Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sv Martin ve zdi (St Martin-in-the-Wall)
Martinská 8 • Summer Mon-Sat 2-4pm •
www.martinvezdi.eu
• Metro Můstek
TheHavelskámarketrunswestinto
Uhelnýtrh
,whichgetsitsnamefromthe
uhlí
(coal)that
was sold here in medieval times. South of Uhelný trh, down Martinská, the street miracu-
lously opens out to make room for the twelfth-century
church of sv Martin ve zdi
. It's still
essentiallyaRomanesquestructure,adaptedtosuitGothictastesacenturylater.Closeddown
in 1784 by Joseph II and turned into a warehouse, shops and flats, the church was bought
and restored by the city council in 1904; they added the creamy neo-Renaissance tower, and
eventually handed the church over to the Czech Brethren. For them, it has a special signific-
anceastheplacewherecommunion“inbothkinds”(breadandwine),oneofthefundamental
demands of the Hussites, was first administered to the whole congregation, in 1414. There's
very little to see inside, which is just as well as most of the year it's open only for concerts
and services.
Bartolomějská
Metro Národní třída
Around the corner from sv Martin ve zdi is the gloomy, lifeless street of
Bartolomějská
,
dominated by a tall, grim-looking building on its south side, which served as the main inter-
rogation centre of the
Communistsecretpolice
, the Státní bezpečnost, or StB. As in the rest
of Eastern Europe, the accusations (often unproven) and revelations of who exactly collab-
orated with the StB caused the downfall of leading politicians right across the political spec-
trum. The building is now back in the hands of the Franciscan nuns who occupied the place
prior to 1948, and its former police cells now serve as rooms.
Betlémská kaple
Betlémské náměstí 4 • Daily: April-Oct 10am-6.30pm; Nov-March 10am-5.30pm • 60Kč • 224 248 595 •
Metro Národní třída
The attractive Betlémské square is named after the
Betlémská kaple
, whose high wooden
gables face onto the normally quiet piazza. The chapel was founded in 1391 by religious
reformists, who, denied the right to build a church, proceeded instead to erect the largest
chapel in Bohemia, with a total capacity of three thousand. Sermons were delivered not in
the customary Latin, but in the language of the masses - Czech. From 1402 to 1413
JanHus
preached here, regularly pulling in more than enough commoners to fill the chapel. Hus was
eventually excommunicated for his outspokenness, found guilty of heresy and burnt at the
stake at the Council of Constance in 1415.
