Church of St Katherine of Alexandria - Viničná 2

The tower as a minaret and a temple founded by Charles IV. Peace and quiet in the garden in the middle of the big city.

From the Prague district Podskali, bypassing the Botanical Garden of Charles University, the street will lead you to the old square, where the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria lurked in the shade of the ancient trees. The church begins its history from the middle of the 14th century, in 1355, when, by order of the Czech king Charlemagne, the first stone was laid in its foundation. Catherine of Alexandria was the most revered holy ruler. The construction of the Gothic church was completed in 1367. It was then that the monastery of the Augustinian monastic order was founded under him. In 1568 the Augustinian sisters moved to a new place, and the monastery became male. In 1718-1730, the church of St. Catherine underwent a major reconstruction. A new building of the monastery was built in the style of Czech Baroque, designed by court architect Christopher Dienzenhofer. In the years 1737-1741, Kilian Dienzenhofer rebuilt the church itself, leaving only part of the wall from the previous Gothic structure and building an original tower in the facade of the building. In 1781, the Austrian emperor Joseph II held a religious reform, as a result of which the monastery of St. Catherine was abolished and disbanded. In the building of the monastery opened a shelter for the insane, and worship and church ceremonies were held since 1837 exclusively for the staff of the shelter and its inhabitants. In 1950, the church was re-consecrated, but it was not used for religious services. The premises of the church became a repository for sculptures not included by the Prague museums in the existing exhibition fund. In the 1960s, the church was opened to the public, but this period did not last long, about 10 years. In 2013, a church held a concert of Byzantine music as part of the 22 festival of the revival of spiritual values ​​"St. Wenceslas Celebrations". Today, the Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria is located in the area of ​​the General Faculty Hospital, and it is managed by the Orthodox Church. Here, on certain days, liturgies are held for Orthodox Ukrainians and Georgians.