Photo: St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church

Photographer: Cosmos Mariner
Taken: September 3, 2022
Caption: St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church
Additional Description: (located 4 blocks south of the cemetery, on Main Street)National Register of Historic Places #82003035.
From the National Register Nomination: The church complex of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church is primarily significant for its association with the Czech population that settled portions of south central Minnesota in Scott, Le Sueur, and Rice counties. The buildings of St. Wenceslaus provide a focus visually and functionally for New Prague and the surrounding Czech community. St. Wenceslaus was organized in 1856, shortly after Bohemian and Czech settlers had arrived in the area. A small settlement grew up around the Catholic church and became the primary center serving the surrounding rural community. These settlements, or “Catholic hamlets,” were common in Catholic dominated Scott and Le Sueur counties. New Prague grew out of the small community centered around St. Wenceslaus. The church has been the central parish for the surrounding Czech population and for the larger Catholic population of the area as well. The area remains a thriving viable Czech dominated community in which the church plays a central role.
Land was donated for church buildings in 1857, and a log church and log rectory were the first buildings constructed (1858-61 and 1862 respectively). The first church burned, and a new church was constructed in 1868; a brick rectory replaced the log one in 1873. A school and convent were added to the church complex in 1878 and c. 1880. The parish outgrew these buildings and they, in turn, were replaced by the present structures, Of pivotal significance are the church (1907), school (1914), and rectory (1908).
Submitted: February 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Database Locator Identification Number: p773099
File Size: 3.701 Megabytes

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