Benedikt Rejt

Benedikt Rejt (often spelled Benedikt Ried; c. 1450 – between 1531 and 1536) was a leading medieval architect in Bohemia, today's Czech Republic. He built Vladislav Hall (1497–1500) in Prague Castle, St. Barbara's Church, Kutná Hora, (c. 1482) and other buildings in a late Gothic and early Renaissance style.

Historical context Bohemia became the cultural center of Central Europe when Charles IV brought the Holy Roman Emperor's court to Prague in the 14th century. The Royal Court Workshop under the guidance of Peter Parler was one of the highlights of Gothic architecture in the Holy Roman Empire. The Hussite Wars then stopped all plans for cultural development in the region for many decades.

When Bohemia was again open to Europe after 1480, during the reign of Vladislaus II, good architects were in great demand. The king as well as Bohemian noblemen (the House of Rosenberg being among the richest) searched the surrounding workshops, especially in Danubian countries, for a master builder to realize their projects. The king had a great challenge in the court of Meissen, where Albert III, Duke of Saxony started building Albrechtsburg in 1471. From these sources it is obvious that Rejt was a renowned architect and baumeister (, "master builder") whose opinion was highly valued at court, where he was called to review work of other contemporary architects. As early as 1489 (when he was asked to review the work of Matěj Rejsek), St. Nicholas Church in Louny, from 1519, Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Most, mentions of Jörg of Maulbronn; restored in 1882; Rabí Castle, fortification system of one of the largest castles in Bohemia Virgin Mary Chapel on Náměť in Kutná Hora, the burial place of Petr Brandl, assigned to Master Blažek from Kutná Hora The vault of the Church of the Assumption in Ústí nad Labem, damaged in WWII The castle in Březnice, fortification after 1531

Beneš of Louny In the 19th century, Czech patriots made efforts to claim that Benedikt Rejt had Czech or Bohemian ancestry. In many sources from that time he is referred to under the name Beneš of Louny, e.g., in the Hall of Fame in the 1891 building of National Museum in Prague. According to tradition, he was buried in St. Nicholas Church in Louny. In 1906, Zikmund Winter concluded the discussion with convincing evidence that Rejt was of German origin and that he learnt Czech as fluently as German, as he could be considered Czech (his offspring identified with Czech nationality).

Legacy A gallery and a square are named after Rejt in Louny. There is also a 20th-century statue of Benedikt Rejt holding a plumb line.

Gallery of selected works