St. Salvator Church in Klementinum / Chrám Sv. Salvátora v Klementinu (Prague) - Baroque Architecture on Waymarking.com

The Church of St. Salvator prides itself with a beautiful Baroque facia, which faces the Križovnické (Knights of the Cross) Square. The church’s porticos as well as the top of its tympanum are decorated with sand-stone sculptures of saints made by Jan Jirí Bendl. The wall niche in the centre of portal houses a sculpture of the Virgin Mary.

The three-aisle building with a dome and galleries is part of the Jesuits College - The Klementinum complex. It stands in the area of the former Dominican church of St. Bartholomew. The original Gothic church almost disappeared as it was partly taken down and partly adapted to a new building. The reconstruction started before 1578 and the first service was given in 1582. The church was however was not completed until as late as 1602. At that time it did not have a dome or galleries. These were only built during the early-Baroque reconstruction in 1649-1654, when the side aisles were being raised to include another floor. At the same time the dome was built above the cross aisle, which brightened up the church interior. The porticos with loggia (from architect Carlo Lurago) in front of the main entrance were built in 1654. The porticos have four pillars, which form three arcades. The church is currently considered one of the most valuable early-Baroque architectures in Prague.

The last big construction works were carried out when the two tall steeples (peak-baroque style) were being built at the east end of the church (of a project by architect František Maxmilián Kanka). Both steeples are 43 m in height with a richly articulated facade with corner pilasters and cornices. The steeples are illumined through large arched windows on the highest floor. The roofs are made of bulbous domes with lantern and finial.