All Saints Church in Prague-Slivenec

All Saints Church is a small early Gothic parish church standing on the village square of Slivenec, a district in the southwestern part of Prague. Raised in the second half of the 13th century, it is the oldest building in Slivenec and the most important historical monument the district has. Despite its modest size, the church has kept its medieval core largely intact through more than 750 years of continuous use.

Who built the church, and when?

Construction dates to the second half of the 13th century, and the project was carried out on the initiative of the Order of the Crusaders of the Red Star. The order's involvement in Slivenec was formalized on 6 April 1253, when King Wenceslas I issued a charter granting the local parish to the knights. The Crusaders of the Red Star went on to administer the parish for more than 600 years, making this one of the longest-running religious appointments connected to a single church in the Prague area. The building underwent alterations in 1693, but the more substantial rebuilding came in 1889, carried out to a design by architect A. V. Barvitius.

What does the building look like inside?

The church has a rectangular nave with a tower rising in one corner, and the nave leads into a presbytery with a polygonal, three-sided end covered by a ribbed cross-vault. Inside the presbytery a plain Gothic sedile and a sanctuary niche have survived from the medieval building phase. The vault of the chancel rests on stone corbels, and since the 1889 renovation it has displayed copies of rare Gothic glass paintings dating to the 14th century — a rare decorative detail for such a small parish church.

A gallery sits above the entrance to the nave, and the church tower rises above it in the corner of the building. A square pillar beneath the gallery carries the weight of the tower, and a spiral staircase winds around this pillar up to the gallery level. That is where the organ is installed; the instrument was built by organ maker J. Větr in the autumn of 1909. The wooden main altar dates from 1901 and was carved by Petr Bušek, a woodcarver from Sychrov.

Where exactly is the church, and can visitors go inside?

The church stands directly on Slivenec's village square, at the point where K Lochkovu street (leading in from Lochkov and Velká Chuchle) meets Ke Smíchovu street (leading toward central Prague), facing the building that today houses the Prague-Slivenec district office. Because it remains an active parish church rather than a museum, public access is generally limited to the monthly service held on the first Sunday of each month at 15:50 — visitors hoping to see the interior should plan around that schedule rather than expecting daily opening hours.

Frequently asked questions

How old is All Saints Church in Slivenec? It was built in the second half of the 13th century, which makes it the oldest surviving building in the district.

Who founded the church? The Order of the Crusaders of the Red Star, after King Wenceslas I granted them the Slivenec parish by charter on 6 April 1253. The order administered the parish for over 600 years.

Has the building been altered since the Middle Ages? Yes. It was renovated in 1693 and again, more extensively, in 1889 under architect A. V. Barvitius, when the current glass-painting copies in the chancel were added.

What can visitors see inside? A Gothic sedile and sanctuary in the presbytery, a rib-vaulted chancel with copies of 14th-century glass paintings, a 1909 organ by J. Větr, and a 1901 wooden altar carved by Petr Bušek.

When can the church be visited? Regular public access is tied to the monthly service on the first Sunday of the month at 15:50, since the building functions as an active parish church rather than a tourist site.