Chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Prague

The Chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian is a small Baroque chapel tucked inside the Emmaus Monastery (Na Slovanech) complex in Prague's New Town, on Vyšehradská street. It stands in the shadow of its famous neighbor, the main monastery church, yet it is actually the older feature of the two — this chapel was here long before anyone thought of founding Emmaus.

Why is this chapel older than the monastery itself?

The first written record of the church dates to 1178, when it served as the parish church of Podskalí — at the time an independent riverside settlement of fishermen and raftsmen on the Vltava, long since absorbed into the city. Local tradition holds that Saint Wenceslas himself once celebrated Mass here, and Prague sources say this legend influenced Charles IV's choice of site. In 1347 the emperor decided to found a monastery with Slavonic liturgy right next to the existing little church, staffing it with Benedictine monks brought from Croatia. The Na Slovanech complex was completed and solemnly consecrated in 1372. The old church of Saints Cosmas and Damian didn't disappear — it was absorbed into the new monastic foundation as its own separate building.

What survives from the original building?

Very little. During the Thirty Years' War the original Romanesque structure suffered heavy damage. Between 1657 and 1659 the chapel was rebuilt from the ground up in early Baroque style — a single-nave building without a tower, topped by a small sanctuary turret above the presbytery, which is the form still standing today. Inside, a barrel vault carries stucco decoration. The renewed chapel was reconsecrated in 1659, and in 1713 it received a new Baroque altar.

Why does the interior look like an Orthodox church?

This is the most surprising twist in the building's history. In the first half of the 20th century the chapel switched to the Eastern rite: an iconostasis was installed and services began to be held according to the Greek Catholic liturgy. After the monastery was nationalized in the 1950s, the building lost its religious function entirely and spent decades serving as a storage space. Only in the 1990s was the chapel restored and returned to its Greek Catholic community.

Can you still attend a service here?

Yes. The chapel now functions as the church of the Greek Catholic parish of St. Clement in Prague. Services are held on a regular schedule: Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in Ukrainian, and Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. in Czech. Unlike many Prague landmarks that survive mainly as tourist sights, this chapel still hosts a living congregation on a weekly basis.

Where exactly is the chapel within the Emmaus complex?

The chapel sits within the Na Slovanech monastery grounds at Vyšehradská 49 in the New Town, between the monastery's main Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the nearby Vyšehrad hill. Between 2010 and 2015 the small piazzetta in front of the chapel was renovated, improving both access and the appearance of this part of the monastery courtyard.

Frequently asked questions

How is this chapel different from the main Emmaus church? The Chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian is a separate, much older building — it already existed as an independent parish church in the 12th century, well before Charles IV founded the Na Slovanech monastery and its main church next to it in 1347.

Is the chapel open to visitors? It functions as an active Greek Catholic church, so access is primarily tied to service times: Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. (Ukrainian) and Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. (Czech).

Where does the chapel's name come from? Its patrons are Saints Cosmas and Damian, early Christian physician-martyrs whose cult was widespread in medieval Europe — the dedication goes back to the oldest church that once stood on this spot.

Why is there an iconostasis inside? Because in the first half of the 20th century the chapel adopted the Greek Catholic rite, and it has served an Eastern-rite congregation ever since, which is reflected in its liturgical furnishings.