St. Nicholas Church, Old Town Square, Prague

St. Nicholas Church occupies the corner of Prague's Old Town Square, standing beside the Jan Hus Memorial and facing the astronomical clock tower across the square. With its white Baroque façade and twin towers, it is frequently confused with its far more famous namesake in Malá Strana — but this is a separate building, with its own history and its own role in the city's religious life.

How old is the church on this site?

A church dedicated to St. Nicholas has stood on this corner of the Old Town for more than 750 years: a deed from the Břevnov Monastery already mentions it in 1273, and the original building was older still. It began as a Romanesque church in the 12th century, founded by German merchants who were settling in Prague at the time. The church was later enlarged, and in 1620 it passed into the hands of the Benedictine order, which ran a monastery here for the following century and a half.

Where does the current Baroque building come from?

The structure visitors see today owes little to that medieval original. Between 1732 and 1737, the Benedictine abbot Anselm Vlach financed a complete rebuilding of the church, entrusting the design to Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer — one of the leading architects of Bohemian Baroque, also responsible for the famous dome of the other St. Nicholas Church across the river in Malá Strana. The interior decoration was carried out by some of the period's finest craftsmen: stuccowork by Bernardo Spinetti, ceiling frescoes by the Bavarian painter Cosmas Damian Asam, and sculpture by Antonín Braun. The result is a bright, white-stuccoed interior with the dynamic sculptural forms typical of Prague Baroque churches.

Why is the church associated with the Hussite movement today?

The building's history after the rebuilding was far from settled. In 1787, as part of Emperor Joseph II's church reforms, the Benedictine monastery was dissolved and the church was for a time repurposed as a warehouse. Between 1870/71 and 1914, it served Prague's Orthodox Christian community. During the Second World War it functioned as a military chapel. The decisive change came in 1920, when the building was handed over to the newly founded Czechoslovak Hussite Church — a religious movement drawing on the legacy of the medieval reformer Jan Hus. That community still owns and uses the church as an active place of worship today.

What is worth seeing inside?

The interior draws visitors regardless of denomination, dominated by a large crystal chandelier beneath the bright Baroque stucco and painted ceiling decoration dating back nearly three centuries. The church is also a regular concert venue, hosting classical music performances that make good use of its resonant Baroque acoustics — one of the more popular musical stops in Prague's Old Town.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same church as the famous one with the dome in Malá Strana? No. Malá Strana has a separate, much larger St. Nicholas Church, also linked to the Dientzenhofer family of architects, visible across the city thanks to its massive dome. The Old Town Square church is smaller and serves a different, Hussite congregation.

Who runs the church today? Since 1920 the building has belonged to the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, which uses it as an active place of worship.

Are concerts held here? Yes, the church regularly hosts classical music concerts, taking advantage of the acoustics and historic decoration of its Baroque interior.

Who designed the current Baroque building? The 1730s rebuilding was designed by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, a leading architect of Bohemian Baroque, commissioned by the Benedictine abbot Anselm Vlach.