This Nicholas is Not that Nicholas

In Prague, there are two St. Nicholas Churches. One is located at Old Town Square and the other at Lesser Town Square.

The one at Lesser Town Square is more prominent as it is considered as the most beautiful Baroque building in Prague. The more-than-70-m high cupola and the bell tower of equal height form an important part of Prague's skyline.

When I went to Prague 7 years ago, I remembered that I paid to go in to the church at Lesser Town Square. When I read my travel guidebook during my trip this year, I saw free-of-charge entry! I thought that was more than a bargain and happily went to the church expecting to have free entry. But I realised that I was wrong because I mistakenly referred to the entrance fee of the St. Nicholas Church at Old Town Square in the travel guidebook. I still paid up 70 CZK to gain permission to enter this St. Nicholas Church. What I got from the 70 CZK was a postcard-size ticket and a leaflet with more information about the church.

I didn't take many photos of the church 7 years ago as I did not have much memory storage for my digital camera, and was very careful with the shots from my film camera. This time round, I could finally fire the shots to my heart's content.

The church interior is adorned with many statues, giving it a very strong spiritual atmosphere. There are also very beautiful paintings on the dome and vaults with gilded frescoes at every corner. All there were done by the contemporary leading artists.

During the evening time, concerts are still held inside the church. Therefore, the pipe organ is still maintained to be in working condition. It is said that the organ was used by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during his part of life in Prague.

Paying 70 CZK to see all those was already worth the ticket price. Not to mention that there are actually more paintings, statues and frescoes in the chapels lining along both sides of the nave of the church.

When you are in Prague, don't miss out visiting this church as it is one of the churches with the most beautiful interior in Prague, or perhaps the most beautiful.