History
The history of St Giles' Church
From the Gothic consecration of 1371 to the Dominicans, the Baroque remodel of the 1730s and Reiner's frescoes: the story of St Giles' Church in Prague.
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St Giles' Church in Prague's Old Town was consecrated on 4 May 1371, in the presence of King Charles IV. It passed to the Dominican order in the 1620s, and in the 1730s its Gothic hall was given a Baroque interior by the architect František Maxmilián Kaňka, with frescoes by Václav Vavřinec Reiner painted in 1734 and 1735. Film director Miloš Forman shot scenes of Amadeus here in the early 1980s.
A Gothic hall on Romanesque foundations
The church stands on the foundations of an older Romanesque church. The Gothic rebuilding began in 1339 under Bishop Jan IV of Dražice and continued under his successor Arnošt of Pardubice. The result was a tall three-aisle hall with aisles of equal height. Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim consecrated it on 4 May 1371, in the presence of King Charles IV, his wife Elizabeth of Pomerania and his son Wenceslas IV. A royal consecration tells you how important the church was to the Old Town in the 14th century.
Preachers and the Hussite years
From 1364 the preacher Jan Milíč of Kroměříž spoke here in Czech, at a time when sermons in the language of the congregation were still unusual. Saint John of Nepomuk may have been a canon of the church in 1387 and 1388. During the Hussite unrest the chapter was dissolved in 1420, and the church became a Utraquist parish. The Bethlehem Chapel, where Jan Hus preached, stands nearby on Husova street, so the neighbourhood was one of the centres of Prague's reform movement.
A fire, a recasting and a long rebuild
On 28 June 1432 lightning struck the church. The fire destroyed the roof and melted the bells. Three bells were recast in 1437. The damage fell between the Hussite years and the arrival of the Dominicans, and the building was repaired in stages over the following centuries. For visitors, the point is that what stands now is the Gothic frame of the 14th century, with a Baroque interior set inside it three centuries later.
The Dominicans arrive
King Ferdinand II gave the church to the Dominican order in the 1620s, and the friars have served it since. Czech Wikipedia gives 7 May 1625 for the gift, while the community's own site says 1626, so sources differ by a year. The Dominicans built a large four-wing monastery between Husova, Jalovcová and Jilská streets, designed by Carlo Lurago and Giovanni Domenico Orsi. The church became the monastery's church, and it is still a Roman Catholic parish church and convent church today.
The Baroque remodel
The Baroque remodelling began in 1731 and furnishings were added until 1744. František Maxmilián Kaňka reshaped the Gothic nave, giving it a shallow chancel and Bohemian groin vaults on four pillars. Bernardo Spinetti made the stucco. Václav Vavřinec Reiner painted the frescoes in 1734 and 1735, showing the glory of the Dominican order, scenes from the lives of St Dominic and St Thomas Aquinas, and St Giles. In 1736 František I. Weiss decorated the organ case with angels and vases. The Gothic hall became the gilded room you see now.
Reiner and Amadeus
Reiner was a Baroque painter who lived and died in Prague. He died in 1743 and was buried in the church, in front of the altar of St Vincent. Some two and a half centuries later the room returned to public attention when Miloš Forman filmed some scenes of Amadeus here in the early 1980s. The film, released in 1984, was shot on location in Prague and won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Concert-goers now sit in a church that stood in for a Viennese setting on screen.
Frequently asked questions
When was St Giles' Church consecrated?
On 4 May 1371, by Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim, with King Charles IV present.
Who painted the frescoes?
Václav Vavřinec Reiner, in 1734 and 1735.
Who runs the church?
It is a Roman Catholic parish church and the convent church of the Dominicans, who have served it since the 1620s.
Was Amadeus filmed here?
Some scenes were, in the early 1980s, according to Czech Wikipedia and the concert organiser.
Sources