Prague Gothic — St. Vitus Cathedral Spires
33,066.10 ¥
St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague’s Hradčany Castle photographed from the second castle courtyard — the Gothic spires and flying buttresses at their most dramatic in raking afternoon light, the grey limestone in warm shadow and highlight.
Description
St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague — begun in 1344 and completed in 1929, spanning 585 years of construction — is the Czech Republic’s most important Gothic building and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The cathedral’s west facade, with its twin towers rising to 82 metres and the elaborate stone sculptural program of its Great West Portal, is the building’s most photographically dramatic elevation. The second castle courtyard — immediately west of the cathedral — provides a confined but adequate vantage point from which the full west elevation is visible, including the flying buttress system that supports the nave walls. This photograph was made at 3pm in October when the low-angle western sun rakes across the carved stone faces of the towers, creating the deep shadow and bright highlight contrast that reveals the Gothic detail at its maximum. The Carrara marble facing of the portal surround catches the light with particular intensity against the surrounding grey Bohemian sandstone.
