006-050 PRAGUE CHURCHES V 

;With the number of its churches and with their artistic value Prague has ranged, since time immemorial, among the foremost cities of Europe. As early as in the Middle Ages Prague Castle numbered five, the castle of the Vyšehrad hill six, and the city itself more than forty churches. The number of the oldest Prague churches includes the so called rotundas, which were founded about 1,000 A. D., at the time of the culmination of the Romanesque style; they are characterized by semicircular arches, barrel vaults, and massive stone masonry. Churches dating from a later part of this period, the so called basilicas, were more monumental in character, a fact testified to by the the most valuable memorial of the period, the basilica of St. George in Prague Castle. 

In the reign of Charles IV a new style penetrated to Bohemia, viz. the Gothic style, characterized by high, pointed arches, complicated cross vaults, compound slender columns and everything creating the impression of deep space and reduction of massiveness. This period, too, left us many important architectural memorials, the most monumental of which is St. Vitus' Cathedral in Prague Castle. The period between the end of the 16th century and the end of the 18th century was influenced by the Baroque style, characterized by complex division of space, irregular lines, and sumptuous ostentatiousness. In the Baroque period several new churches were built in Prague, and a number of others was reconstructed, or at least decorated in this style. 

The last Prague churches, built at the beginning of the 20th century, reflect modern tendences of Czech architecture, They are buildings characterized by monumental loftiness and purposive simplicity of both the general architectural concept and interior decoration. The towers of its numerous churches lend Prague its unique character, expressed in the epithet of "the city of a hundred towers". 

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1. The church of St. Nicholas in the Lesser Town of Prague represents the culmination of Prague Baroque art. The church was built by Christian Dientzenhofer, then by his son, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, and finally completed by another famous builder of Prague Baroque, Anselmo Martino Lurago, its construction extending over a period of from 1703 to 1755. 

2. St. Clement's church is situated in the Old Town of Prague, in the close proximity of St. Salvator's. It was built by another great builder of Bohemian Baroque, František Maximilian Kaňka, The purity of its style and the unity of its interior design rank this church among the most beautiful churches in Prague. 

3. The interior of St. Clement's is a single-aisled building whose walls are decorated with fresco paintings depicting the scenes from the life of St. Clement. The pillars are decorated by eight statues by the most famous sculptor of Bohemian Baroque, Matthias Braun. 

4. The church of the Assumption at Strahov is a three-aisled basilica forming part of the Strahov Monastery. It is based on a Romanesque basilica dating from the 12th century. The church underwent several reconstructions, its present-day appearance dating from the 18th century. 

5. The interior of the church of the Assumption is divided by a number of lateral altars and chapels. The vault is decorated with plasterwork cartouches eight of which depict the scenes from the life of Virgin Mary, the remaining 32 representing Marian symbols. 

6. St. Margaret's church at Břevnov is a Baroque building dating from 1708—1715, built according to a design by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. It forms part of the Břevnov Monastery. 

7. The Trinity church in the New Town of Prague has an interesting interior. It is divided by pillars with richly decorated capitals into three aisles terminating in a cupola decorated with fresco paintings.