic and distinctive feature of this basilica that indicates architectural ideas from which the Cathedral had originated. Alas, the basilica has, hitherto, been rather interpreted in isolation and without considering the broader European architectural context and by detaching the western transept from its topographic context. This has discouraged scholars from rigorous analysis of the origins of the form, which resulted in the creation of arbitrary and stereotypical narrative instead. This paper presents a new interpretation of the Cathedral which tracks the links between the basilica and double-choir churches with a western transept in Central Europe. In addition, this research builds on spatial analysis which identifies the relationships between the Cathedral and the landform of Prague Castle.