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Our Lady Before Týn (Matka Boží před Týnem - Týnský chrám)
Staroměstské náměstí 604 Praha 1 - Staré Město 110 00 Phone: 222 318 186 http://www.tyn.czAbout
Church of Mother of God before Týn - Týn Church | As early as in the 11th century, there used to be an older Romanic church in this place. It was a hospital church for foreign merchants coming to Ungelt. In the second half of the 13th century, it was replaced by early-Gothic building, about two-thirds smaller than today’s church. This was where Konrad Waldhauser and Milíč of Kroměříž used to preach their criticism of church morale until their death. The present high-Gothic church was established in the mid-14th century, with a function of the main Old Town church and also a parish church. As the new church was being built, the old church gradually disappeared. The construction was greatly influenced by the royal smelting plant of Matthias of Arras and namely Petr Parléř. Parléř is mostly commemorated by a richly decorated front window, which is 38 m high, traceries of window in the main aisle, the chancel, and the magnificent Northern portal. In the beginning of the 15th century, only the towers, the gable, and the truss were missing. During the Hussite era, the Týn church came under the control of a group of Hus’ followers lead by Jakoubek of Stříbro, and in 1427, the elected Hussite archbishop Jan Rokycana was a parson here, who is also buried here. At the end of the Hussite wars, the building was supposed to get a roof, but the wood needed for the truss was used to build gallows for Roháč of Dubá and his 50 mates, executed by Sigismund on the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) after the conquest of the last Hussite bastion, the Sion Castle. The truss was then completed 20 years later from wood originally meant for the construction of ceremonious tribunes for the wedding of Czech king Ladislav Pohrobek (Posthumous) with French princess Magdalene. There was no wedding, Ladislav Pohrobek died. The church was then completed during the reign of Jiří of Poděbrady, elected for the king on the Old Town Hall nearby. During his reign, the main aisle’s gable was built, and also the Northern tower. Upon Jan Rokycana’s suggestion, his statue of the „Hussite king“ was placed on the gable, above which there was a huge gold-plated chalice, the symbol of communion under both kinds. The portrait of the king was replaced by the figure of Madonna by Kašpar Bechteler in 1626, and Madonna’s halo was made from the chalice. The Southern tower is from 1511.The towers are 80 m high. The Northern tower is called Eve, the Southern (about 1 m taller) is Adam. At that time, they were built from a protruded scaffolding, the bottom plates of which were laid on beams running through holes left in the walls in regular intervals. That allowed for simultaneous work from the outside and from the inside. In 1679, the church burnt down, and the main aisle was subsequently lowered and vaulted in a Baroque style. The church is a three-aisle basilica with towers by the Western front and with three choirs by each aisle on the Eastern side. The size is respectable: length 52 m, width 28 m, mid-aisle height 44 m, and side aisles are 24 m high.The church is an extensive gallery of Gothic, Renaissance and early-Baroque pieces of art. Out of the sculptures, the most significant is Parléř’s portal from the Týnská Street from around 1390, decorated by a tympanum with scenes of Christ’s Suffering. The original tympanum is now deposited in the National Gallery. Out of the internal furnishings, there is an outstanding Gothic tin fontal from 1414 (the oldest in Prague), decorated by relief figures of the apostles, a stone Gothic pulpit, two Gothic benches with consoles shaped as crowned heads. There is a late-Gothic canopy by Matěj Rejsek from 1493 between the main aisle and the left side aisle (it was originally above the tomb of Bishop Lucian of Mirandola, who sanctified Calixtine priests).The main altar with paintings by Karel Škréta (Assumption of Virgin Mary and Holly Trinity) is an example of earl
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