St. Stephen's Cathedral, Litoměřice, Czech Republic

The St. Stephen's Cathedral is one of the most important cultural sites in the city. It is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

Located on a hill in the place of an older church (originally a basilica) The temple was built in Romanesque style in 1057 and rebuilt in the 14th century in the Gothic style. In the presbytery is a large altar dedicated to St. Stephen, patron of the cathedral.

In the years 1662 to 1663 the original building was destroyed and in the years 1663-70 present cathedral was erected. The cathedral was consecrated in 1681. Today's cathedral tower replaced wooden baroque belfry in the years 1883-89.

There have been various modifications and repairs especially in 1716, 1778, 1825 and 1892.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Vlastimil Polak (50 days ago)
It’s a really nice and calm place with a historical spirit

christian verzè (4 months ago)
Wonderful church in a wonderful square in a typical bohemian Baroc style

Mario Falzon (10 months ago)
Litomerice boasts two historical quarters. Mirove namesti, surrounded by colourful burghers’ houses is the centre of leisure activity. Lined on its south edge with parasol-shaded outdoor spaces set up by restaurant owners as a means of supplementing their indoor capacity, it is perhaps the only place in Litomerice where one can while the time away in leisurely pursuits. Cut off from the rest of the city and perched high on a hill top is the city’s second historical quarter. Unlike Mirove namesti, this is a people-less place of quietness and seclusion, a vast green square where the sole twin points of attraction are the massive Cathedral of St Stephen and its lofty freestanding bell tower. Known as Domsky Pahorek, this parkland of trees and turf is located on the isolated southwest periphery of the city centre, overlooking the River Elbe. The cathedral, intricately balanced on one corner of this grassy slope is a redesigned 17th-century version of an older original. This vast baroque structure and the additional complementary stonework ornaments on its exterior are both impressive. But go inside and you are faced with an austere gloomy space that instantaneously disappoints. The only relief is the set of chiaroscuro altarpieces from the school of Cranach the Elder. The imposing bell tower (opening times for visitors are the same as for the cathedral), constructed two centuries later stands some 10m away. Climb up the tower for a spectacular view over the city of Litomerice and the hillside area to the north. A sloping cobbled alleyway runs down along the north side of the cathedral (from here, the side views of the cathedral are superb) to the bottom of Domsky Pahorek. One of the modest houses you run into on the way is the former residence of the Czech poet Karel Hynek Macha. The flight of steps at the foot of the hill, aptly named Machovy Schody, connects to Mirove namesti.

Kelvin Eagleton (10 months ago)
We only climbed the tower to see the city. It was an easy walk up stairs (202 steps). Views are good at 3 directions only. Litoměřice and surrounding area is very nice city from up here.

Pavel Bílek (2 years ago)
Za to kilo to stojí ;)

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The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier.

In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today.

In the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate.

After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the Simeonstift monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. Saving it from further destruction, the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: The inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle storeys of the former gate were converted into church naves: the upper storey being for the monks and the lower storey for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower storey of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper storey. The church rooms were accessible through former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate - the much smaller Simeon Gate - was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier"s numerous churches and monasteries. On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept; but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form.

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