Inside Prague’s St Agnes of Bohemia Convent

Saint Agnes was the sister of King Wenceslas I and in 1234, she founded a convent of the Poor Clares in what is now the Jewish Quarter of Prague. It might seem unusual to visit a convent when touring the Jewish Quarter of Prague but there are three very good reasons that we did: it was cool inside and provided a welcome respite from the sweltering June heat but it was also a Saturday afternoon and many of the locations in the Jewish were closed. You would think that I would know this, given my Jewish heritage. The most important reason to visit the St Agnes of Bohemia Convent is that it is beautiful.

Built between 1231 and 1234, St Agnes is not only one of the oldest convents in Europe but it is also the oldest example of Gothic architecture in Bohemia, the former name of the Czech Republic.

We began our exploration in the cloisters which date back to the 14th century. I was particularly entranced by the Gothic vaulted ceilings and the shadows of the windows throughout the cloister.

This lone man resting on the bench gives an idea of the scale of the cloisters.

I walked around the cloisters twice, once without taking any photos at all and simply taking in my surroundings. I love Gothic architecture and St Agnes is one of the finest instances I have seen to date.

We soon moved on to the Presbytery of the Church of St Francis. This is known as the ‘new’ section of the church, built only in 1261. The church was consecrated during the coronation of the Přemysl king Otakar II and was intended to become the final resting place of the Přemyslid dynasty but Otakar II was buried in St Vitus Cathedral along with his father.

The Church of St Francis is vast and quite breathtaking. You can see that Stephen looks quite tiny in the photo above, giving some idea of its scale.

Leading off from the Church of St Francis is the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, another vast and impressive room. Agnes’s private chapel and living quarters were built into the upper floor of this space.

Turning back the way we had come, we walked towards the cloisters and noticed one last room to the right.

This was the refectory and nun’s work room, once two rooms and now one large space.

Winding our way around the cloisters again, I stopped to admire the collection of religious sculptures. 

With one last look at the Gothic vaulted ceilings, it was time to move on to the first floor.

Visitors to St Agnes of Bohemia can also treat themselves to an impressive collection of medieval art at the National Gallery which is housed on the first floor of the old convent. The collection is vast and arranged in chronological order. Not surprisingly, no photography is allowed in the gallery but you can visit the website to see more: Narodni Galerie. My favourite section was the triptychs, including the Reininghaus Altarpiece which came from Southern Bohemia and was dated to about 1430. There is also a collection of Madonna and Child sculptures and a selection of stained glass crucifixions.

St Agnes of Bohemia
U Milosrdných 17
110 00 Prague 1 - Old Town
Tel.: +420 224 810 628

The entry fee is 300 CZK and will grant admission for seven days to all six permanent exhibitions of the National Gallery in Prague – Kinský Palace, Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia, Trade Fair Palace, Sternberg Palace, Schwarzenberg Palace, Salm Palace. My next trip to Prague will be a dedicated art tour and I will definitely be using this ticket!

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Prague: Walking Vinohrady to Old Town Square

How do you show your love for a city? You can photograph it from every angle, dine along its rivers and tell the world of your love affair. Or you can just walk through its streets and breath it in. When we visited Prague we did just that, we walked wherever we could, taking in the streets and alleyways, parks and suburbs, famous sights and hidden treasures.  It was a wonderful five days that left me with a thirst for more and a definite plan to visit this fantastic city again.

Despite soaring temperatures and barely a shadow in sight, we decided to walk from our hotel in Vinohrady to the Old Town on our first day. On paper it appeared to be about a mile but somehow we managed to walk seven miles on that first day.

Rather than draw you a map of the rather haphazard route that we took, I thought I’d share our journey with you and the sights that we saw.

It always takes me a little while to get a feel for a city. What are the people like? Are they friendly? How modern is the city? What is quaint and what is innovative? The first thing I spotted on our walk was the tram – poor Stephen doesn’t quite understand my obsession with public transport but needless to say, having never lived in a city with an active tram service, I was transfixed by the trams.

We walked down Wenceslas Square and I battled with the sun to get a good photo of the Wenceslas Monument. I knew very little about the Good King Wenceslas, the patron saint of Prague, Bohemia and the Czech Republic but during our trip we learnt a lot about the Přemyslid dynasty, of which he was a part. We would also come to learn a lot about Wenceslas Square and its central part in the fight to overthrow Communism.

We decided to take a slight detour so that we could see Henry’s Bell Tower (known as Jindřišská věž in Czech). The story of the tower is that the church of St Henry needed a bell tower but it was clear that its walls were not strong enough to support the weight of the bells. The decision was made to make a detached bell tower instead.

Henry’s Bell Tower still stands today and is 65m high and was built between 1472 and 1475.

Our detour took us past another tower, this time the famous Powder Gate. The Powder Gate was originally intended to form part of the defences for the adjacent Royal Court but construction halted 8 years after it began in 1475 due to riots which caused the king to flee. It never did serve a defensive purpose and gained its name after it was used to store gunpowder in the 17th century. Look at that beautiful detail.

Adjacent to the Powder Gate is the Municipal House or Obecní dům in Czech.

We decided to escape the heat and the glare of the sun to explore this beautiful building and you can read all about it in Art Nouveau Opulence in Prague's Municipal House.

All too soon, we were out in the sun again and decided it was time to head for Old Town Square. We strolled down Celetná Street which was blessedly shady and took a look at some of the touristy fare.

We finally broke out onto Old Town Square and stood staring at the people and crowds for a very long time.

I finally got my bearings and made a beeline for the famous Astronomical Clock which has adorned the side wall of the Town Hall since the end of the 15th century. As I negotiated the crowds to get a better view, I peered over my right shoulder and saw a very unimpressed-looking husband glaring back at me. It seems that I had rushed off without notice (after dragging him around for several hours) and he was not happy. Realising that it was high time for a beverage and a break, I decided that we’d had enough exploring for the time being.

We walked back through Old Town Square, stopping only to admire these buskers. They were very good.

We then turned into an alleyway at the edge of Old Town Square and found a seat at Au Gourmand.We were incredibly hot and thirsty and both managed to inhale a fresh mint iced tea followed by an orange and ginger homemade lemonade during our short time there. They were both delicious and a great help in cooling us down.

There is no rest for intrepid explorers though and soon we were on our way. As we exited onto Dlouha Street, Stephen was thrilled to spot a classic Coke truck and excitedly send a photo off to his colleagues. I guess you do have to be a bit of a Coke geek to work for a certain company.

We wondered down the streets of the Old Town, walking towards the Jewish Quarter and soon arrived at the exquisite St Agnes of Bohemia church. This wonderful place deserves its own post but I’ll leave you with just a taste of the Presbytery of St Francis inside St Agnes.

That tiny little person in the photo is Stephen and it gives you an idea of how vast the presbytery is.

After our visit to St Agnes, we strolled through the Jewish Quarter hoping to eat at one of the famous restaurants. Despite my heritage, I did not realise what day it was and soon realised it was Saturday when we noted that all of the restaurants were closed! I’m happy to report that it was our only culinary disaster of the trip and we opted instead to head inside the Kolonial for their signature pork knuckle.

We managed but a short walk after our meal but the day was beginning to take its toll on our legs. Feeling rather smug at all we had managed to see in one day, we descended into the blissfully cool Metro at Staroměstská and took a train back to the hotel.

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Art Nouveau Opulence in Prague’s Municipal House

Our first day in Prague was hot, very hot. It was over 35°c and someone had the bright idea to forego the Metro and walk instead from our hotel in Vinohrady to the Old Town. Okay, I’ll own up – it was my idea - but after walking in that heat for a good hour or so, I was willing to swear that I had never suggested anything of the sort.

After walking through the famous Powder Gate, I spied the Art Nouveau dome of Prague’s Municipal House, Obecní Dům. I was pleased because while we didn’t have too many plans for our time in Prague, I did want to see this building.

On the façade above you can see Karel Špillar’s famous mosaic, Homage to Prague. We decided to escape the heat for a while and take a look inside.

Obecní Dům now stands on what was once the site of the King’s residence but after falling into dereliction after centuries of abandonment, it was demolished in the early 1900s and replaced by the present building. Built between 1905-1911, the building encapsulates the Art Nouveau style that was very much in vogue at the time and is beautifully kept today.

All of the tilework meant that the building was lovely and cool inside and we enjoyed the chance to wander about and appreciate the intricacy of the design.

I couldn’t resist taking a shoefie…

…but my attention was soon captured by this rather elegant looking young woman. I envied her for looking so cool and collected but in truth she was probably as hot and bothered as I was.

We peeked into the famous Plzeňská restaurant but decided not to stop on this occasion. It was our first day after all and we had not yet made it to Old Town Square.

The Smetana Hall and other smaller halls and conference rooms are located in the Obecní Dům. On the day that we were there, a Dvořák concert was taking place and I was very keen to go. Stephen wasn’t though and it was only when I took him to Dvořák’s tomb a couple day later that he cottoned on to the fact that Dvořák was a very important Prague composer.

How exquisite is this chandelier? I stared at it for the longest time.

We didn’t spend too long in Municipal House but given the lovely, relaxed attitude of the Czech people we could have stayed as long as we wanted to.

This is the first proper post of my Prague trip. I have so much to share that it was a little tricky at first to know where to start but I’ve decided to go wherever inspiration takes me. Perhaps if I tackle the little posts then the big ones will just magically write themselves?

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