The phenomenon of Jože Plečnik

The book The Jože Plečnik Phenomenon is the third publication in the “Phenomenon” series by the Grada publishing house. Its ambition is to present, in a popular manner, significant architects with Czech roots or projects on Czech territory. Readers now hold in their hands a richly illustrated publication about one of the exceptional figures of European and also Czech, or rather Czechoslovak, architecture. The Slovenian Jože Plečnik left his mark in Vienna and especially in Ljubljana, where he was given the opportunity to create a number of architectural works in a city that had been severely damaged by a major earthquake at the end of the 19th century.

At the same time, however, his influence is also very visible in Bohemia, specifically in Prague. A meeting with the first Czechoslovak president, Tomáš G. Masaryk, “arranged” by Plečnik’s friend, the architect Jan Kotěra, brought about fundamental changes in the concept of the reconstruction of Prague Castle, which once again became a dignified seat for the new head of the new state. As a man of strong faith, Plečnik worked on sacred buildings throughout his life in Vienna and Ljubljana, while in Prague, his indelible mark is the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord in Královské Vinohrady.

There are more “royal” attributes to this building. You can read about this and more in our book, accompanied by current and historical photographs and above all—as in the entire series so far—drawings by the architect and architecture promoter David Vávra.