Church of Saint Ursula

From Prague-wiki

The Church of Saint Ursula (Kostel svaté Voršily in Czech) is a Baroque church on Národní třída in the New Town, next to the National Theatre.

This single-nave edifice was built by architect Marco Antonio Canevalle in 1699-1704. He began the project faced with a slight problem of the amount of space available to build the church. The size restrictions of the site forced him to place the main façade of the church to the north side to face the street. In the time of the consecration of the church (6 July 1704) the interiors were not yet completed and the furnishing took 40 more years.

Inside the church, the atmosphere is light and airy. There is now rich sculptural and pictorial decoration and a frescoed, stuccoed ceiling. Dominant feature is the main altar with a remarkably beautiful painting of the Apotheosis of Saint Ursula by Jan Krištof Liška - one of the most glorious examples of Prague Baroque painting. Side altar of Our Lady is decorated by i picture by Petr Brandl from 1709.

The marvel of the church of Saint Ursula is the survival of the exterior statuary. The original statues still decorate the façade. A group of statues featuring St. John of Nepomuk stands in front of the church. Ignác Platzer completed this work in 1747.