St. Nicholas Church in Old Town Prague - Prague, Czech Republic
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ToRo61
N 50° 05.252 E 014° 25.251
33U E 458569 N 5548523
St. Nicholas Church is the dominant landmark of the northwest corner of the Old Town Square
Waymark Code: WM18A71
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 06/26/2023
Views: 8
For the average tourist, it can be confusing that both main squares in the center of the historic core of the city, namely the Old Town Square and Malostranské námestí, have churches with the same name - St. Nicholas Church. Both churches are examples of the Baroque style, but the church on the Old Town Square no longer serves its original purpose. Under the rule of Emperor Joseph II in 1787, the church was abolished and served various other purposes.
"The existence of the church is first mentioned in a Brevnov Monastery deed from 1273, but a St Nicholas chapel has stood at the marketplace since the Romanesque period. The church was reconstructed in the Gothic style in the 14th century, expanding to a three-aisle church with two towers, an attached rectory, school, cemetery and ossuary. The Jan Milíc of Kromeríž in around 1360 and later Matthew of Janow both preached at the church. The church belonged to the Hussite camp. French incendiaries set fire to the Old Town in 1689, the resulting conflagration completely destroyed the original architecture of St Nicholas. As a result, the decision was made to tear down the church and erect a new one in its place. One of the most renowned Baroque architects, Kilian Ignaz Dienzenhofer, was commissioned to build the new church. In 1732 – 1737, a monumental piece of Prague Baroque architecture was erected at the cost of Benedictine abbot Anselm Vlach. The stucco work was executed by Bernardo Spinetti and his journeymen, the frescoes were painted by Bavarian painter Cosmas Damian Asam, and the sculptures are the work of Antonín Braun, who had taken over his uncle Matthias Bernard Braun's famed sculpture workshop. It was here where Dr. Karel Farský announced the establishment of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church in 1920; to this day St Nicholas remains a Hussite church.
The interior features complex forms, trompe-l'œil paintings with interesting lighting effects, and is considered to be one of Dienzenhofer's masterpieces. A crown chandelier decorated with Harrachov crystal hangs in the nave. In the late 19th century Russian Tsar Nicholas II donated to the Orthodox Church, which had been using the church since 1871|. The church underwent a costly renovation from 1967 – 1977."
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