EAA2020: Abstract

Centrally-planned churches represent a considerable part of the earliest church architecture in Bohemia. The erection of those churches is dated to the era of the early Czech state, i. e. the late 9th/ early 10th centuries. Thus, since 19th century, scholars interested in research on rise and Christianisation of the Czech state have been investigating and discussing origins of architectural traditions of centrally-planned churches in Bohemia. The discussion has traditionally considered two main directions of origin: East Francia, i. e. western direction, and Dalmatia-Adriatic region, i. e. eastern direction. However, the research topic has always been a politically sensitive issue and the discussion has reflected not only the current state of research, but also some social political demands. Recently, in terms of my PhD research, I have conducted some new analyses. The analyses is based firstly on comprehensive catalogue of Pre-Romanesque centrally-planned churches in the traditionally discussed regions, secondly on the latest discoveries in Bohemia. This contribution presents both, the summary of the traditional discussion, and the latest results of my analyses.

Church Archaeology, Centrally-Planned Churches, Early Middle Ages, Pre-Romanesque Architecture, Bohemia

 Abstract (PDF)

Pavla Tomanova¹