Church of St. James in the Czech Republic, Prague spa
Rating: 8,3/10 (3493 votes)  The Church of St. James, located in the Old Town district of Prague, is one of the largest churches in the city and an excellent example of the Baroque architectural style. The decorations of the church are recognized as one of the most beautiful and valuable among the churches in Prague. Thanks to the excellent acoustics, the church often hosts many concerts. The pride of the church is the old organ, which was installed at the beginning of the 18th century. The church was originally built in the Gothic style by Franciscan monks. In 1689, during a strong fire, the church was badly damaged, and over time it was rebuilt, but in the Baroque style. Today the grave of Count Vratislav is located within the walls of the temple, which is considered one of the most beautiful baroque tombs in Bohemia. According to the legend, after the count was buried, after a while strange sounds began to be heard from the grave. People believed that the soul of the count could not find peace, so they consecrated the grave with holy water, and soon the sounds stopped. Several years after the opening of the grave, damage was found to both the coffin itself and the remains of the count. In fact, it turned out that Vratislav was buried alive, and, having come to his senses, he tried to attract the attention of people who attended the church. No one came to his aid, and the prince overtook a terrible fate. Several great painters were involved in decorating the church, among whom were such famous masters as Vaclav Reiner, Peter Brandl and others. On the main altar is a painting by Vaclav Reiner, who, according to legend, was protected from the plague at the time of painting. As soon as he finished the painting, he immediately became infected and died. To the right of the entrance to the church, you can see a mummified forearm that previously belonged to a thief who was trying to steal precious stones located on the altar of the Virgin Mary ... However, he did not have time to create his plan, as Madonna grabbed his hand. The thief was forced to stay at the altar until morning. Minorites who came in the morning tried to free the thief's hand from Madonna, but all attempts were in vain. As a result, the hand had to be cut off, after this was done, Madonna released her. The monks left their hand at the entrance to commemorate the incident and as a warning to other thieves. We also recommend reading Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock in the Czech Republic, Prague spa Topic: Church of St. James in the Czech Republic, Prague spa. |
