Abstract
The paper traces some aspects of portal transformation focusing on the origins and adaptations of the so-called Sitznischenportal (portal with side niches) in North-western Bohemia. It points to potential models in neighbouring Saxony and discusses the distinctive features of gothic-renaissance syncretism.
While in the first half of the century we may talk of a creative transformation of the portal models taken from Saxony, in the second half of the century the sitznischenportal becomes standardised with no stylistic connections to Gothic except its origin. Portal architecture may be taken as an example to show that there was not a change of style in the 16th century but rather a horizontal overlaying while multi-center artistic scene was shaped following the confessional profile of the patronage.