In the church, there is a dissonance between the huge height of the vaults and the relatively small length of the room. But according to the original construction plan, the current space of the temple is only a small part of what was to be created.
Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow, photo Mona-Lisa
According to the plan of the founders, the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow (Kostel Panny Marie Sněžné) was to surpass the Prague churches in its grandeur. Not all plans came true: the church became the second tallest religious building after the grand one.
Construction history
The Hussite wars completely prevented the project from being carried out, and little of the original architecture has survived. The appearance of the temple today seems unfinished: it lacks symmetry. The north tower was erected in 1405, but the construction of the second, south tower was abandoned due to lack of funds.
The church stands in the center: at the turn and. Her courtyard overlooks (Jungmannovo náměstí). The temple is not visible from afar, despite its height - it is hidden between neighboring buildings.
This church has witnessed many important events and change. Its history begins in 1347: then he issued a constituent charter, granting a piece of land to the Carmelites for a church and a monastery. First, an apse was erected; in 1397 a new empora and vault appeared, an organ was installed. In the 15th century, the presbytery was supplemented with a three-nave extension, and the total length of the building was 110 m.
Since 1651, a 29-meter early Baroque altar has been built inside the temple. This is the most grandiose altar structure in Prague - it is covered with rich gilding and decorated with polychrome painting. The central pictorial composition is connected by its plot with the name of the church: it depicts the Roman hill Exviline in the snow.
snow miracle
The artist painted a picture of a divine miracle that happened in 352, during the reign of Pope Liberius. A Roman merchant had a vision: the Blessed Virgin appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to build a church where the snow would fall. It was August, it was hot in Rome, but a miracle happened: snow really fell on Esquiline Hill. In the picture we see a procession of pilgrims led by Liberius: they are moving to the top of the hill, where the Virgin Mary points to them from the clouds. There are also donors of the Prague church among them - Jan from Talmberg and his wife.
On Exvilin, in commemoration of the divine appearance, the Basilica of Santa Maria Margiore was erected. The Prague church, in honor of the Roman miracle, received the name of the Virgin Mary of the Snow. In its decoration, four more late Baroque altars, many figures of saints, paintings, ornamental paintings, and mosaics have been preserved. The northern portal with sculptural decoration has survived from the Gothic period.
During the period of the Hussite unrest, construction was stopped. In 1434, during the civil war, the northern tower of the temple was destroyed. In the 16th century, a hurricane tore off part of the dome. In the middle of the century, the Carmelites left Prague, the church was abandoned.
In 1603, at the request of the minister of the order, Francisco de Sauce, the area of the monastery and the temple were transferred to the Franciscan order. Restoration continued throughout the century. In the XVIII century, the front of the temple was rebuilt in the classical style. In connection with the reforms of Joseph II, the monastery was not closed, but the admission of new monks was suspended and resumed only in 1835.
From February 1948, with the coming to power of the Communists, a difficult period began. Services were still held in the temple, and the buildings of the monastery were occupied by the Ministry of the Interior. In the refectory rehearsed the orchestra of the guard of honor Prague Castle. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the monastery was again transferred to the Franciscan order, and it resumed its activities. The buildings were renovated and the interiors recreated.
Today's Church
In the courtyard in front of the entrance there are sculptures of Peter of Alkantar and St. Jan Nepomuk. On the north side of the courtyard is the chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, and above it is the monastery library. On the south side, the chapel of St. Michala, behind it is a simple two-story building, a former Franciscan monastery.
Above the portal is a mosaic depicting the icon "Virgin Mary Savior of the Roman people", created by Viktor Förster around 1900.
Inside the church along the walls there are 10 sculptures of Franciscan saints. To the left of the entrance is the chapel of St. Anthony, painted by Kovarzha. The interior is dominated by an early boron altar.
Franciscan garden
View of the church from the Franciscan Garden, photo prahadejvice
Another unique monument belonging to the complex of the Franciscan monastery is the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow. You can approach it through the monastery courtyard.
The construction of the temple was started by the Czech king Charles IV, who later became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The date when the first stone was laid is known - September 3, 1347, the day after the coronation of Charles IV.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Snows is indirectly connected with the Roman Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore. The legend says that the Mother of God appeared in a dream to three believers at once: the rich patrician Giovanni and his wife, who had long wanted to have a child, and the Pope of Liberius. The Virgin Mary ordered the patrician to build a church on a hill, and then the Lord would send him and his wife an heir. And so that they do not doubt her words, in the middle of summer they will find snow on that hill. Indeed, on August 5, 358, snow was found on the hill, and a cathedral was built on this site. Catholics still honor the Virgin Mary and the “miracle of snow” on August 5th.
The construction of the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow in Prague was stopped several times. Initially, the temple was supposed to be three-aisled (according to the original project, it was supposed to reach the current Jungman Square). However, at the end of the 14th century, it was decided not to rebuild the already existing one-nave church.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the church became one of the centers of the Hussite movement. On July 30, 1419, the Hussite preacher Jan Zhelivsky led an armed procession of his supporters to the New Town Hall on Charles Square. The Hussites demanded the release of their brethren, previously imprisoned. The Catholic members of the magistrate refused to comply with this demand. When the procession approached the town hall building, a stone thrown from the town hall window fell into the holy gifts that were in the procession. Angry Hussites broke into the town hall and threw the members of the magistrate out of its windows. This is how the First Prague Defenestration took place, which served as a starting point in the history of the Hussite wars. Jan Zhelivsky became the head of the new city council and preached in the church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow until his execution in 1422, after which he was buried there under the pulpit.
In 1434, between the Old Place and the New Place, a Civil War, in which the Old Town side won (until the 18th century, these districts of Prague were separate cities). In the battles, an important role was played by the high northern tower of the temple, which was destroyed as a result of shelling.
The troubles of the monastery did not end there. In 1542, the wind tore off part of the roof from the temple. In 1566, the remains of the roof and vaults of the unfinished church collapsed.
In XV - XVI centuries the owners of the temple, the Carmelite monks, were repeatedly expelled from their possessions. For a long time, the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow existed only formally, all activity in it ceased. Everything that was built before 1419 turned into ruins. On an engraving published in 1606, one can see that only three walls remained from the church without a facade and vaults.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the church came into the possession of the Franciscan order, and its revival began. Almost everything that we can see now was created under the Franciscans in the 17th and XVIII centuries.
In the Church of Our Lady of the Snows there is the largest three-tiered altar in Prague, about 10 meters high. It was created in the middle of the 17th century in the early baroque style.
The main picture of the altar reflects one of the episodes of the "miracle of snow" - a procession led by Pope Liberius, heading to the Esquiline Hill in Rome, to a peak snow-covered in midsummer, to which Our Lady points from the clouds. On the sides of the picture are four figures: John the Baptist, Saints Peter, Paul and Francis. Between the first and second tiers of the altar there is the coat of arms of John the Elder from Talmberg, who funded the creation of the altar.
In the second tier of the altar there is a picture in which St. Francis receives the remission of sins from the Virgin Mary, next to the statues of Saints Clara, Elizabeth, Barbara and Catherine. In the middle of the upper tier is a statue of the Archangel Michael and on the sides are the patron saints of the Czech Republic, Vaclav and Vojtech. The altar is crowned with a crucifix.
The vaults of the temple, 31.4 m high, were restored in 1607. The Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow is still considered one of the highest churches in Prague, despite the fact that the restored vault was 4 meters lower than the previous, Gothic one.
On the vaults you can see murals with images of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Trinity, the Archangel Michael and eight Franciscan saints who glorified the order: St. Francis (the founder of the order), Clara of Assisi (since 1957, patroness of television), preacher Anthony of Padua, theologian Bonaventure, missionary Bernardine of Siena (patron of public relations workers), Ludwik of Toulouse, Elisabeth of Hungary and Didak (Diego) of Cadiz.
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The history of the first public library in Prague is quite long, it dates back to July 1, 1891. As the number of publications grew, the library had to move several times. By the beginning of the 20s of the 19th century, the library consisted of about 260 thousand volumes and expanded further. The premises no longer met the ever-increasing demands. In 1923 the Prague City Insurance Company was […]
History of the first public libraries in Prague is quite long, it is calculated from July 1, 1891. As the number of publications grew, the library had to move several times. By the beginning of the 20s of the 19th century, the library consisted of about 260 thousand volumes and expanded further. The premises no longer met the ever-increasing demands. In 1923, the Prague City Insurance Company decided to build a new building for the library. Construction began in 1925 according to the design of the architect F. Roita and ended in 1928. The old library building is destroyed, but in its place to this day there are two underground lecture halls.
The project of the new building is made in accordance with the increasing requirements of the library. In addition to storage and reading rooms, available Cultural Center with facilities for concerts, exhibitions and lectures.
The most interesting thing is that in the building municipal library the residence of the mayor of Prague is located, it occupies about a fifth of the premises, in addition to the service apartment, the residence houses premises for official ceremonies and meetings. In the mid-90s of the last century, the library underwent a global reconstruction, and now municipal library is a modern library complex providing any information service.
Mariánské náměstí 1, Prague 1, Czech Republic (entrance from Valentinská street)
mlp.czTake the metro to Staroměstská station
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