The Church of Mother of God before Týn (in Czech ''Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem'', also ''Týnský chrám'' (''Týn Church'') or just ''Týn''), often translated as Church of Our Lady before Týn, is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church and a dominant feature of the

Old Town of Prague The Old Town of Prague ( cs, Staré Město pražské, german: Prager Altstadt) is a medieval settlement of Prague, Czech Republic. It was separated from the outside by a semi-circular moat and wall, connected to the Vltava river at both of its ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. The church's two towers are 80 m high, and each tower's spire is topped by eight smaller spires in two layers of four. Praha Týnský chrám

History

In the 11th century, the Old Town plaza area was occupied by a Romanesque church, which was built for foreign merchants coming to the nearby Týn Courtyard. It was replaced by an early

Church of Our Lady before Týn in 1256. Construction of the present church began in the 14th century. The church was designed in the late Gothic style under the influence of

Matthias of Arras Matthias of Arras (c.1290–1352), sometimes spelled as Matthew of Arras ( cs, Matyáš z Arrasu, german: Matthias von Arras, french: Mathieu d'Arras) was a French architect, famed for his work on St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Matthias was ...

and later

Peter Parler Peter Parler (german: Peter von Gemünd, cs, Petr Parléř, la, Petrus de Gemunden in Suevia; 1333 – 13 July 1399) was a German-Bohemian architect and sculptor from the Parler family of master builders. Along with his father, Heinrich Parler, ...

. By the beginning of the 15th century, construction was almost complete; only the towers, the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

and roof were missing. The church was controlled by

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

s for two centuries, including John of Rokycan, future archbishop of Prague, who became the church's vicar in 1427. The building was completed in the 1450s, while the gable and northern tower were completed shortly thereafter during the reign of

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

(1453–1471). His sculpture was placed on the gable, below a huge golden

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

, the symbol of the Hussites. The southern tower was not completed until 1511, under architect

Matěj Rejsek Matěj Rejsek or Matthias Rejsek (around 1445, Prostějov – 1 July 1506, Kutná Hora) was a Czech stonemason, sculptor, builder and architect of the Late Gothic style. Life Matěj Rejsek was born probably in 1445 in Prostějov (either in Boh ...

. The lost

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain ( cz, Bitva na Bílé hoře; german: Schlacht am Weißen Berg) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the n ...

(1620) ushered in an era of harsh recatholicisation (part of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

). Consequently, the sculptures of "heretic king" George of Poděbrady and the chalice were removed in 1626 and replaced by a sculpture of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, featuring a giant halo made by melting down the chalice. In 1679 the church was struck by lightning, and the subsequent fire heavily damaged the old

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

, which was later replaced by a lower

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

vault. Renovation works carried out in 1876–1895 were later reversed during extensive exterior renovation works in the years 1973–1995. Interior renovation is still in progress.

Design

The northern portal is an example of

sculpture from the Parler workshop, with a relief depicting the Crucifixion. The main entrance is located on the church's western face, through a narrow passage between the houses in front of the church.

Architecture

The strikingly vertical, basilically arranged three-aisled Gothic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

contains a pair of Gothic prismatic

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

s in the west. In the east, the church is terminated by a short presbytery of one rectangular field, polygonal closed by four sides of the octagon. The

side aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parli ...

s are finished with deep polygonal chapels with five sides of the octagon. The side aisles are vaulted with five cross-ribbed vaults on an almost square floor plan, which is joined by one cross rib vault in the tower. The nave and the presbytery are then vaulted by six rectangular, wide-ranging fields of compressed Baroque arches with triangular sections. The side aisles have retained the original Gothic ribbed vault. The church is illuminated by a number of cantilevered Gothic windows with stone tracery. The church is accessible by four Gothic

portal Portal often refers to: *Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

s. The northern portal has a relief in the tympanum depicting three scenes from Christ's Passion in multi- figured compositions. High-quality sculptural work is one of the most important monuments of Gothic sculpture of the pre- Hussite period in our country. The pair of towers is topped with decorated cantilevered Late Gothic octagonal helmets, which are complemented by a gallery, four corner turrets, and, halfway through, another four decorative turrets. There is a Gothic gable containing the Baroque relief of the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, that is surrounded by rows of

finials A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, towe ...

in between the towers.

Furnishing

Gothic

The original medieval furnishing have been preserved in the interior: * A stone

baldaquin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

from 1493, probably from the workshop of

which originally covered the tomb of bishop Augustin Luciano of Mirandola. The baldaquin's floorplan is a square. It consists of four medium-sized stone polychrome abutments, which are terminated by the so-called

ogee arch An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinatio ...

. These arches are complemented by corner decorative turrets and enriched with Gothic ornaments. Statues are placed on each support, roughly in the second third. The supports that carry the

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can a ...

culminate in finials. From the eastern side, the baldaquin is decorated with paintings by

Karel Škréta Karel Škréta Šotnovský ze Závořic (1610 – 1674) was a Czech portrait painter who worked in the Baroque style. He lived through the Thirty Years' War which caused him some hardships as a Protestant which led him to leave Prague for Saxony ...

. * An altar with a central image of Christ's baptism was carved in high relief around 1530 by the Master IP (or Monogrammist IP), who was active in the circles of courtly patrons near today's Czech-German border. The images from Christ's life carved in the side panels on the wings show the influence of prints made by Albrecht Dürer. * The baptistery of 1414 (the oldest and largest in Prague) * A stone pulpit in the nave * Two works of the so-called Týn

Calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early medie ...

Master from the 15th century that are very valuable:

of the Týn and the Calvary sculpture at the ending of the north aisle.

Baroque

The church's furniture is mostly

. The Baroque furnishings, made by woodcarvings of early Baroque altars, are eye catching as is the valuable

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...

by Jan J. Mundt from 1670 to 1673 that is one of the three oldest preserved pipe organs in Prague. From 1691, the musicologist Tomáš Baltazar Janovka worked there as organist for fifty years. The main altar from 1649 with a titular painting of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is also very valuable. The painting was by one of the prominent Czech Baroque artist,

, the painter of several other side altar canvases. In the church can be found works of other Baroque masters: sculptors Jan Jiří Bendl and Ignác František Weiss (altar sculptures), Jan Heidelberger (sculpture of St. Francis de Paul in the northern nave), painters M. Strasser (Finding the Holy Cross, moved from the main altar),

Jan Jiří Heinsch Jan Jiří Heinsch or Heintsch (german: Johann Georg Heinsch; c. 1647 – September 9, 1712) was a Czech-German Baroque style artist. Heinsch primarily painted religious-themed works (including altarpieces) as well as portraits of monastic superior ...

(the painting of St. Joseph in the north aisle, the altarpiece of the Family Tree Of Jesse), Michael Václav Halbax (the painting of Saints Crispin and Crispinian), Petr Brandl (The arrival of St. Wenceslas at the Reichstag). From the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

and the Baroque periods, a collection of carved tombstones and

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

s has been preserved, including the 1601 tombstone of astronomer

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was ...

, which is located at the first southern pillar of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

Gallery

File:Tycho Brahe Grave DSCN2900.jpg,

's grave, new tombstone from 1901 File:062 Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem (església de la Mare de Déu de Týn).jpg, Interior of the church File:Praha Týn Church Interior 02.jpg, On the left side, the stone baldaquin from 1493 by Matěj Rejsek File:Praha, Týnský chrám, varhany 01.jpg, Pipe organs by Jan J. Mundt File:TynChram.png, Church's floorplan File:Praha, Týnský chrám, kazatelna 01.jpg, Stone pulpit

References

Literature

* Dobroslav Líbal: Katalog gotické architektury v České republice do husitských válek, Prague 2001. * Pavel Kalina, Jiří Koťátko: Praha 1310–1419, Kapitoly o vrcholné gotice, Prague 2004.

External links

Information on Prague Information Service website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Our Lady Before Tyn Peter Parler buildings Religious buildings and structures completed in 1511 Our Lady before Tyn Our Lady before Tyn Gothic architecture in the Czech Republic National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic 1511 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Old Town (Prague)