St. Thomas Church

"Saint Thomas Church (Kostel svatého Tomáše) is an Augustinian church located in the charming Malá Strana district of Prague, Czech Republic, at Josefská 8. Recognizable in the Prague skyline, it lies close to both Saint Nicholas' Church and Prague Castle. The church celebrated its 775th anniversary in 2003. The original Church of St. Thomas, along with the adjoining Chapel of St. Dorothy, was built in the Romanesque style before 1227 by Benedictine monks from Břevnov Monastery. In 1285, the property was transferred to the Augustinian friars, with Václav II and his wife Guta commissioning a Gothic church on the site of the earlier structure. This Gothic church was consecrated in 1379, while the adjoining monastery served as a house of studies for the order. The church and monastery suffered significant damage during the Hussite Wars in 1420, and restoration was hampered by a lack of funds. After an accidental fire in 1541, both were rebuilt during the reign of Rudolf II. Over the years, St. Thomas Church functioned both as a parish church and as Prague's pro-cathedral, although it faced further destruction from another fire that caused the church gallery to collapse. In 1708, the Augustinians commissioned Jan Bedřich Kohl to create the statue of Saint Augustine for Charles Bridge. Towards the end of the 19th century, the church underwent restoration to commemorate its 600th anniversary. Notably, the monastery brewed beer until 1951. After suffering a fire due to a lightning strike, the church was reconstructed in 1725 in the Baroque style, designed by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. It features a dome atop the nave and a bell tower with a slender spire. To save costs, Dientzenhofer retained the Renaissance portals, while Kohl carved the statue of St. Augustine for the niche above the main portal. The interior is adorned with frescoes by Václav Vavřinec Reiner, illustrating scenes from the life of St. Augustine, along with three frescoes depicting the life of St. Thomas in the chancel. Notable wooden carvings of Saints Augustine, Monica, and Ludmila were crafted by Ferdinand Brokoff. The chancel hosts an altar dedicated to Saint Sebastian, featuring a painting of his martyrdom by Bartholomeus Spranger. Other altarpieces include works by Karel Škréta, depicting the Holy Trinity, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and St. Thomas of Villanova, along with statues of St. Roch and St. Sebastian by Johann Georg Bendl in the side aisle. The church serves as the burial place for several notable figures, including Butautas Kęstutaitis, the son of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Aegidius Sadeler, a prominent engraver. The sculptor Adriaen de Vries is also interred in St. Barbara's Chapel in the crypt, while the English-Czech poet Elizabeth Jane Weston is among those buried at St. Thomas. In 1637, Peter Paul Rubens created The Martyrdom of St. Thomas for the high altar, followed by a painting of Saint Augustine two years later. Both were removed to the National Gallery in Prague in 1639, leaving copies in their place above the main altar."