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This church was by far the most gaudy of the Baroque churches we saw. It is not the same as the church of St. Nicholas in the Old Town Square - this one is in Little Quarter. Apparently the Baroque churches were made this way to attract people to the church after attendance had been low. I was surprised at the number of violent images and statues in the church of various saints "smiting" people. Also, this church is a good illustration of how small the cross and Jesus are in relation to the statues of saints themselves. The minimization of Jesus goes right along with the violent imagery and glorification of the power of the church I think.

Regardless of my negativity about the motivation behind the art, it was a very beautiful church and we enjoyed it a lot. Prague actually has many churches of this opulence, but often they had interior sections closed or fenced off. Also, unlike in most places, these churches do cost money to enter. Also some churches charge you a special "license" to take photos inside!

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