Chapel of Saint Teresa of Ávila

The Chapel of Saint Teresa of Ávila is a small Baroque building tucked into Vojan Gardens (Vojanovy sady) in Prague's Lesser Town — the oldest surviving garden in the city and, for more than three centuries, home to a community of Discalced Carmelite nuns.

Why is there a chapel inside a convent garden?

The garden's story predates the convent by centuries: it began life as part of a bishop's orchard laid out in 1248. In 1653, Emperor Ferdinand III bought the land together with an adjoining house and handed it to the Order of Discalced Carmelites. The nuns built their convent and the Church of St. Joseph between 1673 and 1690, and nearly fifty years later, in 1743, added a chapel dedicated to the order's founder and patron, the Spanish mystic and reformer Teresa of Ávila.

What does the building look like?

The chapel is laid out on a square plan with bevelled, rounded corners — a device common in late Baroque church architecture that softens the mass of the building and gives the interior a more centralized, chapel-like feel. Its architect has never been firmly established; historians have proposed Bartolomeo Scotti, František Maxmilián Kaňka and František Ignác Prée as possible authors, all leading names working in Prague at the time. The structure survives close to its original form, without major later alterations.

What is inside?

The chapel's main draw is its illusionistic frescoes, attributed to Jan Karel Kovář and dated to 1745 — two years after the building itself was finished. The paintings are designed to mimic altar architecture that the chapel does not actually contain, and their subject is scenes from the life of Teresa of Ávila, a direct tribute to the saint after whom both the chapel and, indirectly, the entire order take their spiritual bearing.

Is this the same as the "cave" chapel in the garden?

No. Vojan Gardens holds a second chapel, dedicated to St. Elijah, built roughly seventy years earlier (around 1660–1670) in a completely different register: its facade and interior imitate an artificial grotto, complete with stone "stalactites" and naturalistic animal decoration. The Chapel of St. Teresa is its stylistic opposite — a disciplined, conventional Baroque space built around painted illusion rather than grotto theatrics.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the chapel located? Inside Vojan Gardens in Prague's Lesser Town, at coordinates 50.08854, 14.40805, a short walk from Charles Bridge.

When was the Chapel of St. Teresa built? In 1743, as an addition to the Discalced Carmelite convent complex.

Who painted the frescoes inside? They are attributed to Jan Karel Kovář and dated 1745.

Can visitors go inside the chapel? The chapel stands within a public garden, but access to its interior can be limited — it's worth checking current opening arrangements on site or with the garden's visitor information.

How is it different from the Chapel of St. Elijah in the same garden? St. Elijah's chapel is older and built to look like an artificial grotto with stalactite-like decoration, while the Chapel of St. Teresa is a conventional Baroque building known for its illusionistic frescoes.