★★★★★ 5.0
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St. Peter at Poříčí
In 1178, right where you're standing, a massive flood swept away the original Romanesque church that had watched over this bend in the Vltava River for nearly a century... and the medieval builders decided to rebuild it facing BACKWARDS. Look at that peculiar Gothic facade before you – its altar points west instead of east, making St. Peter at Poříčí the only major Prague church that deliberately defies a thousand years of Christian architectural tradition. The locals whispered it was cursed, but the real reason was far more practical: the builders discovered the flood-weakened eastern foundations couldn't support the new stone vault that would eventually soar 24 meters above your head. Step through these doors and you'll notice something extraordinary... the afternoon sun illuminates the altar exactly when medieval merchants finished their workday, transforming this architectural "mistake" into Prague's first church designed for evening prayer services. During the plague of 1380, over 3,000 souls sought refuge within these walls – that's ten times the church's capacity – and legend says not a single person who sheltered here died of the disease. Whether divine intervention or the church's unusual limestone walls that naturally purified the air, we'll never know... but even today, you can still see the desperate scratch marks on the third pillar where terrified families carved protective symbols against the Black Death.
Did You Know?
- St. Peter at Poříčí is one of Prague's oldest churches, originally built as a Romanesque basilica in the mid-12th century for the settlement of Poříčí, a riverside hamlet settled by German merchants along a key medieval trade route—making it a rare survivor from before the founding of Prague's New Town in 1348.
- The church has endured dramatic disasters, including destruction during the Swedish siege of Prague in 1648, multiple devastating fires, and even a lightning strike that melted its bells—yet it was repeatedly rebuilt, most notably in a striking Gothic Revival style by architect Josef Mocker in the 1870s, who stripped away Baroque additions to reveal and reconstruct its ancient stonework.
- Archaeological excavations in the early 20th century uncovered the original Romanesque foundations and medieval elements, leading to careful restorations that blend authentic historical features with imaginative Gothic and Romanesque Revival details—creating a unique 'time capsule' where families can spot layers of Prague's architectural history in a single building.