Church of Saint Clemens in New Town, Prague

The Church of St. Clement in the New Town stands on Klimentská Street in Prague's Poříčí quarter, just a short walk from the Vltava riverbank — a spot linked to river crossings for more than a thousand years and home to one of the oldest sacred sites on the right bank of the river.

Why is the church dedicated to St. Clement?

The church takes its name from Pope Clement I, whose relics are said to have reached Bohemia through the mission of Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius. That cult made the site a place of worship as early as the 10th century: a founding charter of Břevnov Monastery from 993 already mentions a church here, making it — alongside Vyšehrad — the oldest known site of Christian worship on the right bank of the Vltava in Prague.

How did the building change over the centuries?

The earliest, pre-Romanesque church stood beside a river ford that once made this spot strategically important. Two Romanesque churches followed in succession, the younger dating from the late 12th century and serving the local community until the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. It was then that the Gothic church seen today — much altered since — was built, with the nave receiving its Gothic ribbed vault in 1578. The building did not escape Prague's turbulent history: it was plundered during the Hussite Wars and later served the Utraquist congregation until 1621. Modest Baroque touches were added after the devastation of the Thirty Years' War.

Why did the church become a granary?

The most unusual chapter in the building's history came at the end of the 18th century. In 1784, as part of Emperor Joseph II's church reforms, the building was deconsecrated. Soon after, a local miller converted it into a grain storehouse, a role it kept until the middle of the 19th century. Only in 1850 was the building bought back by a Reformed (Calvinist) congregation, restoring its function as a place of worship.

Where does the church's neo-Gothic look come from?

The building's present, distinctly neo-Gothic appearance is the result of a thorough renovation carried out between 1893 and 1903 under architects J. Blecha and Fr. Mikša. That project unified the facades and architectural details into the coherent historicist look visitors see today. Further repairs followed in the 1970s.

Who uses the church today?

Since 1850 the church has belonged to the Reformed Protestant community; today it serves as a parish church of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ČCE), one of the country's largest Protestant denominations. The space is also shared with an Anglican congregation affiliated with the Old Catholic Church, making it a working example of ecumenical use of a historic building.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same church as St. Clement's Cathedral in the Klementinum? No. This is a separate, smaller parish church in the New Town, on Klimentská Street (which takes its name from the church), located more than a kilometer away from the Baroque St. Clement's Cathedral inside the Klementinum complex in the Old Town.

Can visitors go inside? As an active Evangelical parish church, the building is used primarily for services and community life rather than functioning as a regular tourist attraction with set visiting hours.

What is the oldest surviving part of the building? The foundations and parts of the walls go back to a Romanesque church from the late 12th century, though the structure visible today is mostly Gothic, built at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries and later reworked in a neo-Gothic style around 1900.

Why does a Protestant congregation own a medieval Catholic church? This reflects Prague's turbulent religious history: after the church was closed in 1784 and spent decades as a granary, it was purchased in 1850 by a Reformed congregation and has remained in Protestant hands ever since.