Cathedral Sedlec

Sedlec Cathedral

The 800-year-long story of the Sedlec Cathedral is full of ups and downs. Built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries in an incredible 30 years, it was burned down by the Hussites in the 15th century in a single night. Even the surviving ruins amazed with their grandeur, earning the nickname Splendissima Basilica. When the genius architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel arrived in Sedlec in the 17th century, the cathedral literally rose from the ashes like a Phoenix. Santini breathed new life into the 300-year-abandoned ruins by maintaining the simple Gothic lines and combining them with ornate Baroque elements. This seemingly incongruous symbiosis, called Baroque Gothic, is unique in the world, which is why the cathedral was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995. Though in the shadows, it remains radiant, full of light, hope, and the stories of previous generations etched into the unique architecture of this still-functioning parish church.