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Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague

church building in Prague, Czech Republic

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 13, 2025
Entity authorityQ3508403 ↗
Source-derived summary

Church of Saint Michael the Archangel (Czech: Kostel svatého Michaela archanděla) is a church situated in Prague, Czech Republic. It was built in Romanesque and Gothic style and later rebuilt in Baroque style. The priest and church reformer Jan Hus celebrated masses in the church. The church and adjacent monastery were disestablished during the reforms of the Emperor Joseph II in the 18th century. Later, the buildings served as a warehouse. In the crypt, there are buried rectors of the Prague's University.

History

The Church of St. Michael (Czech: kostel svatého Michaela) in Opatovice – V Jirachářích, originally a Romanesque structure, is older than the New Town (Nové Město) itself, which started to evolve in the place of the fields and meadows, settlements and villages in 1348.

It was founded at the same time as the settlement of Opatovice and a rectory stood at the site during the reign of John of Bohemia. It belonged to the Hussites during the Hussite Wars (1419), became the property of the Lutherans a hundred years later (1524), and then the Catholics after the Battle of White Mountain (1621).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague” as church building in Prague, Czech Republic. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Church, Saint and Michael.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1348, 1419, 1524, 1621—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Church, Saint and Michael providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague”, the useful work is to connect “church building in Prague, Czech Republic” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 13, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3508403. VIAF identifies the subject as 130659939. Authority coordinates are 50.086, 14.420. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1348, 1419, 1524 and 1621.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague primary sources, Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague archive and Church research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Prague” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.