The lost church of St Philip and St Jacob

A photo of Arbes square - Prague, Czechia

The lost church of St Philip and St Jacob

In the city of a hundred spires, it’s hard to imagine that there were more belfries, towers and churches than there are today. The church of St Philip and St Jacob in Prague’s Smichov district is one of the churches that no longer exists.

History

Sometime in the 12th century, locals built a church in Prague’s south-western Smichov district1. At the time, this was outside Prague’s walls, and therefore this was a separate village2. It’s possible this was partially funded by the Sisters of St George who lived close by3. They dedicated this church to St Philip and St Jacob4 5.

In 1749 they rebuilt it6 after the Prussian siege on Prague. At the time this church was one of the biggest buildings in Smichov, as befits a parish church of the district7.

There also was a church cemetery around it8 but by the end it fell into disuse after the Emperor Joseph reforms that forbid burials close to habituated areas9 10.

This is not far from another church with incredible Egyptian imagery inside it.

Architectural features

A photo of the Rotunda of the finding of the Holy Cross - Prague, Czechia
The Romanesque rotunda of the finding of the Holy Cross – Prague, Czechia

The original 12th century church was a Romanesque building11, as were all religious buildings in Bohemia at the time12. This kind of architecture has thick walls, round arches and sturdy pillars. There are no images of the church, which is a shame, but there are plenty of Romanesque remains in Prague that give us an idea of what this would have looked like.

An 18th century rebuild provided a much needed facelift13 14. The church now sported a baroque gable on the facade with an alcove containing a sculpture of Christ15. It also had a belfry attached to the main building16.

A photo of Arbes square - Prague, Czechia
Arbes square today – Prague, Czechia

Destruction

The church last celebrated mass in that building on 12 October 189117. As part of Empress Marie-Theresa’s reforms, the building was demolished on 26 October 189118.

This makes it sound like the Empress was anti-Catholic but this is far from the truth. Maria Theresa, a devout Catholic, reigned from Vienna where she set up a single currency, a free-trade area, and obligatory education from the age of 6. The demolition of the church was part of a scheme to free up space for social housing and better urban development. The parish office was moved to the recently-founded nearby church of St Wenceslas19.

Between 1895 and 1920 the authorities named the now-open area Jacob square20 21.

Albert Einstein lived close by in Smíchov.

Today

In 1920, the Smichov district became part of Prague proper22. The authorities named it Arbes square (Arbesovo namesti), after local journalist Jakub Arbes23.

References

  1. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  2. Chodějovská , E. (2024) Historical Towns Atlas | Historický atlas měst [online]. Available from: http://towns.hiu.cas.cz/en/smichov.php (Accessed 27 May 2026).[↩]
  3. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  4. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  5. Chodějovská , E. (2024) Historical Towns Atlas | Historický atlas měst [online]. Available from: http://towns.hiu.cas.cz/en/smichov.php (Accessed 27 May 2026).[↩]
  6. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  7. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  8. Chodějovská , E. (2024) Historical Towns Atlas | Historický atlas měst [online]. Available from: http://towns.hiu.cas.cz/en/smichov.php (Accessed 27 May 2026).[↩]
  9. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  10. Chodějovská , E. (2024) Historical Towns Atlas | Historický atlas měst [online]. Available from: http://towns.hiu.cas.cz/en/smichov.php (Accessed 27 May 2026).[↩]
  11. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  12. The Story of Prague; Count Francis Lützow; (Released by the Gutenberg Project on 2014-08-08) [↩]
  13. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  14. Chodějovská , E. (2024) Historical Towns Atlas | Historický atlas měst [online]. Available from: http://towns.hiu.cas.cz/en/smichov.php (Accessed 27 May 2026).[↩]
  15. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  16. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  17. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  18. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  19. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  20. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
  21. Chodějovská , E. (2024) Historical Towns Atlas | Historický atlas měst [online]. Available from: http://towns.hiu.cas.cz/en/smichov.php (Accessed 27 May 2026).[↩]
  22. Chodějovská , E. (2024) Historical Towns Atlas | Historický atlas měst [online]. Available from: http://towns.hiu.cas.cz/en/smichov.php (Accessed 27 May 2026).[↩]
  23. Arbesovo Náměstí; 360 Virtual Prague; (Retrieved 2024-02-07) [↩]
Remember: links were correct at time of publication.

Would you like to receive more of this kind of content by email? Fill in your details and we'll keep you up to date!