Church of the Brethren church in Soukenická street

The Church of the Brethren congregation on Soukenická Street is a modest, still-active Protestant house of worship tucked into a courtyard in Prague's New Town, just a few hundred metres from Náměstí Republiky. It's the kind of place a visitor could easily walk past without noticing, yet it has quietly served the same evangelical community for over a century.

What exactly is this place, and who uses it?

The building at Soukenická 15 belongs to the Church of the Brethren (Czech: Církev bratrská), a Protestant, evangelical-reformed denomination active in the Czech Republic. Don't expect a grand Baroque church front here — this is a plain prayer hall, in keeping with the understated architectural tradition of free-church Protestant communities in Central Europe: no towers, no elaborate ornamentation, but a functional space designed around communal Bible reading and congregational singing.

How did this congregation come to be here?

The story starts in 1907, when the Church of the Brethren community bought a townhouse on Soukenická Street. That same year, a prayer hall was built into the building's spacious rear courtyard, and it was there that the congregation held its first solemn service. The construction was overseen by Antonín Dvořák, an elder of the congregation who worked as a builder by trade — he personally supervised converting the back part of the property into a place of worship. This approach — adapting an existing residential building rather than erecting a freestanding church — was typical of evangelical communities within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, where non-Catholic denominations often had limited freedom to build visibly in the urban landscape.

Is it still a functioning church today?

Yes. The Soukenická congregation has operated continuously ever since and remains one of the active Church of the Brethren parishes in Prague. Sunday services begin at 10:00, with a concurrent Sunday school programme for children from age three, and some services are also streamed online. Beyond regular worship, the congregation runs additional activities for children and young people, including music day camps and a basic art school — evidence that the building has long functioned as a local community hub as much as a religious one.

Where exactly is it located?

The building stands at Soukenická 15 in Prague's New Town (Nové Město) district, close to Náměstí Republiky and Poříčí street — an area where, within a few hundred metres, several other, much older and more monumental Catholic churches can also be found. It's worth noting that this Church of the Brethren congregation is a distinctly separate and far more modest building than those nearby landmarks — easy to confuse by name alone, but architecturally and denominationally unrelated.

Is it worth a visit for tourists?

This isn't a conventional tourist attraction — there are no guided tours, tickets, or heritage displays. Its value lies instead in being a living record of continuous Protestant religious life in central Prague, carried on in the same spot for well over a hundred years. Visitors with an interest in Czech Protestant history or in the understated architecture of free-church communities may find a stop near Soukenická a worthwhile complement to Prague's better-known churches.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors go inside the building? The building isn't run as a museum — it's an active house of prayer, primarily accessible during services and organised gatherings rather than as a sightseeing venue with set opening hours.

When are the services held? The main Sunday service starts at 10:00.

How does this differ from the Catholic churches nearby? It's a modest prayer hall belonging to the evangelical Church of the Brethren, created in 1907 by converting a residential courtyard building — not a purpose-built Catholic church.

Who built the prayer hall? The 1907 construction was overseen by Antonín Dvořák, an elder of the local congregation who worked as a builder.