St Nicholas, Mala Strana

St Nicholas took most of the eighteenth century to build and three architects of one family: Christoph Dientzenhofer began the nave in 1704, his son Kilian Ignaz added the chancel and the dome, and Anselmo Lurago finished the bell tower in 1755. It is generally taken as the finest baroque building in Prague and among the finest in Central Europe. The nave ceiling carries Johann Lukas Kracker's fresco of the life of St Nicholas at around 1500 square metres, one of the largest in Europe, painted so the architecture appears to continue upward; the dome fresco is by Frantisek Palko. The organ of 1746 has more than four thousand pipes and Mozart played it in 1787, and after his death a requiem mass for him was held here. The bell tower alongside is separately owned and is climbed on its own ticket.

History

A Gothic parish church of Saint Nicholas from the 13th century stood on the site; sometime after 1620 it was given to the Jesuits, who opened schools here in 1628. In the second half of the 17th century they decided to build a new church designed by Giovanni Domenico Orsi, beginning with the Chapel of St Barbara so that mass could be said, and the cornerstone was laid in 1673 after the old church was pulled down; Count Wenceslaus Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky (1634-1659) was the largest patron, leaving his whole estate to the church and its buildings. The church was built in two stages in the 18th century: from 1703 to 1711 the west front, the choir and the chapels of St Barbara and St Anne, with the nave and its undulating vault apparently by Christoph Dientzenhofer, and in 1737-1752 the chancel and copper dome to plans by his son Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, after whose death in 1751 the tower was completed in 1752. When the Jesuit order was abolished, St Nicholas became the main parish church of the Lesser Town in 1775 (Wikipedia, St. Nicholas Church (Malá Strana)).

The main sights

• A 1500-square-metre ceiling fresco - Kracker's life of St Nicholas over the nave.
• The Dientzenhofer dome - Kilian Ignaz's chancel and cupola.
• An organ Mozart played - over four thousand pipes, built in 1746.
• The bell tower - separately owned, climbed on its own ticket.

When to go

All year. Two hours.

Practical notes

The church is ticketed and closes for services and concerts. The tower is a separate owner and a separate ticket. Concerts held here are aimed at tourists and vary in quality.

Nearby

Charles Bridge is below; Prague Castle is up Nerudova.

Key facts