Church of St. James the Greater

A baroque basilica with the best organ in the city, and a mummified arm

Area Staré Město
Type Church
Time needed 40m

The Church of St James the Greater stands on Malá Stupartská, a lane a couple of minutes north-east of Staroměstské náměstí, and is a Gothic Minorite foundation rebuilt in baroque form after a fire in 1689. Two things bring people in: the mummified forearm hanging on a chain inside the west door, and the organ, the largest in Prague, which makes this the best church in the city for a recital. It is a working church, free to enter outside services, and twenty minutes is enough unless there is music on.

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Getting there

Metro lines A (green) and B (yellow) at Můstek, or line B at Náměstí Republiky, are each about five minutes' walk; from Staroměstské náměstí it is three minutes on foot, past the Tyn church and left into the lane. Trams do not serve the lane. The entrance is at street level with a shallow step, the nave is flat, and the church is easy to miss because the facade sits tight against the buildings either side with no square in front of it.

What you see

Look up at the facade first for the three high stucco reliefs over the doorway, then go in through the west door and turn to look back above you — the blackened forearm hangs there in a small case or on its chain by the entrance, which is the detail everyone remembers. The story attached to it is that a thief tried to steal jewels from the Madonna and the statue seized his arm, which had to be cut off; it has hung here for centuries. The nave is startlingly long and narrow, over sixty metres of it, with a high vault frescoed in the eighteenth century and side altars with large dark canvases. The monument that repays attention is the tomb of Count Vratislav of Mitrovice on the north side, a tall baroque composition in marble with sculpted figures and a reclining effigy, designed and carved by the leading hands of the period. The organ fills the west gallery, a very large instrument in a decorated case; its tone in this long acoustic is the reason concerts are held here rather than elsewhere.

What to pair it with

Staroměstské náměstí and the Tyn church are a short walk west, and the Estates Theatre is five minutes south. The Municipal House and the Powder Gate are the same distance east.

When to go

Opening is limited and the church shuts between morning and afternoon on many days, and it is closed to sightseers during Mass, so check before you go. Late morning or mid-afternoon are the usual windows. For the organ, come to a recital — these are held through the year and advertised at the door — and sit well back in the nave rather than under the gallery. The interior is dim, so a bright day helps; it is cold inside in winter.

What is hard about it

The hours are the problem: short, variable and often broken by services, and a good number of visitors arrive to find the door locked. The nave is poorly lit and the frescoes and the Mitrovice tomb are hard to see properly on a grey day. The arm itself is small, high, dark and unlabelled in English, so people often leave without having found it. Concerts here are priced for tourists and the seating is hard pews; sound is good, sightlines of the organ are not, because it is behind you.

Common questions

How long do you need at St James?

Twenty minutes to see the arm, the nave and the Mitrovice tomb. An hour and a half if you are coming for an organ recital.

Is there really a mummified arm?

Yes — a blackened human forearm hangs by the west door, with a legend about a thief caught stealing from a statue of the Madonna. It is the thing visitors remember.

Is it free to go in?

The church is free to enter when open for visitors, though donations are invited and concerts are ticketed separately.