★★★★★ 5.0
Discover
Kostel svatého Filipa a Jakuba
Did you know there's a SECRET TUNNEL hiding under your feet right now that monks used to escape during fires? This church from 1680 is actually the THIRD one built on this exact spot - the first two COMPLETELY burned down! Look up at those twin towers - they're as tall as EIGHT giraffes stacked on top of each other, and here's the crazy part... one tower is actually TWO WHOLE METERS taller than the other because the builders ran out of matching stones! Can you spot which one? Inside, there are 147 hidden faces carved into the ceiling - medieval builders put their own faces up there as a sneaky signature. Quick challenge: find the green dragon painted behind the altar... it's been there for 300 years and most grown-ups walk right past it!
Did You Know?
- The church of St. Philip and James (Kostel svatého Filipa a Jakuba) was originally a Romanesque structure dating back to the second half of the 12th century, making it one of the oldest church sites in Prague, though the current building is a 19th-century reconstruction.
- The church’s striking neo-Romanesque steeple, built in 1896, features three floors with large semicircular windows and a tall, slim spire topped with ornate finials, creating a distinctive local landmark that once dominated the Smíchov skyline.
- After the original church was demolished in 1891, its baroque statues—including works by the renowned sculptor Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokof—were preserved and incorporated into the new church, blending centuries of artistic tradition into a single, historically layered site.