Reliquary of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague on display in Dresden for the first time

From mid-March, the relic treasure of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague will be on display in Dresden for six months, the first time it has ever been exhibited outside its home on Hradčany Hill in the Czech capital. From March 16 to September 8, the exhibition "Fragments of Memory" will present the collection, which has grown over the centuries, in dialog with works by well-known contemporary artists: Edmund de Waal, Josef Koudelka and Julian Rosefeldt, as the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD) announced on Friday. In cooperation with the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vitus in Prague and the Archbishopric of Prague, the show addresses themes such as religion, remembrance and memory.

According to the information provided, 125 objects dating back to the beginnings of Christianity are on display in the Kunsthalle in the Lipsius Building. These include relics of saints or objects that were part of the coronation ceremonies of Bohemian kings. The treasure of St. Vitus Cathedral, which has grown over centuries, is one of the largest and most important collections of relics of faith that were revered as sacred and considered precious.

Saxony's Minister of Culture, Barbara Klepsch (CDU), thanked the museum "for its trust in placing this important collection in the hands of the State Art Collections". The exhibition is to be opened by Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) in the presence of Czech President Petr Pavel. This "is proof of the extraordinary importance of this presentation and the good partnership relations between the Free State of Saxony and the Czech Republic", said Klepsch.