11

Rescue of 

St. Wenceslas 

Rotunda at 

Malostranské 

náměstí in Prague 

Project promoter
Charles University, 
Faculty of Mathematics 
and Physics (CZ)

The St. Wenceslas Rotunda dates back to the late 11

th

 century and may relate  

to the coronation of the first king of Bohemia, Vratislav the Second (probably  
1033–1092, king from 1085). A particularly unique finding is 74 floor tiles in their 
original location, as the hand of an unknown craftsman left them one thousand 
years ago, including fingerprints. Therefore, the restoration work on the fragment 
was done 

in situ. In one part of the reconstructed monument one can also see  

a highly faithful replica of the tiling. By comparing almost thirty preserved 
rotundas, the staff of the National Heritage Institute managed to uncover the 
operating procedure of a medieval architect’s work and reconstruct the probable 
look of the St. Wenceslas Rotunda using the retrospective project method. 

A film about the project has been made, 

http://www.nase-rotunda.cz/video.

In order to preserve the restored condition of the Rotunda, tours will be allowed 
only on special occasions, e.g. during the Museum Night. Nevertheless,  
the Rotunda can be visited virtually at the website 

www.rotunda.pano3d.cz.

“We were highly surprised by the vivid public interest in this project. In practice, 
it means, at least in my opinion, that citizens of the Czech Republic are sincerely 
interested in their own roots and identity. We regard the financial support of the 
public as an unprecedented success, because many fund-raising campaigns for 
the renovation of monuments usually last for many years and sometimes they 
do not fully succeed. Maybe this is a little St. Wenceslas miracle.”

Martin Vlach, project manager