Zlata Koruna, part 2

~Clearly, a lot of work went into the art and buildings of the Zlata Koruna monastery. In fact, renovations were ongoing while I was there, as the Czech government has designated it a historical site, and is trying to increase tourism to areas of the country beyond Prague. Here are some of the more impressive works of art I saw while I was there:

^ The hallways around the courtyard are beautifully illustrated with religious scenes.

^ A closer view. The idea behind these illustrations is that the monks were supposed to walk around and around the courtyard while staring upwards and meditating on the scenes depicted.

^ Statues are built into everything, or so it seemed to me.

^ The main chapel of Zlata Koruna. A far cry from St. Andrew's, that's for sure...if you're someone who finds religious iconography to be inspiring. At the very least, it was impressive.

^ A closer view of the rear area. As you can see, much of the chapel is gold or gilded. I can't even imagine how much wealth poured into the monastery over the years of its construction to support this kind of rich artwork. Recall that King Přemysl Otakar II gifted the surrounding lands to the monastery. Now you know where all the money from that land and its people went to.

This chapel, located inside the monastery, was for male monks only. The people of the surroundings lands, whose labor paid for the treasures you see in these images, were not allowed to worship here.

^ The ceiling of the chapel. Painting this must have been tricky.

^ On either side of the chapel are these impressive mixed sculptures, which have been carefully maintained. This sculpture is on the left.

^ I can just imagine what's going through the mind of the person on the left: "What's in the box?"

^ Religious icons and statues surround the chapel on every wall.

^ There are also many paintings. I imagine that this frame was a custom job.

^ The organ is on a balcony in the rear of the chapel. It's huge!