Jesuit College - New Role Barborská Str. 51-53 284 01 Kutná Hora On the 18th March 1998 the Czech Museum of Fine Arts, Prague, was entered in the land register as the owner of the large complex of the former Jesuit College in Kutná Hora, opening the way for this major piece of Baroque architecture to return to the life of the splendid town. This was not, however, the beginning of fresh transformations in the former Jesuit College's function. The handing over of the College to the Czech Museum of Fine Arts by the Czech Ministry of Culture was preceded by an initiative from the part of Kutná Hora's council, as a result of which the Czech army left the building, enabling it to be used in way much closer to its original purpose.
The Jesuit College in Kutná Hora was built on a dominant site, and features prominently in views of the town, forming a striking part of its characteristic silhouette. It is the work of architect Giovanni Domenico Orsi (1633(?) - 1679). Together with Carlo Lurago (1615 - 1684) and Francesco Caratti (between 1615-20 - 1677), he is one of the three most important architects active in the Czech lands during the early Baroque period. G. D. Orsi stands out chiefly for his ecclesiastical architecture, and his designs anticipate the High Baroque.
The Jesuits arrived in Kutná Hora in 1626, but it wasn't until 1667, over forty years later, that they began building the extensive college. The stucco decoration of the façade's details and the interior of the building show that the construction work began with the north wing. The construction then gradually continued along the main wing in the direction of St Barbara's Cathedral and was completed before the mid-18th century with a central traverse wing with a summer refectory whose architectural design was probably in part the work of Kilián Ignác Diensthofer (1689 - 1751). At that time a raised passageway connecting the Jesuit College with St Barbora's Cathedral was also built, but it no longer exists. In this way, the building acquired its ultimate form in the shape of a reversed letter 'F'. The original aim, to complete the building in the shape of the letter 'E' was never fulfilled.
In addition, a terrace was built along the main façade at the edge of the slope down to the Vrchlice valley. In the second decade of the 18th century it was lined with sculptures by the Jesuit sculptor František Baught.
The abolishing of the Jesuit order in 1773 led to the college being transferred under the administration of the army. The building was adapted for this new purpose in about 1776-1777. Subsequent reconstruction was recorded much later on, between 1843 and 1844. It was probably then that the central tower, taller and more slender than other two, was taken down. In its place there remains a low attic gable. The outline of the building, given a dynamic quality by three verticals, was thus fundamentally disrupted in contradiction to the logic of the original architectural plan. The round towers in the rear courtyard of the former college were probably built between 1856 and 1858, when part of the building was adapted for use as a military training institute.
Subsequent reconstruction was connected with the modern history of the Czech state. The building served military use until the beginning of 1997, primarily as a storage site. The aim of the reconstruction that the Czech Museum of Fine Arts is planning with the architect Jiří Krejčík is to create the greatest possible affinity between the individual buildings of the Jesuit College from the point of view of their disposition and with regard to their authentic appearance from the time that this complex was initially built.
Ivan Neumann