GEOG 340.3 The European Heritage of Our Built Environment
A seminar/field class in architecture, urban design and planning in Central Europe, offered in the Spring Intersession. The field class involves an historical review and actual observation of architectural styles preserved at Prague, with critical assessment of their incorporation within contemporary urban form. This class also includes side trips to the southern Czech Republic, to Vienna and to Lower Austria. Emphasis is on the late Gothic, the Renaissance and the Baroque styles, on their interaction with street and square design, and on their integration within the streetscape and architecture of the 20th century. The field study is over a period of ten working days, with approximately 4 hours per day of class contact, to the total of 40 hours of class-contact. Extramural activities consist of visits to local theatres, concerts or the opera. Some of Prague pubs date to the late middle ages, and Bohemian beer, such as the Budweiser or the Pilsner, has been brewed here for the last seven centuries. Accommodation in Prague will be at university dormitories. The field class is a regular credit class in Geography, listed as GEOG 340.3. In either one of its two sections, this field class, offered first in 1999, carries three credit units. To enrol in this class you must complete an application form obtainable from the instructor, and receive the instructor's permission to register.
Costs and Financial Assistance
Estimated cost of CDN$1,800 includes airfare, accommodation, food and excursions. Tuition fees are extra. Full time students at the University of Saskatchewan are eligible to apply for a travel bursary from U of S International (Global Commons, Lower Place Riel), and full time students at the College of Arts and Science may enter in a competition for additional support from the College of Arts and Science Study Abroad Award.
Admission
A prerequisite for any student to participate in the Prague field trip is the completion of 18 credit units in social sciences/humanities (or 6 credit units in Geography), or permission granted to the student by the instructor. Students from other institutions wishing to participate in the field trip may apply for admission if their home institution allows for a transfer of credit from the University of Saskatchewan. The space on the Prague field trip is limited, and all applicants must obtain prior approval from the instructor to participate. All participants must fill out a University of Saskatchewan Release of Liability form and complete the required pre-departure orientation program. All participants must be registered in GEOG 340.3 prior to departure for Prague.
Course Outline
Day 1. Arrive at Prague: A brief review of the history of architecture in Bohemia, and in Prague in particular. A short tour to familiarize students with the overall layout of the Old Town of Prague.
Day 2. Introduction to Gothic: The 14th century homes of Prague burghers; Old Town Hall; Old Town Square; Church of Our Lady of Tyn (15th cen.); Palace
Goltz-Kinsky; Vysehrad (Romanesque style as the source of the Gothic); Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul.
Day 3. Introduction to the High Gothic: The Tyn School (15 cent.); The following burgher homes: The Unicorn (603 Old Town Square), The White Pony (550 Old Town Square), The Ox (462 Old Town Square); Convent of Ste. Agnes the Bohemian.
Day 4. The Gothic: The Prague Castle in its urban context: Peter Parler and his architectural work at the Castle and in the city, St. Vitus Cathedral at the Castle; Charles' Bridge; Church of Our Lady Under the Chain (15th cent.); Lesser Town Square; Streetscapes of the Lesser Town.
Day 5. Vienna: Belvedere Palace; Burgtheater; Hofburg - Vienna's Imperial Palace; Karlskirche (18th century); Naschmarkt (Vienna's foremost market place dating to 16th century); Ring Boulevard (magnificent road circling the city center, built by Emperor Franz Joseph I in the late 19th century); Schönbrunn Palace; Stephansdom - St. Stephen's Cathedral ((first built in 1147); Wiener Staatsoper - Vienna Opera House.
Day 6. Late Medieval Architecture and Urban Design: Znaim: Temple of St. Nicholas and the adjacent St Wenceslas Chapel; The Gothic Lower Town Square with
early Baroque Plague Pillar; The Gothic Merchants' Street, Rotunda of Ste. Catherine (11th century); Temple of Our Lady and St. Wenceslas upon the Lawn.
Day 7. Hiking Trip to Hardegg: (Austria's smallest town, 12th century) through the Thayatal National Park in Lower Austria; Burg Hardegg (early 12th century Gothic Style); time allowing, visit (by bus) to the Vranov or Bitov Castles on the Czech side of the border.
Day 8. Late Golthic: Return to Prague. Old-New Synagogue (14th cent.); Monastery of St. Elisabeth the Bohemian (14th cent.). Late medieval town planning in Europe; Prague New Town as the legacy of the Emperor Charles IV; Carolinum; The Churches of St. Stephen and Our Lady on the Lawn; Monastery of The Slavs and a preamble
to the Renaissance and the Baroque.
Day 9. Introduction to the Renaissance: The Renaissance at the Prague Castle: Ludovit Palace, Royal Palace of Belvedere, Schwarzenberg Palace, Vladislav Hall, The Archbishopric; Renaissance water towers of the Lesser and the New Towns.
Day 10. Late Renaissance and Introduction to the Baroque: Burghers' homes of the Renaissance: The Golden Tree (729 Dlouha Street), Facades of the Tyn School and of 229 Husova Street; Hradshin Town Hall; Church of St. Roch on Strahov and introduction to the Baroque in Prague.
Day 11. The Baroque: Early Baroque structures: Mathias Gate at the Prague Castle; Italian Chapel of the Clementinum; Valdenstein Palace and Gardens; Valdenstein Square; The Loreta Church. Conclusion: Rococo and Art Nouveau; Post-Modernism and the Dancing House of Frank Gehry; Boat trip to Château Troya.
Required Reading
Jaroslava Stankova (1992). Prague: Eleven Centuries of Architecture. PAV Publishers: Prague. In the U of S Library - Reserve Counter NA1033 .P8S7313 1992
Recommended Reading
A.E.J. Morris (1997). History of Urban Form Before the Industrial Revolutions Longman: London.
Akkerman, A. (1998) Place and Thought Woodridge: London
Grade Evaluation
Assignments: 20%; Term Paper: 50%; Exam: 30%
Cost
| Estimated Field Trip Expenses per Student (CDN $) | |
| Airfare (Return from Saskatoon or Calgary) | 1,200 - 1,350 |
| Travel (bus, subway, tram in Prague) | 80 - 90 |
| Other surface travel in Czech, Austria | 100 - 120 |
| Dorm accomodation (Charles' University) | 250 - 300 |
| Groceries | 150 -180 |
| Pub meals | 220 -230 |
| College of Arts and Science Program Fee | 150 |
| TOTAL (Canadian Dollars) | 2,150 - 2,420 |
Note: Tuition fees are extra
Contact: Dr. Avi Akkerman, Kirk Hall, 107
Ph: 966-5677 avi.akkerman@usask.ca
