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Church of Virgin Mary of Victory (Infant Jesus of Prague) - the Prague Bambino (Panna Marie Vítězná - Pražské Jezulátko)
Karmelitská 9 Praha 1 - Malá Strana Phone: 257 533 646 http://www.pragjesu.infoAbout
Church of Virgin Mary of Victory (Infant Jesus of Prague) | The church was built in 1611 - 12 by German Lutherans, and it was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. We do not know the name of the architect of this first Baroque building in Prague. However, the building is a close resemblance of a church in Neubirg at the Danube by Rudolf's royal artist Josef Heintz. It is likely that his concept was completed by an imperial architect Giovanni Maria Filippi. After the victory of the counter-reformation, Ferdinand II donated the church in 1624 to the order of Discalced Carmelites, who had merit in the victory of the imperial army at the Battle of Bílá hora. This order dedicated the church to Virgin Mary of Victory, re-built it and built a monastery nearby. The existing front was built in 1636 - 1644 at the expense of General Baltasar de Marradas. Originally, when the Lutheran Protestants dwelled here, the entrance to the church was on the side towards Petřín, and the altar headed east, customarily. To distinguish the Catholic style from the original Protestants, the entrance to the church was later built on the opposite side, i.e. from today's Karmelitská Street. However, the Baroque style gradually placed more emphasis on the building as such than on the church's traditional orientation. The Carmelites built an organ-loft in the originally simple single-aisle church, as well as a deep chancel, and they added a tower. By the monastery, they established a Seminar garden, where they kept frogs and fish in artificial ponds as food for the fasting periods. The Carmelite monastery was abolished in 1784 during the reign of Joseph II, and the church fell into the administration of the Maltese knights. At present, it is again administered by the Carmelites.The main early-Baroque altar from 1716 is typical for variations of black and gold. It was modified by Jan Ferdinand Schor and it is decorated by a new statue of Madonna by Jindřich Čapek senior. On the chancel's wall, there is a painting of Prophet Elias by Petr Brandl and the same author painted the pieces on the side alters: St. Joseph, St. Simon and St. Joachim and Anna from 1722. On St. Theresa's altar, there are paintings by Johan Georg Dietrich and statues by Jan Jiří Bendl. Most pieces decorating the church's interior originated in the 17th and 18th centuries. Left from the entrance, there is a late-Baroque font, which was brought here from the Church of Virgin Mary under the chain.There are three bells in the church's tower. Two of them are original, even if recast. The bell with a deeper sound was made by bell founder Brikcích of Cimburk in 1595 and was named Jan Hus. When it was recast in 1829, the bell founder Karel Bellman named it Jan Křtitel (John the Baptist). The smaller bell's name is Jeronym. Both date back to the time when the church was administered by the Lutherans. Only the third bell was acquired in 1718 by the Carmelites.Under the church, there is an extensive crypt from 1666 with coffins of the Carmelites and their supporters from the 17th and 18th centuries. It is in a bad state, because it was hit by water several times in the past, and a majority of the mummified bodies were damaged. Until 1716, more than 200 persons were buried here. Besides the Carmelites, there is also, for example, Spanish commander Don Baltasar de Marradas, Barbora of Valdštejn, the Dietrichstein family, but also famous beauty Terezie Fröhlichová, who, as legend says, died here on the day of her wedding with a groom she didn't want. There are also several coffins with remains of children. Over the past years, the crypt was largely modified, with the original painted coffins with decorative forging being taken away and most of the mummies transferred. Only three best preserved were left here in glass coffins. The crypt is not accessible for public.Since 1628, the world famous statue of Infant Jesus of Prague has been installed i
