František Maxmilián Kaňka was born on August 19, 1674. This prominent Czech architect of the late Baroque period, after completing his studies abroad, collaborated on various projects with leading architects such as Giovanni Battista Alliprandi, Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel, and Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, as well as contemporary sculptors and painters. His work, closely tied to his patrons, included both sacred commissions and secular buildings for the aristocracy.
This year marks the 350th anniversary of his birth, and we will showcase a number of his works that stand as landmarks in the Czech landscape and cities.
Among Kaňka’s most renowned works is the Karlova Koruna Chateau in Chlumec nad Cidlinou, built for Count František Ferdinand Kinský, in collaboration with Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel. Another notable project is the extensive Baroque complex in Loučeň, which includes a church and park, transformed from a medieval fortress into a chateau with a chapel, later redesigned as the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. During the Romantic period, the chateau complex was further enhanced with an English park and several additional small structures and sculptures.
Kaňka also contributed to significant ecclesiastical buildings, including the Church of St. John of Nepomuk in Kutná Hora, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Roudnice nad Labem, the Church of St. Gall in Liběchov, and the Church of St. Wenceslas in Žihle, among many other projects.
