Church of Our Lady before Tyn

The construction of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn began in 1350, and it was finished in 1511. Nowadays, it is one of the most impressive Gothic buildings in Prague. And many people consider its eighty-meter high spires to be the most beautiful in the city.

The building suffered significantly from the fire in 1679. After that, the church was rebuilt. Baroque style primarily affected the interiors. Outside it is still a classic Gothic basilica, which is at first glance very modestly decorated. But go to the narrow Tynska street and check the magnificent northern portal! The most likely author of the tympanum, which shows the Crucifixion, is Petr Parler, the same architect who built the cathedral in Prague Castle.

Photo of the tympanum on the northern portal of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn.

In the 15th century, the Church of Our Lady before Tyn was a mainstay of Prague's Hussites. The only elected Hussite archbishop Jan Rokycana was a parson here. At that time, a statue of the Hussite King George of Podebrady was placed on a gable between two towers. A massive gilded chalice - a symbol of the Hussite movement - was above it. In 1626, during recatholicization, the statue and the chalice were replaced with Madonna and the Child's sculpture. The chalice was melted down, and a halo was made for Madonna.

Photo of the gable and spires of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn

If you decide to go inside to admire the interiors, you might wonder where the entrance is. It not that easy to find it! Go through the building of Tyn School standing right in front of the church. By the way, it was built almost at the same time as a church itself. You can see paintings from Karl Skreta and Jan Jiri Heinshe or sculptures by Jan Jiri Bendl and Ferdinand Maximilian Brokoff on the nineteen of the church's Baroque altars. Do not miss the oldest baptistery in Prague, dated back to 1414, and a stone baldachin from 1493.

Presumably, the archbishop Jan Rokycana, the heart of the King George of Podebrady, and the heads of the decapitated leaders of the Bohemian Revolt are buried in the Tyn Church. None of these facts has yet been proven, though. But the tombstone of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who worked in Prague, is definitely genuine.

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