Page 79 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Prague

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t Church of St i Bethlehem
Martin in the Wall Chapel
Kostel Sv. Martina Ve Zdi Betlémská Kaple
Martinská 8. Map 3 B5. Tel 734 767 Betlémské náměstí 4.
335. X Národní třída, Můstek. Map 3 B4. Tel 224 248 595.
v 6, 9, 17, 18, 22. Open 3–5pm X Národní třída, Staroměstská.
Mon–Sat. 5 Sun: 10:30am (German), v 6, 9, 17, 18, 22. Open 10am–
7:30pm (Czech). ∑ martinvezdi.eu 6pm daily. & 7 8
∑ bethlehemchapel.eu
This 12th-century church became
part of the city wall during the The present “chapel” is a
fortification of the Old Town in reconstruction of a hall built
the 13th century, hence its name. by the followers of the radical
It was the first church where preacher Jan Milíč z Kroměříže
blessed wine, usually reserved in 1391–4. The hall was used
for the clergy, was offered to the for preaching in Czech. Between
congregation as well as bread. 1402 and 1413 Jan Hus (see
This was a basic tenet of belief of pp28–9) preached in the
the moderate Hussites (see pp28– Ceiling fresco by Václav Vavřinec Reiner in Chapel. Influenced by
9), the Utraquists, who took their Church of St Giles the teachings of the English
name from the Latin sub utraque religious reformer John Wycliffe,
specie, “in both kinds”. In 1787, u Church of St Giles Hus condemned the corrupt
the church was converted into Kostel Sv. Jiljí practices of the Church,
workshops, but rebuilt in its Husova 8. Map 3 B4. Tel 224 218 440. arguing that the Scriptures
original form in the early years X Národní třída. v 6, 9, 18, 22. should be the sole source of
of this century. Open timings vary. 5 6:30pm doctrine. After the Battle of the
daily (also 9:30am & noon Sun White Mountain in 1620 (see
y Náprstek in Polish). pp32–3), when Protestant
worship was outlawed, the
Museum Despite the Gothic portal on building was handed over to
Náprstkovo Muzeum the southern side, this church the Jesuits, who rebuilt it with
is essentially Baroque. Founded six naves. In 1786, it was almost
Betlémské náměstí 1. Map 3 B4.
Tel 224 497 511. X Národní třída, in 1371 on the site of a demolished. After World War II,
Staroměstská. v 6, 9, 17, 18, 22. Romanesque church, it became the Chapel was reconstructed
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & 7 a Hussite parish church following the design shown
∑ nm.cz in 1420. Following the in old illustrations.
Protestant defeat in
Vojta Náprstek, art patron and 1620 (see pp32–3),
philanthropist, created this Ferdinand II presented
museum as a tribute to modern the church to the
industry following a decade of Dominicans, who
exile in America after the 1848 built a huge friary
revolution (see pp34–5). On on its southern side.
his return in 1862, inspired by It has now been
London’s Victorian museums, he returned to the
began his collection. He created Dominicans, religious
the Czech Industrial Museum orders having been
by joining five older buildings abolished under the
together, and in the process Communists.
virtually destroyed the family The vaults of the
brewery and home – an church are decorated
18th-century house called At with frescoes by the
the Haláneks (U Halánků). He painter Václav Vavřinec
later turned to ethnography and Reiner, who is buried
the collection now consists of in the nave before the
artifacts from Asian, African and altar of St Vincent.
Native American cultures, The main fresco, a
including weapons and ritual glorification of the
objects from the Aztecs, Toltecs Dominicans, shows
and Mayas. The museum is part St Dominic and his
of the National Museum. friars helping the
Regular temporary exhibitions pope defend the
on a range of subjects are also Catholic Church
staged here. from non-believers. Illustration of Jan Hus preaching in the Bethlehem Chapel

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