Church of Saint Michael (New Town)
From Prague-wiki
The Church of Saint Michael (Kostel svatého Michala in Czech) is located on the corner of Opatovická and V Jirchářích streets in the New Town. It was originally a parish church of a settlement called Opatovice.
A Romanesque church of Saint Michael stood there since the beginning of the 12th century. When the New Town was founded by Emperor Charles IV, Opatovice was integrated into it. The current church was built in the Gothic style some time before 1369.
This three-aisled building underwent reconstruction in 1511, when the tracery vault was constructed. Further reconstruction was carried out in 1717-1722, after which the church and its steeple essentially gained its present appearance. A new oval chapel was built in the mid-18th century. Additional minor adjustments were carried out at the beginning of 20th century. General restoration of the entire church was done between 1973 and 1983.
It is worth mentioning that the famous philosopher, protestant theologist, musicologist, humanist and doctor, professor Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) played organ at the local German Evangelistic church of Saint Michael during his visit of Prague on 14th January 1923. The concert was repeated during his second Prague visit at the end of 1928. In his honour a memorial plaque was revealed on the outside wall of the church in 1993.
Nowadays, the church of Saint Michael is used by the Slovak evangelistic community in Prague.
The steeple is 32 metres high. It gained its baroque facia in 1722; the roof features a classical bulbous octahedral cupola covered with copper sheet with lantern and a finial at the top. It is visible from many Prague view-points (only the upper part of the steeple is visible due to high housing in the surrounding area).
 V Jirchářích street |
 North-east corner of the church |
 The baroque steeple |
 An old built-in window, visible in the eastern wall of the church |
