St Vitus Cornerstone

JAN 01 1344 · 12:00

St Vitus Cathedral, begun under Matthias of Arras in 1344 and completed only in 1929. Place: Prague Castle, on the site of the Romanesque basilica of Spytihněv II Figures: Charles, margrave of Moravia · John of Luxembourg, king · Arnošt of Pardubice, archbishop · Matthias of Arras, first master builder Charles brings Matthias of Arras back with him from the papal court in 1342. Matthias is French, has worked at the new cathedrals of Narbonne and Rodez, and brings with him the vocabulary of the High Gothic of southern France: three-story elevation, polygonal apse, ambulatory with radiating chapels. He designs the choir of the new St Vitus on the model of Narbonne, with eight chapels around the apse. On November 21, 1344, the cornerstone is laid. Archbishop Arnošt presides. The blind king and his son both attend. Beneš of Weitmile records the day in a single dry sentence: positus est primus lapis, the first stone has been placed. Matthias builds for eight years and dies in 1352 without having reached the level of the triforium. The choir is roofed in temporary timber.