Church of Our Lady before Týn

The twin black spires over the Old Town Square

Area Staré Město
Type Church
Time needed 40m

The Church of Our Lady before Týn is the building whose two black spires rise behind the houses on the east side of the Old Town Square. It is Gothic, begun in the fourteenth century, and the towers stand about 80 metres. Inside is the tomb of the astronomer Tycho Brahe, who died in Prague in 1601, and a set of baroque altar paintings by Karel Škréta.

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Getting there

It fronts the Old Town Square, so you are already there if you are in the centre; metro line A (green) to Staroměstská is five minutes west, and lines A and B meet at Můstek, eight minutes south. The catch is the entrance. You do not get in from the square itself: the church is masked by a row of houses, and the way in is through the arcade beneath them, reached from the square between the buildings or round from Týnská and the Týnský dvůr courtyard behind. Walk into the arcade and the door is on your left. Visitors routinely circle the block without finding it.

What you see

From the arcade door you come in at the back of a tall, narrow Gothic nave that feels much higher than its width, with light arriving from the clerestory. Walk up the north aisle and look for the tin font of 1414, one of the oldest things in the building. The main altar carries Škréta paintings of the Assumption and the Trinity. Tycho Brahe's red marble tomb slab is set against a pillar on the right side of the nave near the front, with his effigy in armour and a short Latin inscription; it is smaller than people expect. Above the west end is a seventeenth century organ in a carved case, one of the oldest in the city. Look up at the vaulting and at the stone pulpit, and on the way out turn back for the view down the nave towards the organ, which is the best angle in the church.

What to pair it with

The Old Town Square is at the door, with the Astronomical Clock and the Old Town Hall tower a minute away. The Powder Tower and the Municipal House are a seven minute walk east along Celetná.

When to go

Opening hours are short and limited to a few periods a day, usually around services, and the church closes to visitors on Mondays and for much of Sunday; check before you go, because this is the sight people most often arrive at to find locked. Late morning and late afternoon slots on weekdays are the usual windows. Go in the first slot of the day if you can. Attending a service or a concert is an alternative way in and the building sounds very good.

What is hard about it

The hours are the real problem: narrow windows, Monday closure, and no entry at all when a service is running. Finding the arcade door takes patience. There is a small charge or a requested donation to go in. Photography is restricted and flash is not allowed, and the nave is dark, so pictures are generally poor. Much of the nave is roped off, so you view the altar and side chapels from a distance rather than walking up to them, and the towers are not open to visitors at all — there is no climb here.

Common questions

How long do you need at Týn Church?

Thirty to forty minutes, most of it in the nave. Longer if you want to find Brahe's tomb without hurrying.

Where is the entrance?

Through the arcade of the houses in front of the church on the Old Town Square side, with the door on the left as you walk in. It is not on the square itself.

Can you climb the towers?

No. The spires are closed to visitors; for a view over the square use the Old Town Hall tower opposite.