An eye-catching part of the Malá Strana skyline, St. Nicholas Church is one of the most significant buildings from the Prague Baroque period, notably for its copper dome and belfry, making it one of the most stylistically pure examples of High Baroque architecture north of the Alps. Not be confused by the Old Town church of the same name, this building dates to 1703.

Originally an Early Gothic church founded at the beginning of the 13th century, it was also consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra. The Baroque St. Nicholas Church was built under the supervision of architect Christoph Dientzenhofer, and later his son, Kilian Ignaz.

While the property belonged to the Catholic Church, the adjacent tower belonged to the municipality of Malá Strana. Consequently, it has its own building number (556) and entrance. The tower was built later by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and completed in 1755 by his pupil and son-in-law Anselm Lurag. The bells were hung in the tower five years before its completion. The belfry became a strategic Prague watchtower through 1891. Until then, the watchman was obliged to ring a bell in the event of a fire and to hang a red flag from the window in the direction of the conflagration, as well as a lantern at night. Under the communist regime, the secret police used the tower to keep an eye on the populace. It currently houses an exhibit about the secret police.

The tower and the dome of the church are intentionally the same height, 74 meters, and they were intended to correspond panoramically with St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle.

Contact

Malostranské náměstí

Prague 1 - Malá Strana

Tel.: 257 534 215; Fax: 257 534 215

http://www.stnicholas.cz

Opening Hours

November - February 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily

March - October 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily

Closed

24 December

Entrance Fee

Full admission 70 Kč; discount 50 Kč