Svatý Štěpán

The St. Stephen’s Church was built in the second half of the 14th century. It was found together with New Town (a quarter outside the city walls) by Charles IV. The church is built as a Gothic basilica, the interior is dominated by an early baroque main altar bordered by sculptures.

The church of St. Stephen was founded together with New Town (on 3 March 1348) by Charles IV. (1316 – 1378), the King of Bohemia and also the Holy Roman Emperor, founder of New Town - a quarter outside the city walls, the youngest and largest of the five independent towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague. An avid collector and admirer of relics, he obtained the remains of St. Stephen in Rome and donated them to the church. The St. Stephen Church served as a parish church for the upper part of New Town (in the lower part of New Town this function is fulfilled by the Church of St Henry and St Kunnigunde). At first the church was managed by the order of Knights of the Cross with the Red Star (Czech: Křižovníci), just when Charles IV. received most of the land for the founding of New Town.[1] The church was built in the years 1351 – 1401, when the main builder master George is mentioned. Completion of the western tower is dated to the year 1401, when the whole church must have already been built. The church also had a large lot, filling most of the space between the present-day streets Štěpánská, Ječná, Na Rybníčku and Žitná. There was a parish garden and a large cemetery. During the plague epidemic in 1502, more than fifteen thousand people were buried there.[2] Several buildings were there: a rectory (in the southwest corner), a school, a wooden belfry (which was rebuilt in stone in the early 17th century), the Chapel of All Saints, Jerusalem chapel,[3] as well as the rotunda of St. Login. In 1686, the Cornel Chapel was built to the south wall of the nave and then the Branber Chapel to the north wall of the sacristy, which was opened in 1739. In 1866 a Neo-Gothic hall was built in the north part of the nave. A known restorer of that time, Josef Mocker redesigned, restored the church in a puristic style in 1874 – 1879. He was responsible for restoring many Bohemian castles and ancient buildings in Prague. His work in a puristic Gothic Revival style aroused much controversy, but also contributed to many important landmarks of Prague. Here Josef Mocker designed a new tracery in the presbytery, a new window in the nave, and also a frontage in the aisle. Nowadays, the church is managed by Roman Catholic parish of St. Stephen and is owned by the Archdiocese of Prague

Nice Gothic church

Closed without any opening hours

Great