St. Štěpán's Cathedral with a lookout tower

In 1655 a diocese was founded and the chapter church became a cathedral. Around then, a few buildings necessary for the life of the diocese were built.

St. Štěpán´s Cathedral

Is one of the most dominant features of the town Litoměřice. The original Romanesque building was founded around the year 1057. However, it was demolished in the second half of the 17th century and immediately afterwards the current cathedral of St. Štěpán, which was probably designed by the architects Bernard Spineta and Giulio Broggio from Litoměřice. In fact, the cathedral was originally without a tower. Today, the cathedral has an early Baroque appearance and is equipped with very valuable and stylistically uniform furniture. Regular services and pipe organ concerts are held here. You can enjoy the magnificent view from the bell tower in the neighborhood. Behind the cathedral is a bishop's residence - a palace building of the Italian type.

The cathedral is over 20 meters high and 50 meters long.

The tower of St. Štěpán's Cathedral

Since 2010 a view of the town and its surroundings is available from a height of 50m. St. Štěpán's Baroque Cathedral in Litoměřice and the previous Gothic church, originally didn't have a tower. A separate tower outside the church was built by Bishop Hugo Count Koenigsegg (1711-1720) but he only had to build eleven-meter foundations, on which they built a wooden baroque bell tower. Only Bishop Antonín L. Frind (1879-81), a well-known historian, called for the completion of the tower, which was not built until 1883-89 based on the design of the Viennese architect Heinrich Ferstel by the builder of Litoměřice, Franz Sander. On the connecting arch between the cathedral and the tower is the personal emblem of the 14th Bishop of Litoměřice, Emanuel Jan Schöbel.

The tower offers a wonderful view to all cardinal direstions as well as to other tourist destinations in the area. Looking at the city, in the distance you can see the Mostka lookout tower, Radobýl hill, on the left on the other bank of the river next to it is Lovoš. If you look further to the left, then you will also see the Hazmburk Castle and Říp Mountain. However, you have to climb 118 stone and 83 wooden stairs.

Categories

Sacral monuments Lookout towers and viewpoints

Photo gallery

Galerie - Dómské náměstí, věž a katedrála sv. Štěpána