Page 83 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Prague

OLD T OWN  81

Czech and then burnt them by
the thousand. Between 1653
and 1723, the Clementinum
expanded eastwards. Over 30
houses and three churches
were pulled down to make way
for the new complex. When in
1773 the pope dissolved their
order, the Jesuits had to leave
Prague and education was
secularized. The Clementinum
became the Prague University
library, today the National
Library. Look out for classical
concerts performed in the beau- Statue of Charles IV (1848) in
tiful Mirror Chapel (Zrcadlová Knights of the Cross Square
kaple). You can also take a tour
Former Jesuit Church of the Holy Saviour of the library and Mirror Chapel. g Knights of the
in the Clementinum
Cross Square
Underground corridors contain f Smetana Křižovnické Náměstí
tombstones and fragments of Map 3 A4. X Staroměstská. v 17,
the former church. Museum 18. @ 207. Church of St Francis:
Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany Open 10am–7pm for services and
d Clementinum Novotného lávka 1. Map 3 A4. concerts. 5 7am Mon–Fri, 9am Sun.
^ 7
Tel 222 220 082. X Staroměstská.
Klementinum v 17, 18. Open 10am–5pm Wed–
Mon. & for a fee. ∑ nm.cz This small square in front of the
Křižovnická 190, Karlova 1, Mariánské Old Town Bridge Tower offers
náměstí 5. Map 3 A4. Tel 733 129 252 A former Neo-Renaissance fine views across the Vltava. On
(tours). X Staroměstská. v 17, 18. waterworks beside the Vltava has the north side is the Church of
Library: Open 9am–10pm Mon–Sat (to been turned into a memorial to St Francis (Kostel sv. Františka, see
7pm Sat). Church of the Holy Saviour: Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884), p80), once part of the monastery
Open for services and events. 5
7pm Tue, 2pm & 8pm Sun. & ^ 7 the father of Czech music. The of the crusading Knights of
8 every half hour from 10am–7pm museum contains documents, the Cross with the Red Star.
daily (Nov & Dec: to 6pm, Jan & Feb: to letters, scores and instruments In summer, concerts of popular
4:30pm). ∑ klementinum.com detailing the composer’s life and Classical and Baroque music take
work. Smetana was a fervent place in this beautiful Baroque
In 1556, Emperor Ferdinand I patriot, and his music helped church most evenings at 8pm.
invited the Jesuits to Prague inspire the Czech national revival. To the east is the Church of the
to help bring the Czechs back Deaf towards the end of his life, Holy Saviour, part of the huge
into the Catholic fold. They he never heard his cycle of Clementinum complex. In the
established their headquarters symphonic poems, Má Vlast square stands a large bronze
in the former Dominican (My Country), being performed. Neo-Gothic statue of Charles IV.
monastery of St Clement, hence
the name Clementinum. This
soon became an effective rival
to the Carolinum (see p67), the
Utraquist university. Prague’s
first Jesuit church, the Church
of the Holy Saviour (Kostel sv.
Salvátora) was built here in
1601. Its façade, with seven
large statues of saints by Jan
Bendl (1659), is dramatically lit
up at night. Expelled in 1618,
the Jesuits were back two years
later more determined than
ever to stamp out heresy. In
1622, the two universities were
merged, resulting in the Jesuits
gaining a virtual monopoly on
higher education in Prague.
They searched for books in Sgraffito façade of the Smetana Museum

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