St. Nicholas Church, per­haps the most famous Czech ba­roque church worldwide and one of the most impor­tant monu­ments of Czech baroque architecture was built in the heart of the Lesser Town of Prague to replace an old medieval church dedi­cated to St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra. The construction was initiated by the Jesuits who needed a location for the head­quarters of the newly founded Bohemian province. For several rea­sons, it took almost 100 years to finish this complex, consisting of the church and the house (called the House of the Professed). The main phase of the construction of the church began in 1702 when the Jesuits entrusted the project to Christopher Dientzenhofer, a Prague architect originally from Bavaria. After his death, his son Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer changed considerably the plans for the eastern part of the church. He added the iconic dome, designed after Karlskirche in Vienna – 74 m high with an outer diameter of 20 m. The construction was finished a year after Kilián Ignác's death, led by his son-in-law Anselmo Lurago. It took another almost 20 years to finish decorations in the interior. After the suppression of the Jesuit order in 1773, St. Nicholas became a parish church and the Professed House became a property of the state.

St. Anne's Chapel is currently the entrance to the church. The larger painting at the altar, depicting St. Anne with the Virgin Mary (her daughter) and Infant Jesus (her grandson), is the oldest in the church. It was painted for the former medieval church and the author remains unknown. The smaller painting above depicts St. Joachim (husband of St. Anne) and the Virgin Mary as a young girl. The statues at both sides are St. Therese of Avila (left) and St. Aya of Mont (right), both created by late-baroque Bohemian sculptor Ignác Platzer (1717–1787), who was also a Habsburg court sculptor.

The walls are covered with imitation of marble in shades of pink and green created by a Czech stucco master Jan Hennevogel (1725–1790). Altars in chapels on both sides of the dome are made of the same material. Altars in most small chapels and parts of the high altar on the other hand are made of real marble, St. Barbara's Chapel being the only exception. Most statues in the church are from gilded wood or wood with special surfacing imitating white marble. The dedication of each chapel bears a particular theme and themes of opposite standing chapels correspond with each other.

!!! Please, note that the artificial marble is a highly sensitive material, reacting with human sweat and therefore is not to be touched!

The painting at the altar portrays the Mystical Engagement (Marriage) of St. Catherine to Infant Jesus. It was painted by Ignác Raab (1715–1787), a Jesuit lay brother who is also the author of the smaller picture above – St. Apollonia, another virgin martyr from Alexandria. The statues on both sides – St. Thekla (left, with a lion) and St. Margaret the Virgin (right, with a dragon representing Satan) correspond with the theme of early virgin martyrs. Their author is Ignác Platzer.

A copy of the Infant Jesus of Prague statue is placed in a small glass cabinet – the original statue can be found at Our Lady of Victory Church nearby.

The ceiling fresco depicts angels bearing Catherine's dead body to the Sinai Monastery after she had been beheaded.

The chapel is dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, a co-founder of The Society of Jesus and one of the greatest missionaries of all time. The altar painting shows St. Francis as he is dying at the Shangchuan Island near the coast of China where he hoped to spread Christianity. It was painted by a Czech baroque painter František Xaver Palko (1724–1770). The statues (both by Ignác Platzer) are St. Paul Miki (left) and St. James Kisai (right), members of the Jesuit order martyred in Nagasaki, Japan in 1597. The small picture by Ignác Raab above portrays St Paul, the Apostle.

A lying statue of St. Procopius (with the devil on a chain – a reference to legends about his life), one of the Czech national patron saints, is placed inside the altar mensa.

The theme of the ceiling fresco is St. Francis' celebration as a saint in heaven.

The altar painting portrays St. John of Nepomuk, one of the most famous Czech saints, as he is giving alms to the poor. The author again is Ignác Raab. The wooden carving plated with gold above shows St. John making a pilgrimage to Mladá Boleslav an important Czech pilgrimage site near Prague. The statues on the side are St. Wenceslaus (left), another Czech saint, and St. Vitus (right), both by Ignác Platzer. The painting at the altar mensa is a copy of Mary Help of Christians (of Passau) by Lucas Cranach. The small stained glass in the window with the letter "M" is related to this painting.

The theme of the ceiling fresco is a celebration of St. John of Nepomuk as a saint in heaven.

The original rococo confessional is decorated with a small oval picture of St. John od Nepomuk hearing the confession of Queen Sophia of Bavaria, 2nd wife of Czech king Wenceslaus IV. (The baroque legend has it that keeping the seal of confession was the reason why the king submitted St. John to torture and death.)

Perhaps the most striking piece of art of the whole nave is the ceiling fresco. Covering the whole ceiling of the nave, its surface amounts to almost 1000 m² which makes it one of the largest ceiling frescos in Europe. It was painted by Viennese painter Johann Lucas Kracker (1719–1779) between 1760–1761. The main theme is a pilgrimage to St. Nicholas' burial place in Bari, Italy, the dominant feature being the monumental depiction of the saint's tomb. On the right side of the staircase, Johann L. Kracker placed his self-portrait – the figure in yellow robes with blue sash. The painted illusionistic architecture offers visitors an illusion of looking through the vault of the nave into the dome. The remaining parts of the fresco point to several legends from the life of St. Nicholas.

At the piers dividing the neighbouring side chapels, 4 more than life-size statues are placed. Who they should portray, remains a mystery. The most probable explanation is that they are Prophet Jeremiah (wearing a turban), a Jesuit martyr-priest (with shackles), emperor Konstantin the Great (with laurel wreath) and either St. John or St. Paul, martyrs from 4th century Rome and saints venerated as patrons of good weather.

The climax of the decorations of the eastern part of the church is the cupola fresco painted by František Xaver Palko in 1753–1754. The theme is a glorious heavenly celebration of St. Nicholas in the gathering of God the Father, God the Son, the Apostles, the Western Church Fathers, and angels. A dove – a symbol of the Holy Spirit floats above at the highest point, the ceiling of the lantern. The outer height of the cupola is 74 meters and the outer diameter is 20 meters. The inner height of the dome is 57 meters, which makes it the highest interior in Prague.

The 4 monumental statues at the bases of the coupled columns belong to 4 Teachers of the Eastern Church – St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. Basil the Great. The statues are made of painted wood and their author is Ignác Platzer.

In the direction upwards the decorations continue with 4 statues of the Cardinal Virtues – Prudence (with a snake and a mirror), Justice (with a sword and scales), Temperance (with a camel and a bridle), and Fortitude (with a sword and a column). Another set of 8 female figures placed around the dome perimeter represents the 8 Beatitudes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (recorded in St. Matthew's Gospel). All of the statues are a work of a Jesuit lay brother and sculptor Tobiáš Süssmayer between 1751 and 1755.

A pewter baptismal font from mid 15th century is placed on the right side of the high altar apse. It was created for the original medieval church and is decorated by reliefs of Jesus Christ on his throne surrounded by St. John Baptist and the Apostles.

The small positive organ was built in 1831 and is occasionally used for concerts.

Both monumental side altars under the dome, inspired by Italian baroque churches, were designed by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer. The author of both altar paintings is again Johann Lucas Kracker. It is Death of St. Joseph on the right (southern) side and Visitation of Virgin Mary on the opposite (northern) side. The statues created by Ignác Platzer, correspond with themes of the altars. On the right side, they are St. John Baptist and St. John Apostle, and on the opposite side parents of the Virgin Mary – St. Joachim and St. Anne. A small wooden Madonna is placed in a glass cabinet at this altar. It is a baroque copy of a miraculous statue found by a woodsman in an old oak in Foy-Notre-Dame (Belgium) in 1609.

Tops of all the 3 altars under the Dome are decorated by stucco statues of the Czech land patron saints. They are St. Sigismund of Burgundy, St. Ludmila of Bohemia (the altar of Visitation), St. Adalbert and St. Procopius (the altar of St. Joseph), and St. Wenceslaus and St. Vitus (the high altar).

A 3-meter-high statue of St. Nicholas made of gilded copper is placed at the high altar. The author is Ignác Platzer. The saint is vested in the robes of a bishop and has a book and a tray with 3 golden apples in his hand. The 2 tall statues on both sides of the altar are the two most important Jesuit saints – St. Ignatius (left) defeating heresy with lightning from Jesus' name, and St. Francis Xavier preaching the gospel to a pagan (right, with a crab at his feet, that restored his crucifix previously lost in the sea).

The northern part of elevated space above the side chapels provides space for a smaller original pipe organ and a cycle of 10 large paintings with the theme of Passion of Christ by Karel Škréta (1610–1674), a famous Czech baroque painter. The vaults are decorated by illusionistic rococo frescoes. There are 60 steps leading to the gallery from the space under the dome.

The Organ

Both the main Organ and the smaller one in the side gallery were built by Thomas Schwarz (1695–1754), a Jesuit lay brother. The main Organ was built between 1745–1746 and contains 2500 pipes The biggest pipes reach a height of 6 meters. They are decorated with statues of putti playing musical instruments by Ignác Platzer. The ceiling fresco celebrates St. Cecilia, the traditional patron saint of musicians, and was painted by František Xaver Palko in 1760.

A smaller Organ created by the same organ builder can be found in the left-side gallery. This instrument is in a very good state and is used for concerts and Masses.

The Passion of Christ Cycle

This cycle of 10 high baroque canvas paintings was created by Karel Škréta between 1670 and 1674. It served to the members of the Jesuit order for meditation about Christ's passion and death.

Like the walls, the Rococo pulpit is made of artificial marble and was created between 1762 and 1766. Being shaped as a sea shell, the pulpit symbolizes the spiritual fruitfulness of God's Word. It is decorated with carvings by Richard Jiří Prachner (1705–1782) and his son Petr Prachner (1744–1807), renowned Late Baroque and Classical Period Czech artists. Among the largest sculptures are the scene of the Execution of St. John the Baptist (placed at the abat-voix) and the 3 Theological Virtues (Faith, Charity, and Hope).