St Nicholas Church

No less than three Saint Nicholas churches can be found in Prague, but the most famous is the baroque Saint Nicholas Church on Lesser Town. It is often confused with the St. Nicholas Church located on the Old Town Square, also a beautiful church by the way.

The church on Lesser Town is a wonderful example of Prague's Baroque. Construction began in 1703 and was carried out by Kryštof and Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, father and son. They were the masters of Baroque architecture. Both did not live long enough to complete their life's work, which was done by Kilián's son-in-law Anselmo Lurago. He built the bell tower, which you can also climb. The impressive dome was completed just before Kilián's death

The interior of the church is breathtakingly beautiful. Statues and decorations in marble and gold and magnificent frescoes can be admired within the church. On the ceiling of the nave Jan Lukáš Kracker painted a fresco about the life of Saint Nicholas. He spent about eight years working on it. Not so surprising when you consider that the painting covers an area of 1500 m²! It is the largest fresco in Europe. Franz Palko painted the Celebration of the Holy Trinity on the ceiling of the dome.

The acoustics in the church are excellent, which Mozart knew. The composer played the organ during his stay in Prague, in 1787. Above that organ you can see a fresco of Saint Cecilia, the patroness of musicians. During the summer months you can attend regularly given organ concerts. St. Nicholas Church is definitely worth a visit, and one of the main sights in Prague.