| Betlemska kapel (picture by Peter Watts) |  |
Betlemska kapel
Photographer Description of Betlemska kapel
This panorama of Betlemska kapel was enjoyable to take. The paintings on the walls seen in this picture were of biblical scenes and used to teach the illiterate congregations that met here in the 15C. I am sure that the chairs were not as comfortable back then as the ones in this image.Betlemska kapel - Further Information
Panorama from inside Betlémská kaple (Bethlehem Chapel). The first chapel on the site was built in 1391 by reformists who were not allowed to build a church in Prague. The resulting Betlémská kaple is the largest chapel in Bohemia, with a seating capacity of some 3000. The most famous preacher at the chapel was Jan Hus, who preached here between 1402 - 1013, often filling the chapel to capacity. He preached not in Latin but in the local language, and this practice along with many of his teaching much irritated the Roman Catholic Church. Jan Hus was eventually excommunicated for his outspoken ideas and Protestant-like ideas, found guilty of heresy at the Council of Constance and burnt at the stake on July 6, 1415. Five centuries later in 1999, Pope John Paul II expressed "deep regret for the cruel death inflicted".Betlémská kaple continued to attract reformers until the counter-reformation at which point the Jesuits took over the church and totally altered the building (they built sv Mikuláš on Malonstranské námĕstí in Malá Strana at the same time). In 1773 the Jesuits were expelled by the Habsburgs and the chapel destroyed. Only the three outer walls of the original building remain, the rest being carefully resotred and reconstructed according to 14C plans laid down by Jaroslav Fragner. This work was carried out firstly by the Communists after WWII keen to portray Hus and other 'revolutionary' reformist preachers like Thoms Müntzer as nationalist and social reformers. This panoramic picture shows the inside of the chapel hall. The paintings on the walls depict Biblical scenes and would have been used to teach the illiterate among the congregation.
Address:
Betlémská kaple
Betlemske námesti 4,
Prague, 11000
Travel and Getting There:
Metro: Staroměstská (Green Line), Můstek (Green Line, Yellow Line)
Tram: 17, 18, 53 (Smetanovo nabrezi), 6, 9, 18, 21, 22, 23 (Narodni rijna)
