Interesting Spanish custom. Spanish traditions and customs

Great amount churches, cathedrals, churches, chapels. The cathedrals of Prague truly create a unique flavor. Loretto is a Baroque cathedral in Prague. St. Vitus Cathedral is one of the most famous cathedrals in Prague; its creation began in the 14th century and ended only in the 20th. The towers of the cathedral can be seen anywhere in the old town of Prague. The cathedral is located on the territory of Prague Castle, and the tombs of many kings of Bohemia are also located here. “The facades of St. Vitus Cathedral are decorated with abundant stone carvings. There is a mosaic above the portal of the southern facade. " Last Judgment"(1371-1372) is the earliest surviving Czech mosaic.

The spiral staircase at the Great South Tower of St. Vitus Cathedral is a technical miracle of its time. Its axis is bent three times in different directions, and the top covering consists of an openwork network. A gilded window grille, donated by Rudolf II, conceals the 16-ton Sikmund bell from 1549.

The fact that the French architect began to build the temple is recalled stone figures chimeras decorating the gutters. This motive was believed to have been quite characteristic of medieval France. With its spire raised high, the bell tower of St. Vitus Cathedral was for many years the tallest building in Prague. A staircase with rather steep steps leads to its top, over which you can see the panorama of the Czech capital. St. Vitus Cathedral is a magnificent building, a recognizable symbol of Prague. Located in the heart of the area, the temple amazes with its size and majestic architecture. This gothic Catholic cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Prague, it houses the tomb of the kings of Bohemia and the repository of coronation regalia.

It is generally accepted that the first stone of the foundation of the future temple was laid by Saint Wenceslas in 925. The church was consecrated in honor of St. Vitus, whose right hand Wenceslas received as a gift from the German king Henry I. In the 11th century, the Romanesque church was rebuilt into a three-nave basilica, and on November 21, 1344, construction began on the cathedral, which was built under the patronage of Archbishop Ernest of Pardubice and the king Charles IV. Over the construction of the cathedral in different time The architects Matthias from Arras, Peter Parler, the creator of the Charles Bridge, and Parler's sons Wenzel and Johannes, Master Petrilk, worked. Soon the cathedral was badly damaged in the Hussite Wars that began in 1419, and lost many paintings, icons and sculptures.

Between the Great South Tower and the Chapel of St. Wenceslas is the entrance to the cathedral - the Golden Gate. They are decorated with a mosaic depicting Charles IV with his wife, Elizabeth of Pomerania. The mosaic was created in Venice in 1371 and is still considered the largest and oldest outdoor mosaic north of the Alps.

At the end of the 15th century, by order of King Władysław of Jagiellonian, the construction of the cathedral was continued by Benedikt Reith, and after him, until the beginning of the 20th century, a whole galaxy worked on the construction of the temple famous architects. And finally, in 1929, after 600 years of construction, St. Vitus Cathedral was completed. Today's temple is 124 meters high and is a mixture of the most various styles and directions of architecture. At the top of the cathedral there is Observation deck, to which a staircase of 300 stone steps leads.

Opposite the Old Town Hall, the Temple of the Virgin Mary of Tyn (Kostel Panny Marie pr(ed Ty"nem), or simply the Tyn Temple, rises above the Old Town. Construction of the temple began in the 14th century, and was completed only in 1511. Since the beginning of the 15th century, the Tyn Church served as the spiritual center of the Old Town, and was the main Hussite church in Prague. Architecturally, the temple is a three-nave basilica with towers at the western facade and three choirs completing the naves in the east. From the north, the tympanum depicts scenes from the life of Christ. The cathedral has Romanesque and early Gothic foundations, its Gothic architecture is stylistically in perfect harmony with the Baroque decoration... For example, the magnificent Baroque altar (one of 19 in the temple) was made by the artist Karel Škreta in 1649. And two Baroque towers about 80 meters high appeared in XVII century on the site of Gothic towers destroyed by fire.

The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Wall was built at the end of the 12th century. Unusual name was born when the fortress wall passed close to the southern wall of the church. There was a cemetery around; several authentic gravestones complement the decoration of the church, reminding parishioners of the frailty of life.

Tyn Temple is a real treasury of historical artifacts. For example, the organ of the Tyn Church is the oldest in Prague; it was created in 1673 by the German master Mundt. Other ancient objects are an ancient tin font (1414), decorated with reliefs of the apostles, and a stone pulpit, made in the Gothic style (15th century). In the altar of the right side nave there is a famous Gothic statue of the Madonna and Child - “The Tyn Madonna Enthroned” (1420). However, the Tyn Temple is in no hurry to reveal all its secrets; for example, only in 2000, scientists found in the temple a Gothic fresco (late 14th century) depicting St. Jerome with a lion, hidden in one of the altars of the side nave. The grave of the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe was also discovered in the temple.

Maisel's Synagogue (Prague 1 - Stare Mesto, Maisel's Street) was built in 1592 as the personal synagogue of the ghetto elder Mordychai Maisel, courtier and financier of Emperor Rudolf II. The building at one time amazed with its size and splendor. The project was developed by Judas Goldschmid de Hertz. M. Maisel and his wife donated a lot to the synagogue various items, for example, synagogue curtains, Torah covers and other items. Currently, the synagogue is used as an exhibition space and storeroom for the Jewish Museum. The storeroom contains mostly silver items. The exhibition represents short review history of the Jewish population in Bohemia and Moravia, from the 10th to the 18th century.

The Capuchin Monastery to the left of Loreta is the oldest active monastery in the Czech Republic, standing here since 1602. Laymen are not allowed inside. In the 17th century, the monastery was almost closed by the court astronomer of Rudolf II, Tycho Brahe: the monks interfered with the scientist’s work by singing and ringing bells.

Loretta is a temple built in Prague Castle in 1626 according to the plans of the architect Giovanni Orsim. The founder and then patron of Loretta was Katerina from Lobkowice. Main element architectural complex- “hut”, a small structure designed to resemble the house of the Virgin Mary in Nazareth. The “hut” is surrounded by a complex of closed buildings with an arcaded courtyard. On the longitudinal axis of the courtyard there is the Church of the Birth of God, and in the middle of the northern and southern wings there are chapels, which previously were only niches. Loretta is a pilgrimage site surrounded by legends. The icon of the Virgin Mary of Loretta is credited with miraculous properties. The famous bell ringing of Loretta is produced by 27 bells cast in Amsterdam and located in the belfry, created in 1695 by watchmaker Peter Neuman. Every hour the bells play the religious tune “We praise you a thousand times.” In the 18th century, Loretta acquired a baroque façade. The Loretta complex contains a treasure vault with a stunning collection of monstrances. One of them is decorated with six thousand diamonds and is called “Prague Sun”.

Basilica of St. George in Prague Castle (Prague 1 – Hradcany, St. George's Square) is the second largest church in Prague Castle. Two white thin but unequally wide opokka towers glow in the panorama of Prague Castle. The first stone of the building, then still a rotunda, was laid around 920 by Prince Vratislav I (father of St. Wenceslas). In 973, the sister of Boleslav II Mlada founded a monastery near the church. Mlada was ordained an abbess in Rome, from where she brought the first nuns of the Order of St. to the Czech Republic. Benedicta. Thanks to the efforts of Mlada, the Romanesque rotunda was rebuilt and turned into a three-nave basilica. At the beginning of the 13th century, the chapel of St. was added to the south side of the tower in the late Romanesque style. Lyudmila. The southern portal of the basilica (from Jiřská street) is decorated with a relief depicting St. Jiří fighting the dragon (by Benedict Reed).

The western facade of the basilica acquired modern look during the Baroque period as a result of reconstruction carried out by Francesco Caratti (in 1671) and Frantisek Maximilian Kanka (in 1718-1722). The sculptures on the façade depict Prince Bratislava and Abbess Mlada. The basilica is a three-nave volume with Romanesque conjugate windows and a crypt located under a raised presbytery. The abbess of the monastery was buried in the 12th-century crypt. Its founder, Prince Vratislav, was buried in the basilica (the burial place is marked by a stone sarcophagus with a painted addition), as well as several princes from the Přemyslid family. On the walls of the choir there are remains of Romanesque paintings. In the southern wall of the basilica is the chapel of St. Lyudmila. The tombstone was made by order of Charles IV, although the saint's body was transported to the basilica already in 925.

St. George's Basilica is one of the famous cathedrals of Prague. It is recognizable by its famous twin towers and is visible from anywhere in the old center of Prague. St. Nicholas Cathedral is a Baroque cathedral from the 18th century. The Cathedral is located in the very center of the Lesser Town district. The Strahov Monastery is one of those places that managed to withstand the numerous dangers that befell Prague: fires, wars, occupations. But he still awaits true believers within his walls. The neo-Gothic Church of Saints Peter and Paul is located in Visegrad. The majority of the population professes Catholicism, but there are also Christian churches in Prague. For example, the most famous Orthodox churches- this is the Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius and the Temple of the Assumption Holy Mother of God. Prague's cathedrals also open their doors to tired travelers who want to relax on a hot summer day.

One of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Europe, the Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtech. visible from any part of Prague. All other sights of the Czech Republic pale in front of it gothic style, it is so unique and inimitable. It is located on the territory of Prague Castle.

This colossal structure has no analogues in the whole world, not only in its Gothic architecture, but above all in its history. Construction of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague began in the mid-14th century and was completed by the 20th century. Historians identify several stages of its legendary construction.

Stage I: 1344-1419 The initiators of the construction of the cathedral were Archbishop Ernest and King Charles IV of the Czech Republic. The temple was originally intended to be a coronation site, a family crypt and a royal treasury. Due to the Hussite wars, construction was stopped.
Stage II: 1490-1510 The Czech king Vladislav Jagiellon wanted to complete the construction of the great cathedral and entrusted it to Benedikt Reith, a talented architect, but the process was suspended due to lack of funds.
Stage III: 1556-1593 New attempts were made to complete the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral, which brought architectural ensemble cathedral elements of baroque.
IV stage: 1873-1929 Architect Joseph Kranner presented the program for completing the construction of the cathedral. He personally led the renovation work and managed to get rid of the Baroque elements. After Kranner's death, the new architect Josef Moker had to complete the reconstruction. Finally, in 1929, the construction of the legendary cathedral, which lasted almost 600 years, was completed.

Features of Gothic architecture

The Prague Cathedral has all the features of a typical Gothic architectural style. It differs from other Gothic buildings in its impressive size and other features:

the length of the main nave is 124 meters;
length of the transverse nave - 60 meters;
the height of the Great South Tower is about 97 meters;
the height of the stone neo-Gothic towers is 82 meters;
height of the internal vault - 33 meters;
round window in the form of a rosette - 10 meters.

The three portals of the cathedral are decorated with stone and bronze sculptures and reliefs. Unique Feature- These are gargoyles from the Middle Ages, which, according to legend, scare away evil spirits, but in practice they are drains.

Interior decoration

What attracts the most attention in the cathedral is extraordinary beauty colored stained glass windows. After all, in the Middle Ages it was believed that the light in the temple should be special, unearthly. When the sun's rays hit the windows, the cathedral seems to light up with rainbow colors. Dozens of people worked on stained glass Czech artists, among whom was the famous Alphonse Mucha.

St. Vitus' Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral, as well as a royal burial vault and a storage place for coronation regalia, as the coronations of Czech kings took place here until 1918. Dozens of royals and their relatives are buried in the temple. The bodies of emperors and kings are in the Habsburg mausoleum and in the crypt.

Also in a separate side room are family chapels, which were created at the expense of local nobles. In those days, it was a great privilege to have your own place for prayer, and patrons had to arrange their chapel themselves, inviting artists and sculptors. They even bought holy relics and valuable relics to furnish their own chapels.

Tourist information

Operating mode:

from November to March: Mon - Sat - 9:00 - 16:00 (Sunday - 12:00 - 16:00);
from April to October: Mon - Sat - 9:00 - 17:00 (Sunday - 12:00 - 17:00).

Ticket price:

South Tower - observation deck - 150 CZK;
exposition “Treasures of the Saint’s Cathedral - 250 CZK;
« Prague Castle— circle B” - 250 CZK;
“Prague Castle - Circle A” - 350 CZK.

How to get to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle

Address: III. nádvoří 48/2, Pražský hrad.

How to get there:

By tram number 22 - to the stop "Pražský hrad".
By metro: go to Malostranská station, then go up the old castle stairs.

Prague sacredly preserves and honors its sights: in this city the cathedral is a real shrine for local citizens. Having seen its greatness and beauty, appreciating its cultural and historical heritage, tourists perfectly understand the residents of Prague. And in the evening you can relax by the amazingly beautiful singing fountain. He is also no less loved and revered.

St. Vitus Cathedral on the map of Prague

One of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Europe, the Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtech. visible from any part of Prague. All other Gothic-style sights of the Czech Republic pale in comparison to it, it is so unique and inimitable. It is located on the territory of Prague Castle.

St. Vitus Cathedral: through the pages of history

This colossal structure has no analogues..." />

You've already let go. Now?
- You're being sarcastic instead of helping! Don't even know. Probably this time it will be a little more than two times for two hours. Let's say, “Half a day to Prague.” But what to choose? Paris street? Josefov Quarter? Wander around the Old Place? Which temples should I go to? Which ones should you leave for later? It's good for you, you already wrote it.

– We are standing on Old Town Square. Let's get out of here and dance.

- I think so too. It’s just that here you want to go up to the Town Hall, and go to the Church of the Virgin Mary in front of Tyn, and see the interiors of the Church of St. Nicholas. With this situation, we will be marking time in one place for half a day. I want to show people the city! Especially to the gentlemen Who Wasn't Prague.

- That’s your guide’s nature! Now I’ve climbed into the shoes of tour managers, whom we scold for all the world! How do you think they plan tours? The poor also struggle with what to turn on and what to turn off...

- ...how much money to put in your pocket for moving the mouse and hitting the keyboard! You know, not everyone is interested in religious interiors. Let me do this. A separate post on Prague churches, eh? Those who are interested will watch, those who are not will miss it!

Good! To St. Nicholas? Here he is.

This is the beginning of the 18th century, Baroque both inside and out. It once belonged to a Benedictine monastery, and now to the Czechoslovak church.

The Virgin Mary in front of Tyn also has something to boast about. I was surprised that the church looked Gothic, but inside it was Baroque!

- It's not just gothic. It was founded in 1365 on the site of two that stood here earlier, one of them was Romanesque. Because of its towers, it is probably the most famous and most recognizable. 80-meter towers appeared only at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries.

And with Baroque everything is understandable - a fire at the end of the 17th century destroyed many houses on Old Town Square, and Tyn Church was not spared. So it was covered with a new, baroque vault.

– Why is the name before Tyn?

Nothing surprising. It is located in front of Tyn - such an institution. Foreign merchants stayed there, and the city ruler provided them with security for a certain fee. But that's another story. Do you know what you and I missed?

I already know. Let’s tie a little knot as a souvenir, so that later we don’t have to go through the literature and look at our notes.

1. Tympanum of the northern portal, preserved from 1390, depicting the passion of Christ.

2.Inside there is a Gothic pulpit for sermons,

3.Gothic Madonna,

4. Gothic crucifix of the early 15th century (on the altar, at the end of the northern side nave),

5. The oldest surviving Prague tin font (1414). And, perhaps, also a stone canopy by Matej Reisek (1493).

You can’t shoot in the interiors, we’ll just see later.

The next outstanding Prague temple is the Bethlehem Chapel, which is also located in the Old Town.

What is she famous for? It seems like nothing noticeable!

Jan Hus himself preached in it! And after his execution - followers, preachers. The fate of the chapel is no less tragic than the story of Hus. What we see now is an accurate reconstruction of the 50s of the 20th century. It was destroyed at the end of the 18th century, and the remaining three walls were built into a residential building.

How spacious!

Before three thousand accommodated a person! And the pulpit was in the center for everyone to hear!

Now we have the Church of St. Elijah on Gusovaya Street. And again the same story - a harsh Gothic exterior and lush Baroque inside. And only now the temple seems to be integrated into the urban development; you can’t see it in its entirety from anywhere. And in the Middle Ages it was one of the monumental buildings of the Old Town.

It is interesting that the interior decoration of the temple belongs to the artist, Rainer, who is buried here.

Yes, and you also removed the statue of Saint Martin of Porres (of Peru). I wrote his name down in a book. He is depicted with animals because he was a healer and did not refuse help to everyone, even animals, and alleviated their suffering.

Even sick animals came to Martin for treatment. He handled them easily and cared for them very much (which was incomprehensible to the Spaniards), extending his love even to mice and rats and justifying their habits with a feeling of hunger. The saint ran a shelter for cats and dogs.

Martin was a great healer, but the most famous story about him is connected with rats. The abbot of the monastery was practical man and didn't feed tender feelings to rodents. He ordered Martin to kill them with poison. Martin heeded his command, but he felt very sorry for the rats. He went out into the garden and called them quietly, and the rats immediately came to his call. He reprimanded them for their bad behavior and told them about the poison. He even promised to feed them every day in the garden if they stopped annoying the abbot. That's what they decided on. Martin released the rodents, and from then on they no longer caused trouble to the monastery.

– Interesting story. And we continue to get acquainted with Prague churches.

And he was punished for it! The set lunch ticket included all the Jewish temples, except Staronova, for which this trip was planned! What could I do now, buy a ticket and not go?

- I went, but I didn’t go there! Shall we include synagogues in the story about temples?

Hello, we've arrived! Tell us about them in the “beer” section, it will be great!

I'm not looking at you. I look at the synagogue.

Mayzlova –

was named after the customer Mordechai Maisel at the very end of the 16th century. Alterations - perestroikas, not without it. And during the occupation it was used as a warehouse for furniture taken from Jews sent to camps.

-What's inside? Books say different things. The old one says that there is an exhibition of a unique collection of silver items. If you believe the new one, then there is an exposition of the history of Jews who lived in the Czech lands from ancient times to the Age of Enlightenment.

You know, I don’t remember anymore, it was forbidden to take photographs inside. But I think this is one and the same thing - after all, this is an exhibition of religious objects that were used in worship in 153 Jewish religious communities and hundreds of private homes. Do you know where these things came from?

Tell.

You'll be putting in hairpins again, why did I go to synagogues?

Not.

The Nazis were going to set up a “museum of a disappeared people” in Prague. That’s why Jewish valuables were brought to the capital of the Czech Republic.

I do not know what to say. Let's just keep quiet.

………………

This is the Old Synagogue. A good shot, the Jewish Town Hall was immediately captured in the lens.

And on the Town Hall there are already two tower clocks. The lower ones have a Hebrew dial. The text in them is written from right to left, so these clocks run “in reverse”, showing the reverse passage of time.

- And the name is Old New, because it was old, and then it was rebuilt and became new?

– There is a version that the synagogue was built on an old foundation. But I prefer this explanation: in Hebrew it was called “temporary” - Alt-nai. Translated into German it turned out – Alt-neu, and hence “old-new” in Czech.

- Here and ritual hall There is. For goodbyes?

- And not only. To wash the bodies of the deceased. And what can you say about the fact that this building is from the 20th century?

I'll be surprised. Gothic stylization. Although, if you think about it and look carefully... Is this still a ritual hall?

It was until recently, until the end of the 20th century. Now it is a museum. What you have is a rather poor collection of synagogues. Well, at least there is Spanish. It received its current Moorish-Renaissance appearance at the end of the 19th century.

– Although a Jewish temple stood on this site already in the 12th century. They began to call it “Spanish” when Jews fleeing the persecution of the Inquisition came to Prague. Their ritual was “Sephardic” and different from the “Ashkenazi” who lived here. The Spanish synagogue served them for several years, and the name stuck.

– Even in Prague, in the same Josef quarter there is the High Synagogue, Pinkasova and Klausova.

In the Old Town we still have the Church of St. Francis. And Saint Salvator. We showed this photo in the story. Let's duplicate it, it's still not better.

– The dome of the Church of St. Francis of Serafina is the dominant feature of the Old Town. Here the Order of the Crusaders with the Red Star has already made its contribution to urban architecture.

- That's all? So boring? Tell us also that they built it on the site of the old, Gothic one. Don't forget about architectural analysis.

- Don't get angry. Not everything is so usual. Look how it's oriented. Not east-west, but north-south!

Wow! And it's true! This is clearly visible in our photo, the neighboring one - St. Salvator (Savior) has the correct orientation, St. Francis stands at right angles to it!

– And let’s say a few words about the Church of St. Salvator. He is a hundred years older than his neighbor. And if St. Francis stands on the site of a Gothic church, then St. Salvator grew out of a Romanesque church dedicated to St. Clement. Like the first church, this one is part of the Clementinum complex, a Jesuit university.

– Now let’s go to Malaya Strana to collect temples?

You know, I got an idea. Let's stay on this side of the Vltava and go to the New Place. There is also something to see there.

- Agree! First of all – Virgin Mary of the Snows!

It may not be the first thing, but it’s definitely worth visiting!

Listen, why is this temple called the largest in Prague?

Do not confuse! Not the biggest, but the tallest! This is true. Charles IV only CONCEIVED it in 1347, as the largest, in contrast to the Cathedral of St. Vitus. But it so happened that it was never possible to rebuild it completely. What we see now is just the presbytery of the planned temple. With an unusually beautiful vault!

– Is this a 14th century vault?

- No. That one was even higher, but collapsed in the 16th century. This one is Renaissance and has been understated.

Is it here that poor Prague residents came to listen to the sermons of the Hussite preacher Jan Zhelivsky? He denounced the corruption and bribery of church ministers and feudal lords. And from here he led the procession of his supporters to Charles Square in 1419?

When we are on the square you will see the New Town Hall, from where the rioters threw several members of the magistrate out of the window. Želivski preached in the Church of Our Lady of the Snows until his execution in 1422. But now we are talking about temples, let’s not get distracted.

- Fine. Just look at the tympanum above the gate. You know, it was first placed on the church tower, which was demolished in the 19th century. It depicts Charles IV. I circled him.

We passed by the Church of St. Henry (Heidenreich). We go to Charles Square. See the Church of St. Ignatius. The sculpture of St. Ignatius on the facade can be seen from afar and the halo around the entire figure of the saint became the subject of disputes between the Jesuits who built the church at the end of the 17th century and the church.

- I remember. The halo over the sculpture of Christ inside the cathedral was much smaller than the halo of St. Ignatius, which became the subject of criticism. The Pope nevertheless decided the dispute in favor of the Jesuits, approved the size of the halo, we still see it on the very top point facade.

Is the interior baroque?

What else could he have been like at the end of the 17th century?

– Now to the Orthodox, to Cyril and Methodius? Was he always Orthodox?

What you! After its construction in 1735, it did not remain a temple for long. After 50 years it was abolished and used as an army warehouse. Only in the mid-30s of the 20th century was it acquired by the Orthodox Church.

– There is an exposition here too!

Yes, I already wrote about this in the report. Tell me what you remember. You were frankly bored at the museum too.

Sorry. You knew about it, but I didn't. And I didn’t realize it right away. Now I just realized. After the assassination of Heydrich, the fascist governor of the Czech Republic, in May 1942, paratroopers hid here. A traitor was found who betrayed them. All of them died in the tomb of the church, shooting back to the last bullet from the Nazis who surrounded the temple. And they committed suicide there. THEY HAD NO WAY OUT. The exhibition in the crypt tells about this glorious and tragic page in the history of the struggle against the invaders.

– Now – to the monastery “On Slovany – Emauza”.

We probably won't make it in time. We'll just pass by. Why is the name so strange?

- “In Slovany” - because it was the only one where services were held not in Latin, but in the Old Slavic language. The second name is also easy to explain. At its consecration in 1372, the Gospel about the meeting of Jesus with his disciples in Emauza was read.

- And the towers? Did Charles IV, who founded the monastery, come up with these?

– We pass by another church in Novy Mesto. St. John of Nepomuk on Skalka. But I had to go in. After all, his sculpture on the Charles Bridge was cast from the gilded wooden figure of John of Nepomuk.

It's a pity. But if we had entered the temple, we would definitely not have entered the Alfred Mucha Museum. But from the outside, the peculiarity of the temple is clearly visible. It is very unusual in that it is built on an octagonal foundation and its towers are deployed - one towards the other. Amazing baroque composition of the first half of the 18th century.

– And another temple nearby, unidentified. I couldn't find anything about him in the sources.

– This is all we saw in the New Place. Now we need to go to Mala Country. There is no shortage of churches there either. But few can compare with Saint Nicholas. And in appearance there is nothing unusual about it. You and I have seen more interesting baroque buildings in Ukraine. Look, in this photo the church is shown together with the bell tower. It is interesting that the bell tower belonged to the city, not the church, so it has its own separate entrance, independent from the temple. But if you go inside, it’s no wonder you’ll stay there for a long time. You can just admire it, or you can pay attention to the details.

– You know, I prepared the clip for half a minute. Anyone who wants to take a general look at the interiors should turn it on. But we learned about the details later.

You know, let’s do the “knot as a keepsake” again. And when we go to Prague again, we will make a separate post for St. Nicholas of Malostranski.

- Yes! The most important thing is to pay attention to the facade. It is decorated with sculptures of various saints. You and I will write down who is where.

– And inside you need to look at the main vault. There is a huge fresco “Glorification of St. Nicholas” - this is the largest fresco in Europe, 1500 square meters. meters created by Jan Lukasz Kraker.

And Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played the organ in this cathedral when he came to Prague.

And here's another interesting thing. The church was built by the Jesuits from 1703 to 1760. They sought to demonstrate the victory of Catholicism over the Czech people, whom they considered heretics. But in 1773, Pope Clement XIV dissolved the order, and they had to say goodbye to this beautiful temple, and the “heretics” began to hold services in it. Go ahead?

– To the Church of Our Lady the Victorious.

I didn't take pictures inside. And this temple has its own zest. It turns out that the church became the first sign of Baroque sacred architecture. Imagine, already in the first third of the 17th century!

– Its main shrine is a copy of the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary the Victorious. The image helped the imperial troops win the battle on White Mountain.

– And in the basement is the Prague Angel Museum. Do you know the legend?

This is the same wax image of the Baby Jesus that Maria, the wife of Chancellor Vratislav of Pernstein, brought to the Czech Republic from Spain. Their daughter donated a 47-cm figurine to the Carmelite monastery of Our Lady of the Victorious, to which this temple then belonged.

Absolutely right! The monastery began to receive numerous gifts from pilgrims to the Miraculous Angel, as well as clothes for the figurine. The museum has more than 60 types of different dresses, even from the East and South America. And the figurine itself has been constantly in the altar window since 1741.

If we had known in advance, we would never have passed!

So we'll go again. And now - to the Virgin Mary under the Chain. You and I only pay attention to the “very” churches. This one is one of the oldest in Prague, from the end of the 12th century. The name “under the Chain” is also understandable. It is located on Lazenska Street.

The residential building of the monastery of the Order of St. John (there were such) was adjacent to the church on the north side. This building was adjacent to the Judith Bridge; Karlov replaced it. Previously, the streets were closed at night. The church was located next to such a chain.

– Before burial, the bodies of Emperor Charles IV and later his son Wenceslas IV were kept in this temple.

Look, is there a Maltese cross above the gate, and another one on the wall?

– The temple originally belonged to the Knights of the Order of Malta. The memory of this is still preserved.

– There is also a church of St. Joseph in Mala Strana. On the facade, above the entrance, the coat of arms is clearly visible. In it - the letter L - recalls the laying of the first stone in 1687 by Emperor Leopold.

– Don’t forget to mention Saint Thomas, that is, Thomas. The high tower of the temple is visible from afar.

– The most interesting thing is inside the temple. Copies of two paintings by Rubens above the high altar. “The Martyrdom of St. Thomas” and “St. Augustine.”

Are the originals in the museum?

Where else could they be? In the National Gallery.

– Of the main Prague churches, we still have the most important one - the Cathedral of St. Vitus on the Castle. And Loretta in Hradcany. I think I won't include them in this post. I’ll probably write separately about St. Vitus. And I’ll tell you about Loretta in Hradcany.

- You're probably right. I’m tired myself, and the readers are probably already exhausted. What will you call the next Prague part? .