Caspar Dechmann

Switzerland - 22-May-17 -

I often wonder how there can be so many tentative sites in the middle of Europe without a review on this website despite the fact that they are easy to reach or even near another WHS. Therefore I grasped the occasion when I was in Prague for a few days and made the excursion to see the Curch of the most sacred heart of our Lord by Slovenian architect Jože Plecnik. I had even read that the Czechs had considered to nominate this church for the tentative list by itself. I didn't expect too much from the photographs I had seen before but my visit left me with a similar impression. The church has a certain individuality but it didn't strike me neither by its beauty nor by its originality. The plain cubelike interior has a rather prosaic feel to it as many churches from the 20 century with a similar special concept. I cannot imagine that ICOMOS could be convinced of its OUV. Plecnik added also several elements to the gardens of the prague castle of which I liked the rounded stairs to your left when you enter the castle by the West entrance. But they are neither WHS material. When I googled his work I liked several of his earlier buildings in Vienna and I am looking forward to check out some of his many buildings he built in Lubljana where he is much revered. I am sure he was a productive and versatile architect of considerable value but so far I doubt he was ingenious or influential enough to justify an inscription.