Church of St. Tomas Prague

Church of St. Tomas was founded in 1285 on the initiative of the Czech King Wenceslas II, a very religious man, who chose a place for the founding of this charming church right in the heart of the Lesser Town. Its tall church tower undoubtedly co-creates a characteristic panorama not only of the Lesser Town, but of the entire historical core of the capital, as well as another important Baroque monument in the Lesser Town, the Church of St. Nicholas.

In the place of today's church of St. Tomas used to be a smaller church, so today's one actually has Romanesque foundations. His consecration took place in 1379 and the church suffered one of the most severe wounds during the Hussite battles, when it was burned down and the monks expelled from the church. Between 1584 and 1592, the Augustinian hermits and the builder Bernard di Alberto undertook the restoration of the church. In the 16th century, a devastating fire hit, which also damaged the cure. This was followed by a renaissance reconstruction, finally a Baroque one, which is the work of the famous builder Kylián Ignác Diezenhofer.

The eyes of all who step into the interior of the Church of St. Thomas, the main altar with a painting depicting the Passion of St. Thomas will certainly attract attention. Tomas, whose author is Petr Paulus Rubens. Its original is currently housed in the Prague National Gallery. In addition to this valuable artefact, there are also paintings by Josef Heintz and Karel Škréta.

In the church of St. Tomáš was known by the well-known Czech chronicler Václav Hájek from Libočany, and Adrian de Vries, the author of the sculptural decoration in the Wallenstein Garden, is buried in this church. The architect Ulrico Aostalli and Aegidius Sadeler also found the last resting place here.

In the immediate vicinity of the church is the Wallenstein Garden.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová