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In-Depth Information
The chapel continued to attract reformists from all over Europe for another two centuries.
The Anabaptist Thomas Müntzer preached here in the sixteenth century, having fled to
Prague from Zwickau - he later became one of the leaders of the German Peasants' War. Of
the original building, only the three outer walls remain, with restored patches of the biblical
scenes, used to get the message across to the illiterate congregation. The rest is a scrupulous
reconstruction by Jaroslav Fragner, using the original plans and a fair amount of imaginative
guesswork. The initial reconstruction work was carried out after the war by the Communists,
who were keen to portray Hus as a Czech nationalist and social critic as much as a religious
reformer, and, of course, to dwell on the revolutionary Müntzer's later appearances here.
JAN HUS
Thelegendarypreacher-andCzechnationalhero- JanHus wasborninthesmallvillage
of Husinec in South Bohemia around 1372. From a childhood of poverty, he enjoyed a
steady rise through the Czech education system, taking his degree at the Karolinum in
the 1390s, and eventually being ordained as a deacon and priest around 1400. Although
without doubt an admirer of the English religious reformer John Wycliffe (and the Lol-
lards), Hus was by no means as radical as many of his colleagues who preached at the
Betlémská kaple. Nor did he actually advocate many of the more famous tenets of the
heretical religious movement that took his name: Hussitism . In particular, he never advoc-
ated giving communion “in both kinds” (bread and wine) to the general congregation.
In the end, it wasn't the disputes over Wycliffe, whose books were burnt on the orders
of the archbishop in 1414, that proved Hus's downfall, but an argument over the sale of
indulgences to fund the inter-papal wars that prompted his unofficial trial at the Council
of Constance . Having been guaranteed safe conduct by Emperor Sigismund himself, Hus
naïvely went to Constance to defend his views, and was burnt at the stake as a heretic on
July 6, 1415. The Czechs were outraged, and Hus became a national hero overnight, in-
spiring thousands to rebel against the authorities of the day. In 1999, Pope John Paul II ex-
pressed“deepregret”overhisdeath,butrefusedtopardonHus-however,theanniversary
of Hus's death (July 6) is a Czech national holiday .
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Náprstkovo muzeum (Náprstek Museum)
Betlémské náměstí 1 • Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • 80Kč • 224 497 500, nm.cz • Metro Národní třída
At the western end of Betlémské náměstí stands the Náprstkovo muzeum , whose founder,
Czech nationalist Vojta Náprstek , was inspired by the great Victorian museums of London
while in exile following the 1848 revolution. On his return, he turned the family brewery
into a museum, initially intending it to concentrate on the virtues of industrial progress.
 
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