Cathedrals and churches, Prague

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Right in the middle of Karlovo namesti's eastern side is the beautiful Baroque church St. Ignatius, a work of Carlo Lurago, erected 1665 - 78. The facade to the square is dominated by the statue of the saint high up above the entrance.

The interior is a wide and bright hall with side chapels, the stucco works by Tommaso Soldati are stunning. The choir almost appears to be a separate room, angels seem to pull aside a stucco curtain. Marvellous! The high altar is a stucco lustro (fake marble) architecture from the second half of the 18th century, the painting is older (from the 17th century).

One of the side chapels has a small statue of St. Mary in a cave-like setting and it looks like it is a pilgrimage site. I couldn't find out details, sorry.

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Located in main square, this wonderful white building is the most impressive of all.

After centuries of religious disputes and wars that introduced several changes in its Baroque original style and decoration, the Czech Hussite movement took control of the church that since then is used both as a church and as a concert hall.

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This often overlooked church is architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer's earliest church building using the project (with modifications) of his father Christoph who died in 1722. The church was erected 1720-29 replacing an older chapel at the same place. The floor plan is that of a cross, the centre is dominated by a large dome with beautiful fresco.

Between the late 19th century and 1948 the church belonged to the Military, masses were held for the soldiers stationed in the barracks around the corner. Since 2002 it is a "place for commemoration and praying for all dead soldiers and for peace on earth".

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The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, or Tyn Church, (Týnský Chrám) dominates one side of the Old Town Square. The two spires of this powerful looking Gothic church (with a Baroque interior) can be seen from all over Prague.
Tyn Church is impressive by day, striking by night, lit up against the dark night sky. Take a close look at the two spires. They are not symmetrical. This is characteristic of the gothic architecture of the time and is a representation of both the masculine and feminine sides of the world.

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Emauzy Monastery with the Church of Our Lady and Slavic Patron Saints was founded by Charles IV in 1347 for Slavonic Benedictines. It was the only Slavonic monastery in the west Christianity of the Charles's empire, centre of scholarship and arts. Such personalities as Jan Hus, Jerome of Prague… were among the students.

On February 14th 1945, during an American air-raid in Prague, the Church was destroyed. Later on, in 1967, a modern structure by the project of architect F. M. Cerny was realized – an asymmetric 32 m high shell structure with a 40 cm thick construction of white concrete.

The Saint Ludmila Church is a Neo-Gothic church built in the period from 1888 to 1893. It dominates the Namesti Miru Square. Its interior and exterior were decorated by many famous artists of that time, including sculptor Josef Vaclav Myslbek, author of the statue of St Wenceslas on Wenceslas Square.

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There is amazingly beautiful and very unique church at the Jiriho z Podebrad Square – Church of the Most Sacred Heart of our Lord. This monumental church was built in the period from 1928 to 1932, and it is artwork of Slovenian architect Josip Plecnik.

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This Orthodox church was built in honour of St. Cyril and St Methodius, the men responsible for the Slavonic alphabet. However, most people know about this church because of what happened here on the morning of June 18, 1942 when the Nazis discovered, acting on information from a traitor, that the seven Czech parachutists involved in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich were hiding in the crypt. The west side of Karlovo námìstí was cordoned off by 800 troops from the SS and the Gestapo. Three of the soldiers died as the SS stormed the church. The remaining four fought on from the crypt and tried to dig their way out. After hours of shooting and a long stand-off which led to the Germans deciding to literally flush them out using the fire brigade, they used their last bullets on each other. The bullet-scarred exterior wall holds a plaque in honour of their bravery, there is also a museum and the crypt.