The building history of Brno’s cathedral spans the period from the 12th to the 20th century, and each phase has left its mark. The medieval construction phase was completed in the first decade of the 16th century, when the east-facing cathedral on the rocky hill in the centre of Brno largely acquired its current ground plan. Originally dedicated to St. Peter (it stands on the hill named Petrov, and the cathedral is commonly referred to as Petrov), the extended patronage of Saints Peter and Paul is first mentioned in 1378.
In 1743–1746, an important Baroque renovation was carried out by Moritz Grimm. Originally a parish church, Bishop Dětřich (Theoderich) of Olomouc founded a local collegiate chapter here in 1296, and it became a cathedral after the establishment of the Bishopric of Brno in 1777. On the hundredth anniversary of this event, Bishop Karl Nöttig established a building fund for the completion of the cathedral tower. The church’s Neo-Gothic renovation was initially led by the cathedral builder and member of the diocesan building council August Prokop, who was a pupil of the Viennese professor and propagator of the Neo-Gothic style Friedrich von Schmidt. In 1889–1891, the Baroque presbytery and its furnishings were ‘re-Gothicized’ according to Prokop’s plans, and the exterior was given a full make-over, including the addition of Neo-Gothic tracery above the windows. The next phase, which was to include Schmidt’s recommended tower structure on the western elevation, was not implemented, however, as it was rejected by Bishop František Saleský Bauer – on the one hand, because of a lack of space, and also because it differed from the prevailing cathedral style.
The decision to continue with the Neo-Gothic renovation led to an architecture competition in 1901, in which 42 proposals were evaluated. The author of the winning design with the slogan Super hanc petram (‘On this stone’) was the Viennese architect August Kirstein. Under the terms of the competition, the modification of the cathedral’s interior, particularly its nave, was to continue. At the same time, the exterior was to be transformed, with an emphasis on its dominant place on the city’s skyline. The raising of the tower on the north side of the nave had been planned since 1877, but in the end it was lowered so as not to compete with the newly erected twin towers. The competition also examined various alternatives for situating the towers. The chosen design by Kirstein, realized in 1904–1905 during the reign of Bishop Paul von Huyn, was judged favourably for two reasons: First, it created the twin towers typical for cathedrals, though not in the usual location on the western elevation, where there would be little room for them; and second, the towers’ placement on the sides of the presbytery visually shortened it, which was deemed desirable. The traditional claim that the twin towers followed on the foundations of older Romanesque towers is not borne out. The presbytery was given a new silhouette by the addition of a ridge turret. The Neo-Gothic exterior alterations continued in 1906–1908. After the plaster had been removed, the facades were clad in sandstone from Padochov and fitted with sculptural stone elements made of fine-grained Hořice sandstone. A canon’s sacristy was also built. The proposed re-Gothization of the nave was ultimately not carried out due to a lack of money, a fact welcomed by preservationists. The greatest change was to the main elevation with three tall windows and a triangular gable, in front of which a portico was placed. An important role was given to the sculptural decoration, which was fashioned according to plaster models by Jan Kastner of Prague.
In his renovation of the cathedral, August Kirstein drew on examples of High Gothic architecture, with an emphasis on structural clarity and lofty verticality, although with some elements he tended towards Art Nouveau. His design for the twin towers put the finishing touches on the dominant feature of Petrov Hill and Brno as a whole.
Aleš Filip