Church of Our Lady on the Lawn

Church of Our Lady on the Lawn is a modest Gothic church tucked into the Botič stream valley below Vyšehrad, in Prague's New Town. It sits close enough to the modern city to be an easy detour, yet the surrounding greenery and the ruins of its adjoining monastery give it a quiet, almost forgotten feel rare so close to the historic centre.

Who built it, and why here?

The church and its attached Servite monastery owe their existence to Emperor Charles IV, who founded them on 24 March 1360. Construction, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, stretched over fifteen years and was finished in 1375. The site fit a broader pattern: Charles IV seeded the New Town with monastic foundations, and the sheltered Botič valley beneath Vyšehrad's walls offered the Servite friars seclusion — though that seclusion would not last.

What happened to it during the turbulent centuries that followed?

The Hussite Wars put an abrupt end to monastic life here. The friars were driven out, and the church itself was pressed into military use — Hussite forces used the site as a position from which to bombard the Vyšehrad fortress. Only once the fighting ended did the Servites return, and with the help of lay benefactors the damaged church was repaired by 1480.

A second, more permanent rupture came in 1783, when the Trávníček monastery was merged with the Servite house at St Michael's in the Old Town. The church was deconsecrated, and three years later, in 1786, the Servite order in Prague was dissolved outright. The vacated buildings passed to the military, which converted them for barracks use — the complex never returned to its original monastic purpose.

By the mid-19th century the neglected church was in poor shape, and it took public donations from believers to fund a restoration and replenish its interior furnishings. The church was reconsecrated in 1856, and the renovation gave it the largely pseudo-Gothic appearance it still carries today.

What does it look like, and what is it used for now?

The monument — church and surviving monastery remains together — has been under heritage protection since 1958. One architectural quirk stands out: its slender tower is among the most tilted in Prague, leaning a full 63 centimetres off vertical, a detail visible to anyone who looks closely from outside.

Since 1995 the building has served as an Orthodox church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God, under the Prague Orthodox Eparchy. That makes it something of a rarity in Prague: a medieval Catholic foundation that, centuries later, changed religious affiliation while its site never stopped being a place of worship.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded the Church of Our Lady on the Lawn? Emperor Charles IV founded the church and its Servite monastery on 24 March 1360.

How long did construction take? Building work lasted fifteen years, from 1360 to 1375.

Did the Servites occupy the site continuously? No. They left in 1786 after the monastery was dissolved, and the buildings were then taken over by the military.

Which denomination uses the church today? Since 1995 it has functioned as an Orthodox church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God, part of the Prague Orthodox Eparchy.

What is architecturally distinctive about the church? Its narrow tower is one of the most tilted in Prague, leaning 63 cm out of vertical.

When was the site listed as a protected monument? The church and monastery have been protected as a historical monument since 1958.