Staromestske namesti
Tel. 2241 90 991
Subway: Staromestska
Open: 10am- 4pm daily
Service: 10am Sun
www.svmikulas.ca
Present
Church of Saint Nicholas as constructed by architect Kilian Ignaz
Dientzenhofer in 1735 as part of a Benedictine Monastery on a site of a
destroyed Romanesque church of the 13th century. Today Church of Saint
Nicholas is the main Hussite church of the Czech Republic. Church of
Saint Nicholas was closed in 1781 by Emperor Joseph II as it was deemed
"socially useless" on behalf of the state. The interior was stripped
bare from splendid decorations. During World War I Church of Saint
Nicholas was used by the soldiers of the Prague's garrison. Restoration
of the church began about the same time under supervision of the local
colonel. The facade of the building is decorated with statues of saints
carved by sculpture Antonin Braun. The striking feature of the church
interior is a magnificent crystal chandelier that was donated by the
Russian Emperor Nicholas II. Today Church of Saint Nicholas is open to
the public. It is commonly used for concerts and other cultural venues.
Originally a Gothic parish church from the 13th century, also
dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, stood on the site. After the battle
on White Mountain in 1625, the church and neighboring houses were
acquired by the Jesuits, who transferred the parish to the neighboring
Romanesque rotunda of St. Wenceslas. The construction of the new church
was primarily made possible by a large donation made in 1654 by Václav
Libštejnský from Kolovrat (1634–1659), who renounced his property in
order to join the Society of Jesus. He allocated all his finances,
amounting to 178,500 guilders, to the construction of the temple of St.
Mikuláš and the professional house in Prague, Malá Strana.
In the
second half of the 17th century, the Jesuits began to build a new
complex of buildings for the Malostra college in the middle of the
square, according to the project of Giovanni Domenico Orsi, to which the
only sanctuary, the Rotunda of St. Wenceslas. Church of St. Mikuláše was
delayed compared to the construction plan because he required a
financial subsidy from a private donor, which was the Kolowrat family.
Church of St. Nicholas was built in two stages during the first half of
the 18th century.
From 1703–1711, the western facade, the
vestibule area with the vestibule, the first western chapel of St.
Barbara, chapel of St. Anne and two bays of the nave with side chapels,
temporarily enclosed by a wall. At the end of the 18th century,
František Martin Pelcl) attributed the project and construction of the
first building phase according to the new, highly baroque plans to the
architect Kryštof Dientzenhofer. Its authorship is not documented by a
written contract and is still uncertain. The stonework was carried out
by František Santini-Aichel, after his death in 1709 Pietro della Torre
continued. In the following years, stonework and plastering work
continued inside the finished part of the church.
From 1737, work
began on the completion of the church under the leadership of Kilián
Ignác Dientzenhofer, who submitted plans as early as 1728. The third
field of the church nave was built, which was also modified in the
original part and its ceiling was integrated into an intricately shaped
base for the fresco. Also new was the three-leaf end of the church with
a boldly designed dome and the slender adjacent tower. In 1752, after
Dientzenhofer's death at the end of 1751, finishing works were already
underway on the construction of the church and the tower. The creative
contribution of his pupil and son-in-law, the new construction manager
Anselm Lurago, is therefore not significant. In the following years, the
temple decoration with altars, statues and frescoes was completed.
Program for the preservation of architectural heritage
In 2005,
CZK 3,000,000 was allocated to the repair of the monument as part of the
Program for the Preservation of Architectural Heritage.
The temple forms the southeastern part of the complex of the former Jesuit vocational house. The initial template for the layout of all Jesuit temples was the main Jesuit model church Il Gesù in Rome, whose final architect was Giacomo della Porta.
The western (main) facade of the temple is three-axis and
three-story. According to the vertical axis, it is stepped from the
bottom by three staircases with three portals. the convex-concave wavy
cornices and the rhythm of the architectural elements when the viewer
moves create the illusion of a moving mass. The facade of the first
floor is punctuated by two pairs of columns and four pilasters. Above
the gable of the central portal is a plastic stone emblem of František
Karel Libštejnský, Count of Kolowrat, the builder of the church and the
uncle of the main patron of the building, the Jesuit Václav Libštejnský,
who died four years before its opening. In the supraport below the coat
of arms is a metal inscription plate with the gilded names and titles of
the builder: FRANCISCVS CAROLVS / LIEBSTEINSKY/ SAC. ROM. IMP. COMES / A
WHEELWHEEL. The columns and pilasters support an undulating profiled
cornice with a conical balustrade of the first floor, on which the
central axis is highlighted by four statues of the holy fathers, church
teachers of the West, on the left Saints Ambrose and Gregory the Great
by Tomášen Seidan, and on the right Saints Jerome and Augustine by
Bernard Seeling from 1889, free copies of baroque originals. The main
cornice of the second floor is modeled by three shield arches: the
heraldic eagle of the Holy Roman Empire is inserted into the central
one, the convex walls of the attic with a conical balustrade rise above
the side shields. On it are statues of patron saints from the workshop
of Jan Bedřich Kohl-Severa, on the left the Jesuit Ignatius and St.
Peter, right St. Paul and St. Francis Xavier. A massive volute shield of
the third floor is inserted between them, in its niche stands a statue
of the patron saint of the temple, Saint Nicholas of Myra.
The south
facade consists of the facade of the nave, the tower and, in the second
plan, the dome. It is graded with a high plinth, two stories with
regularly arranged windows and an attic with unusual trefoil openings.
The crossing axis of the church is only marked on the facade in the
lower floor by a niche with a statue of Víra between two putti with a
tiara and miter from the workshop of Ignác Platzer. Even in 1879, this
workshop installed the removed statues in the attic, where in the axis
of the crossing is a statue of Christ the Savior, signed by Robert
Platzer and installed after the middle of the 19th century.
The
eastern facade is mostly hidden from below by the adjacent houses, above
them is a portal with a window between two pilasters and a three-sided
gable. A conical balustrade with three sandstone statues leads above it:
St. Philip, in the middle Virgin Mary Immaculata and St. Juda Tadeáš,
all of them are copies of Platzer's sculptures by A. Procházka from
1889. The north facade with the portal to the crypt is hidden in the
courtyard of the professional house.
The dome above the crossing of
the temple is perched on a high tambour divided by windows and pairs of
pilasters with inserted plastic vases. The plastic division continues
even through the double-skinned dome, with metalwork-emphasized ribbing
and dormers with oxeyes, up to the lantern with a decoratively designed
corridor. The lantern's ornately tinned roof is topped with a gilded
motif of the flame of the Trinity with the eye of God. The dome is as
tall as the neighboring bell tower of the church.
The interior of the church of St. Mikuláše is one of the most
luxurious high-baroque interiors in Prague. The walls and architectural
fittings are covered with real marble and artificial marble (stucco
lustro) by Jan Hennevogel and Josef Lauermann. The vaults are decorated
with ceiling frescoes by Jan Lukáš Kracker, František Xaver Palko and
Josef Kramolín. The sculptural decoration in the form of wooden,
white-coated and gilded statues, as well as small stucco sculptures, was
mainly supplied by the workshop of Ignác František Platzer, partly by
Richard Jiří Prachner. The paintings on the altars were painted by Jan
Lukáš Kracker, Ignác Raab, Francesco Solimena, and on the altar by Karel
Škréta.
Presbytery and transept
Main altar: architectural
design by Andrea Pozzo
statues: above the Tabernacle of St. Nicholas
- gilded copper modeled by Ignác F. Platzer, on the sides of the statue
of St. Francis Xavier converting pagans to Christianity and the statue
of St. Ignatius of Loyola defeating the personification of heresy, in
the extension of St. Wenceslas and St. Vít – Ignác F. Platzer
fresco
in the conch: Angels and Theological Virtues - František Xaver Palko
Altar of St. Joseph
painting: Death of St. Joseph - Jan Lukáš
Kracker
statues: St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist,
the tabernacle with the reliquary of St. Crispus, in the extension of
St. Vojtěch and St. Prokop - Ignác F. Platzer
fresco on the conch:
Care of the Jesuits in all periods of human life - František Xaver Palko
Altar of the Virgin Mary
painting: Visitation of the Virgin Mary
- Jan L. Kracker
statues: St. Anna and St. Jáchym, a tabernacle with
a pilgrim statue
in the extension of St. Sigismund and St.
Ludmila – Ignác F. Platzer
fresco on the conch: Allegory of the
missionary activities of the Jesuits - František X. Palko
statuette
of Our Lady of Foyen, called the Belgian, from Foy: The original burnt
clay statuette was found in 1609 by a woodcutter inside an oak tree
while felling trees near the village of Foy-Notre-Dame in Belgium. The
31st chapel of the Holy Way from Prague to Stará Boleslav, founded by
the Jesuits in the years 1674–1690, was dedicated to this statue of the
Madonna.
Crossings and domes
statues by the pillars: St. Cyril
of Alexandria, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nazianzus and St.
Basil the Great - Ignatius F. Platzer
sculptures in front of
pendentives: personifications of Prudence, Justice, Temperance and
Bravery - Ignác F. Platzer
sculptures between the tambour windows:
allegorical sculptures of the 8 virtues - Ignác F. Platzer
fresco on
the dome: Celebration of St. Nicholas in the presence of the Holy
Trinity and saints, in the lantern of the dove of the Holy Spirit -
František X. Palko
baptismal font - after 1464
Side chapel
Chapel of Archangel Michael
painting: Archangel Michael defeating the
devil - Francesco Solimena
sculptures: Archangels, Raphael and Tobias
- Richard J. Prachner
fresco on the vault: Archangel Michael
defeating the forces of the devil - Jan L. Kracker
Chapel of St.
Jan Nepomucký
image: St. John of Nepomuck giving alms to the poor -
Ignác Raab
statues: St. Wenceslas and St. Vít – Ignác F. Platzer
fresco on the vault: St. John of Nepomuck defeating heresy - Josef
Kramolín
Chapel of St. František Xaversky
paintings: painting
Death of St. Francis Xavier on the island of Shangchuan - Francis X.
Palko, in the attachment of St. Pavel
statues: St. Pavel Miki and St.
Jakub Kisai, in the canteen of St. Prokop - Ignác F. Platzer
fresco
on the vault: Apotheosis of St. František Xaverský – Josef Kramolín
Chapel of St. Ignatius of Loyola
paintings: painting Vision of
St. Ignatius of Loyola in the cave near Manresa, in the attachment of
St. Petr – Ignác Raab
statues: St. Francis Borgia and St. Francis
Regis, in the mensa of St. Ivan – Ignác F. Platzer
fresco on the
vault: Ignatius of Loyola warding off evil using the name of Jesus -
Josef Kramolín
Chapel of St. Alois Gonzaga
paintings: St.
Alois with children worshiping the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Ignác Raab,
in the extension of St. Juda Tadeáš – (Ignac Raab)
statues: St.
Stanislav Kostka and St. Juan de Gotó - Ignác F. Platzer
fresco on
the vault: Celebration of St. Alois Gonzaga – Josef Kramolín
Chapel of St. Catherine of Alexandria
paintings: Mystical betrothal
of St. Catherine, in the extension of St. Apollonia - Ignác Raab
statues: St. Tekla and St. Margaret - Ignác F. Platzer
fresco on the
vault: Transfer of the body of St. Kateřiny do nebe - Josef Kramolín
Chapel of the Dead
Altar of St. Barbara
paintings: Celebration
of St. Barbory - Ludvík Kohl, in the extension Death of St. Stanislav
Kostka
statues: St. Apollonia and St. Rosalie - Richard J. Prachner
Purgatory Altar
painting: Crucifixion with Saint Mary of Sorrows and
souls in purgatory - Karel Škréta
statues: St. Barbara and St.
Christina of Bolsena?, in the extension God the Father - Richard J.
Prachner
fresco on the vault: Celebration of St. Barbory – Josef
Kramolín
Chapel of St. Anne
paintings: St. Family with St.
Anne and St. Jáchym teaching the Virgin Mary in the extension - unknown
Prague painter (from the original church)
statues: St. Teresa of
Ávila and St. Aya – (Richard J. Prachner)
fresco on the vault: Holy
Family - Josef Kramolín
The main ship
Frescoes
ship:
Miracles and Apotheosis of St. Nicholas - Jan L. Kracker
above the
crucifix: St. Cecilia with angels - František X. Palko and Josef Hager
under the altar: Angels worshiping the symbol of the Holy Trinity -
Josef Kramolín
Other sculptural decoration
statues by the
pillars: St. John of Nepomuck, St. Jeremiah? (King Cyrus), Emperor
Theodosius, St. Konstantin, a trio of rococo vases with angels - Ignác
F. Platzer
pulpit: on the roof of St. John the Baptist, on the
lectern the allegorical statues of Faith, Hope and Love, the Baptism of
Christ and the Sermon of St. John the Baptist – Richard J. Prachner (and
Petr Prachner)
crucifix - Jan Bedrich Kohl-Severa
A large
ten-part passion cycle of hanging paintings, an important late work by
Karel Škréta, originating from the adjacent professional house, is
displayed on the southern corridor.
The Baroque organ has more
than 4 thousand pipes up to six meters high; played by Mozart in 1787.
On the Jesuits, who in 1625 acquired the original church and
neighboring houses from Ferdinand II. as part of the Bíbelohora
confiscations for re-Catholicization purposes, the Malostran aldermen
demanded the construction of a new bell tower. It was a replacement for
the objects that had to retreat as part of the implementation of the
Jesuit plans. The belfry has its own entrance from the outside with the
descriptive number 556 and above the entrance is the symbol of Malá
Strana. The tower is intricately shaped, the individual floors are based
on the principle of superposition of orders and changing and decreasing
floor plans with concave curves and intricately designed corners. The
whole is topped by a clock and a roof elaborately processed by a plumber
with three-lobed windows and vases. The construction of the bell tower
was completed in 1752 by Anselmo Lurago. Until 1891, the tower was used
by the municipality as a paid signaller - they had the task of
announcing possible fires or an approaching enemy. On the third floor of
the tower there is a belfry for three bells, but with only one bell. His
name is Mikuláš, it weighs 350 kg, it is from 1526 and it was cast by
the bell ringer Brikcí from Cimperk. The costs were covered by the
municipality of Malostran. On the floor above the bell was the
tower-keeper's apartment, who wound the clock, rang the bells, or
announced calamities. The tower trumpeter also visited the tower
occasionally.
Under socialism, a State Security observatory was
built in the tower, from which it was possible to monitor the Yugoslav
and American embassies and the access road to the West German embassy.
The last sighting reports from this location date back to 1990. On April
15, 2010, the observatory codenamed "Kajka" was opened to the public and
housed an exhibit documenting the activities of the StB surveillance
administration.
From 1/1/2021[source?], Prague City Tourism is in
charge of the operation of the Svatomikulášská town bell tower.