5/5 A J. 1 year ago on Google
Iconic
church
in
the
Prague
skyline
and
seen
pretty
much
everywhere
in
the
city.
Long
queues
if
you're
visiting.
a
Gothic
church
and
a
dominant
feature
of
the
Old
Town
of
Prague,
Czech
Republic.
It
has
been
the
main
church
of
this
part
of
the
city
since
the
14th
century.
The
church's
two
towers
are
80
m
high,
and
each
tower's
spire
is
topped
by
eight
smaller
spires
in
two
layers
of
four.
the
11th
century,
the
Old
Town
plaza
area
was
occupied
by
a
Romanesque
church,
which
was
built
for
foreign
merchants
coming
to
the
nearby
Týn
Courtyard.
It
was
replaced
by
an
early
Gothic
Church
of
Our
Lady
before
Týn
in
1256.
Construction
of
the
present
church
began
in
the
14th
century.
The
church
was
designed
in
the
late
Gothic
style
under
the
influence
of
Matthias
of
Arras
and
later
Peter
Parler.
By
the
beginning
of
the
15th
century,
construction
was
almost
complete;
only
the
towers,
the
gable
and
roof
were
missing.
The
church
was
controlled
by
Hussites
for
two
centuries,
including
John
of
Rokycan,
future
archbishop
of
Prague,
who
became
the
church's
vicar
in
1427.
The
building
was
completed
in
the
1450s,
while
the
gable
and
northern
tower
were
completed
shortly
thereafter
during
the
reign
of
George
of
Poděbrady
(1453–1471).
His
sculpture
was
placed
on
the
gable,
below
a
huge
golden
chalice,
the
symbol
of
the
Hussites.
The
southern
tower
was
not
completed
until
1511,
under
architect
Matěj
Rejsek.
The
lost
Battle
of
White
Mountain
(1620)
ushered
in
an
era
of
harsh
recatholicisation
(part
of
the
Counter-Reformation).
Consequently,
the
sculptures
of
"heretic
king"
George
of
Poděbrady
and
the
chalice
were
removed
in
1626
and
replaced
by
a
sculpture
of
the
Virgin
Mary,
featuring
a
giant
halo
made
by
melting
down
the
chalice.
In
1679
the
church
was
struck
by
lightning,
and
the
subsequent
fire
heavily
damaged
the
old
vault,
which
was
later
replaced
by
a
lower
Baroque
vault.
Renovation
works
carried
out
in
1876–1895
were
later
reversed
during
extensive
exterior
renovation
works
in
the
years
1973–1995.
Interior
renovation
is
still
in
progress.
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