Life and Work

Jan Blazej Santini-Aichel (born on 3^rd February 1677 in Prague - died on the 7^th December 1723 in Prague) was the significant Czech architect of the Italian origin. He is famous for his unique style called baroque-Gothic.

Relatives
Father	Santini Aichel
Brother	Frantisek Santini-Aichel
Grandfather	Antonin Aichel
Father-in-law	Kristian Schröder

He was born on the day of St Blase as the oldest son in the reputable family of the Prague's mason Santin Aichel and baptized as Jan Blase Aichl in the Cathedral of St Vitus the following day. He was born with a physical handicap - he was paralysed in a part of his body and lame. It disabled him from successful continuing in his father's career and from undertaking his masonry. Nevertheless, he got skilled in masonry (as well as his brother Frantisek), but studied including painting, probably at Kristiana Schröder. As soon as skilled, he set out for a journey in order to gather experience about the year 1696. He travelled through Austria and arrived in Rome in Italy where he had the opportunity to become acquainted with the work of Francesco Boromini from Tesina, the radical architect considered as "a crazy" by the Roman conservative contemporaries. He also incorporated his father's name Santini into his name while he was in Italy, as well as his brother Frantisek.

In the year 1700, Santini already built and designed independently and had his own money, i.e. he was member of some of the architectural guilds and possessed his own building company. He took up the work of the architect J. B. Mathey and undertook and completed some of his projects after his death. He took over including the Mathey's range of employers and he partially took up his style, too. Santini prospered and he bought the house Valkounsky dum (No. 211) for 3000 gold coins in cash in the street Nerudova in 1705. Two years later, he bought including the neighbouring house U zlate cise (No. 212) and connected both houses.

After Schröder's death, Santini married his daughter Veronika Alzbeta in the year 1707. He had four children with Veronika but all the three sons - Jan Norbert Lukas (* 1707), Josef Rudolf Felix Rehor (* 1708) and František Ignac (* 1710) - died from tuberculosis when they were children and only the daughter Anna Veronika (* 1713) remained.

When his wife Veronika died in 1720, he married the South-Bohemian noblewoman Antonie Ignatie Chrepická from Modliskovice and so he was ennobled. He had a daughter Jana Ludmila with her in the year 1721 and a son Jan Ignác Rochus just in the year of his death. Benefactors from the high aristocracy became godparents of all Santini's children.