Prague - Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Lesser Town

Convent Church of St. Mary Magdalene of the Lesser Town Dominican Convent, built with several interruptions in 1656-1709 originally according to Francesco Carrati's design, the end of the construction was realized by Christopher Dientzenhofer, perhaps according to his partially modified plan

The site of the original burial of the remains of Christopher, Kilian Ignatius and other members of the Dientzenhofer family in the family tomb, from where they were transferred in 1783 to the Lesser Town Cemetery

The original church of St. Mary Magdalene belonged to the convent of the Magdalene nuns, which disappeared during the Hussite wars on 21 June 1420. The buildings were converted into burgher dwellings. The church was marked as deserted in 1574.

In 1604 the Dominicans from the Old Town moved into the buildings of the former convent and the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. On 1 March 1606, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene was designated a convent sanctuary. On 19 August 1613, the Dominicans concluded a contract with the Prague Metropolitan Chapter, by which the monastery and church became their permanent property. At the same time they undertook to build a new convent and church.

The construction of the new religious house began in 1616 on the south side of the church. The construction was not completed until the end of the Thirty Years' War, partly because of the search for a funder for the construction of the church and convent. In 1637, Count Karel Alexandr Michna obliged his heirs to build a church for the Dominicans in the size of the Old Boleslav Basilica or the Vienna Cathedral of the Barefoot Carmelites. The funds were not released by the heir Count Václav Michna until 1654.

On 16 June 1656, the Dominicans blessed the foundation stone. The author of the magnificent project, which exceeded the size of the original, was the architect in the service of the Michnas, Francesco Carrati.

The construction of the church progressed slowly because the inflow of funds was slow and even stopped for a while after the death of Count Václav Michna (1668-1669). It was not until 31 March 1670 that an agreement was reached between Michna and the Dominicans, according to which the church was completed according to Caratti's original design.

Once again the building of the church, which was to be completed in 1673, was delayed. But it was not until 1677, the same year that the architect Francesco Carrati died, that it was possible to hold services in the roofed church.

At the same time or shortly afterwards, the stucco decoration was carried out, the façade and the dome over the crossing were modified. In 1679 an organ was added to the interior, and in 1692 the church tower and dome were repaired.

The construction was completed by Christoph Dientzenhofer, probably according to his own modified plans. The exact year of participation is unknown (note: in 1687 Christoph Dientzenhofer was admitted to the Lesser Town Masonry Guild).

The church was finally consecrated on 30 June 1709 after the addition of furnishings.

After the dissolution of the Dominican monastery due to indebtedness, the site came up for auction as early as 1783, when the chapter property had previously been set aside from the newly acquired Dominican property. As the church was built on the original land of the chapter, it fell into its share. But the chapter had no use for the building, and so asked permission to sell the church in 1787.

Jakub Schoffo, the director of the Zbraslav sugar refinery, bought the church and had warehouses and offices built there. The front bell tower was removed and the façade was modified. In the interior, the side aisles were closed with walls and repainted, as well as the chancel area.

In 1792 the church became the property of the High Post Office and was housed there until 1849. In 1853-1854 the church was converted into a barracks for the Prague gendarmerie. After the abolition of the gendarmerie, the building was assigned to the Central Archives of the Ministry of the Interior. No major changes have been made since the mid-19th century, with the exception of the modern breakthrough in the ground floor.

Detailed information

History

The church was built in the place of the settlement Nebovidy. Its importance declined after the ford disappeared in the 13th century and new walls were built. The site on which the present building was built may have belonged to the Prague Metropolitan Chapter, but ownership is only documented from the 16th century.

The first reports refer to the church of St. Mary Magdalene, which is still preserved in the structures of No. 387/3. It belonged to a convent of Magdalene nuns who probably moved here from the Old Town after 1315. The convent disappeared during the Hussite wars on 21 June 1420 and was never rebuilt. The buildings of the convent were secularized and converted into burgher dwellings. The church was still used for worship for some time until it was marked as deserted in 1574.

In 1604 the Metropolitan Chapter leased the church of St. Mary Magdalene to the Dominicans, including the houses under its jurisdiction. The religious, who had been temporarily housed in the Convent of St. Agnes after the expulsion of the Jesuits from St. Clement (later Clementinum), moved to their new location on 1 June 1604. They got into property disputes at the very beginning when they bought out the townhouses they wanted to use for temporary housing. At the same time, they also modified the former church of St. Mary Magdalene, which was designated a convent sanctuary on 1 March 1606. The changes mainly affected the choir.

On 19 August 1613, the Dominicans concluded a contract with the Prague Metropolitan Chapter, by which the monastery and church became their permanent property. At the same time they undertook to build a new convent and church. According to the agreement, the Dominicans were to build a new convent and church, the original dedication of which they were to preserve. In the event of dissolution, the property was to revert to the chapter.

The construction of the new religious house began as early as 1616 on the south side of the church. The newly built wing certainly encroached on the area of the later Baroque church and was destroyed during its construction. The construction was not completed until the end of the Thirty Years' War, partly because of the search for a funder for the construction of the church and monastery, which was found in the person of Count Karel Alexander Michna.

In 1637, Count Karel Alexandr Michna obliged his heirs to build a church for the Dominicans in the size of the Old Boleslav Basilica or the Vienna church of the barefoot Carmelites. Although the money received from the funder was used to buy the houses on the supposed construction site, the construction was delayed because the heir of the funder, Count Václav Michna, was reluctant to release the funds due to his financial difficulties.

The funds were not released by the heir, Count Václav Michna, until 1654, at the insistence of the Dominicans, thus plunging the family into a financial crisis.

On 16 June 1656, the Dominicans began construction with the blessing of the foundation stone. The author of the magnificent project, which surpassed the size of the original, was the architect Francesco Carrati, who had been in the service of the Michnas since 1657.

The construction of the church progressed slowly as the flow of funds was slow and even stopped completely after the death of Count Václav Michna in 1668-1669. It was not until 31 March 1670 that an agreement was reached between the Michnas and the Dominicans, according to which the church was completed according to Caratti's original design. The construction was led by Gion Decapaoli, with Giovanni Battista Pozzi and Domenico Semprizzi working as masons.

According to the agreement, the church was to be completed in 1673. However, it was not until 1677, when the architect Francesco Carrati died in the same year, that Gion Decapaoli admitted that it was possible to hold services in the roofed church.

At the same time or not long after, the stucco decoration was carried out, the façade and the dome over the crossing were modified. In 1679 an organ was added to the interior, and in 1692 the church tower and dome were repaired.

The building was completed by Christoph Dientzenhofer, probably according to modified plans of his own. The exact year of participation is unknown (note: in 1687 Christoph Dientzenhofer was admitted to the Lesser Town Masonry Guild).

The church was finally consecrated on 30 June 1709 after the addition of furnishings.

After the dissolution of the Dominican monastery due to indebtedness, the site came up for auction as early as 1783, when the chapter property had previously been set aside from the newly acquired Dominican property. As the church was built on the original land of the chapter, it fell into its share. But the chapter had no use for the building, and so asked permission to sell the church in 1787.

Jakub Schoffo, the director of the Zbraslav sugar refinery, bought the church and had warehouses and offices built there. The front bell tower was removed and the façade was modified. In the interior, the side aisles were closed with walls and repainted, as well as the chancel area. The author of these adaptations was probably M. Hummel.

In 1792, the church became the property of the High Post Office, which again made some adaptive changes according to Josef Zobel's project. It was the seat of the church until 1849, when a military hospital was built here. In 1853-1854 the church was rebuilt in the late classicist style according to the project of Ing. Josef von Wentzel into the barracks of the Prague gendarmerie. The facade and side aisles were raised and levelled into a monolithic block. The building served its new purpose from 1855.

After the abolition of the gendarmerie, the building was assigned to the Central Archives of the Ministry of the Interior. There have been no major changes since the mid-19th century, with the exception of a modern breakthrough in the ground floor.

Architecture

The building, which fills the entire footprint of the former church, is positioned so that the widening street in front of it creates a small plaza, allowing for a setback from the main entrance facade, albeit not a significant one. The original church enclosed the south-west corner of the large Dominican site. The building lies on a separate plot, adjoined to the north-west by a small rectangular building belonging to the former convent site, probably the original convent building before the new north wing was built.

The entrance facade now takes the form of a three-storey house, which does not show much evidence of having been converted from a religious building, as the massive octagonal dome does not appear in the front view, given the small possible setback.

The layout of the original church, which is known from the so-called Dientzenhofer sketchbook, echoes that of the Roman Il Gesu, albeit much reduced. The space of the former nave of the church remained open after numerous alterations, only partially filled by the inset staircase blocks on the south and north sides and the pavilions that encircle the side walls, which are fitted with simple cast-iron bar railings. However, the side spaces at the crossing have also been walled up. The cupola is separated by double bands from the moulded vaulting (broken by accommodating lunette sections) of the nave and the nave. The vaulted sphere is separated by a distinctly profiled cornice, on which is placed a large emblem of the donors - the Michnas of Vacinov.

The windows (or doors) with alternating semi-circular and rectangular ends are placed in the sections, framed by typical early Baroque chambers with handles and drops, also with a raised lintel, which is finished with segmentally raised cornices. The lantern dome is a younger addition, and has been greatly enlarged from its original state.

The passage to the nave is flat-roofed, and is surmounted by a segmental waist. The side walls are pierced by oval windows with early classical tracery. To the right, a double staircase with a full spindle wall from the late classical reconstruction connects to the passage. In the space behind the crossing is inserted another Late Classical pillar staircase, which is of great architectural value. Behind the staircase, on the ground floor, there is a cloister vaulted with plaques and a former choir of the monks, probably still vaulted with a Baroque vault with cut-outs.

The right aisle, including the crossing and the spaces around the presbytery, has been rebuilt as a passage on the ground floor. It is possible to find only remnants of the original Baroque vaulting, with more modern mirror vaults inserted under the older ceilings.

The left aisle has also been modernised, where only small vaults in the passages between the pillars on the ground floor have been preserved; the other vaults are modern segmental or plaque vaults. Only in the spaces to the left of the presbytery can the original early Baroque monastic vaults be found, in a smaller space still broken by lunette sections.

There are also several architectural elements on this side, showing the original division of the side spaces of the church.

Current

After many reconstructions and changes of use, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene now serves as the Czech Museum of Music within the National Museum.

Owners / users

Česká republika
www.nm.cz/ceske-muzeum-hudby#z-nasich-sbirek
1. January 2024

Sources

Title / author Date of citation Place and year of publication
Umělecké památky Prahy - Malá Strana (Pavel Vlček a kol.) Nakladatelství Academia / 1999
Památkový katalog (NPÚ)
Bibliografie Via Dientzenhofer (Via Dientzenhofer)

Map of the place and surroundings Open on mapy.cz

GPS: 50.0849225N, 14.4045839E
Kostel sv. Maří Magdalény