Church of St. Roch / Kostel Sv. Rocha - Žižkov (Prague)
N 50° 04.944 E 014° 27.600
33U E 461366 N 5547932
Depicted small Baroque church of St. Roch (Kostel Sv. Rocha) in Olšany Square (Olšanské námestí), the oldest church in Prague's district Žižkov, is filial church of local Roman Catholic parish of St. Procopius.
Waymark Code: WMMXJ2
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 11/20/2014
Views: 44
Depicted small Baroque church of St. Roch (Kostel Sv. Rocha) in Olšany Square (Olšanské námestí), the oldest church in Prague's district Žižkov, is filial church of local Roman Catholic parish of St. Procopius.
The stimulus for the church’s construction was the plague epidemic which broke out in Prague in early 1680. So many citizens of Prague were killed, that new cemeteries needed to be established outside the city walls. Plague cemeteries were laid out in Olšany for the Old Town, New Town, and Jewish Quarter. The Old Town City Council also decided to build a pestilence chapel on its newly established burial ground. Church was dedicated to St. Roch, a patron saint of plague victims. Its Baroque structure in shape of an elliptical dome was built between 1680-1682 by Jan Hainric according to plans by the renowned French Baroque architect Jean Baptiste Mathey. The church's exterior and interior were both recently reconstructed.