This imposing Gothic church (the largest in Prague) was founded by Charles IV in 1347 but never completed. Its history is inextricably linked with that of the Hussite movement. In 1419 the radical priest, Jan 2elivskY, a regular preacher at the church, led an attack on the New Town Hall in the course of which several of the King’s councillors were hurled from the windows -an incident known as the First Defenestration of Prague.
Three years later the councillors had their revenge when 2elivskY was burnt at the stake for heresy. The interior is a curious blend of Gothic, Renaissance and baroque styles. The painting of the Annunciation over the High Altar is by V V Reiner (1724). Since the 17th century the church has belonged to the Franciscan Order which is why the neighbouring restaurant is called U frantaand.
Dvorak Museum
This beautiful baroque residence, built by Kilian Dientzenhofer in 1717-20, is known as the Villa Amerika after a 19th-century eating-house; a happy coincidence, as Dvotak’s best known composition is his symphony To the New World. The exhibits include manuscripts, photographs, personal effects and correspondence with friends like the composer Johannes Brahms, and the conductor Hans von Billow.
Charles Square
The present park-like appearance of the largest square in Prague, dates from the mid-19th century. In medieval times, it was a market place and the hub of Nove Mesto, as we are reminded by the presence of the Novomestka radnice (New Town Hall) at the northern end of the square. This grey, stone building with its typical Gothic tower, dates from the 15th century, although it has undergone a number of facelifts and reconstructions over the years. In 1419 it was the scene of the First Defenestration of Prague, when the rebel Hussite leader Jan 2elivskY unceremoniously evicted a number of government officials
Directly opposite, on the south side of the square, is the so-called Faust House. This attractive Renaissance building was given its baroque facade in the mid-18th century. Its chance occupation by two chemists, the Englishman Edward Kelly in the 16th century and the Czech Ferdinand Mladota, in the 18th gave rise to a supposed association with the legendary Dr Faustus. Kelly, already deprived of his ears after a conviction for fraud, disappointed the Emperor Rudolph II by failing to discover the Philosopher’s Stone and, as a result, ended his days locked up in gaol.
Dominating the eastern side of the square is the Jesuit College and the Church of St Ignatius. Erected in 1665-70.