Church of St. Anne

The Church of St. Anne belongs to the former convent of the Dominican nuns in the Old Town of Prague. It was built in the 14th century on the site of an older church of St. Lawrence and is one of the most striking new constructions of mendicant architecture in the Old Town. During the reign of Joseph II, the convent was dissolved, and the church was desecrated, creating a printing house in its place. At that time, the gazebo-like spire was removed, the third floor of the tower was taken away, and the Gothic vault was demolished. The church was subsequently converted into a multi-story space with wooden floors, which remained in the interior to this day, serving as a paper storage. From the 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s, a reconstruction took place, including the repair of the church's outer facade, reconstruction of the roof structure, and replacement of the roofing.
The goal of the reconstruction was, besides the conservation of the exterior and interior facade of the building, to preserve existing elements, wall paintings, remove the wooden story added, and insert new interior elements. New features such as a staircase to the gallery, a spiral staircase to the tower, a service walkway around the roof structure, inserted suspended steel ribs reminiscent of the original shape of the Gothic rib vault, a stage platform for performers, and flooring, social amenities for guests and performers, lighting, and acoustic equipment are intended to create a universal space with a capacity of up to 300 people, suitable for concerts, conferences, exhibitions, theatrical performances, corporate meetings, etc.
Meanwhile, existing frescoes are continuously being conserved and repaired according to the requirements of heritage conservationists and restorers. The restored and renovated frescoes are illuminated by lights from the walkway in the church's roof, allowing for various combinations of lighting scenes. At the end of the church's main nave, a symbolic altar with a painting by Adriena Šimotová is placed above the stage.
Currently, the restoration is largely complete, and the church is used for various events. The recent opening of the church marked the conclusion of the third phase of the restoration of St. Anne's Church, with further phases to follow. Among the upcoming tasks in the church are the expansion of the existing facilities and a new stage structure on the gallery for additional seated spectators. The church also awaits a complete repair of the roof and facade. The foundation is currently striving to obtain further financial resources for these very demanding works.

The Church of St. Anne was long abandoned. Its deterioration reached a point where the very existence of the church was at stake. No one was interested in taking on the risky reconstruction of the remnants of this church until the Václav Havel Foundation came to save it.
The foundation hired the renowned architect Eva Jiřičná for this task. Together with historians, the architect created an intriguing proposal for the reconstruction of the space and its use. The result can be seen as an exhibition of various phases of the church's history and the creation of a new type of public space usable for many types of events.
The magnificent roof structure holds special value. Instead of the long-destroyed arches, we can now recognize the oldest wooden construction in Prague, exposed in this dramatic space as a historical layer. As an interesting detail, the positions of the old arches are indicated by thin steel tubes.