Church of Saint Joseph, Baroque church in Mala Strana, Prague, Czech Republic.
The Church of Saint Joseph stands on Josefská street in Malá Strana, Prague. It has an oval plan roofed by a dome with vaulting ribs and an oculus, and its facade, dated 1691, is divided by banded rusticated pilasters. A passage on the east side links it to the nuns' choir chapel.
The Carmelites were called to Prague by Ferdinand III in 1655; the foundation stone was laid in 1673 in the presence of Leopold I, and the church was built in 1686–1692 by Johann Ross. Consecrated in 1692 and again in 1714, it served the convent until Joseph II dissolved it in 1782.
The church holds Petr Brandl's painting of the Holy Family from 1702 on the main altar and his Vision of Saint Teresa of Ávila, donated by Václav Vojtěch of Šternberk. A miniature of the Infant Jesus of Prague in a case on the altar mensa was given in 1742 by Countess Kolowratová.
The church is easily accessible and located in a neighborhood with other nearby attractions worth exploring. Allow time to examine the ornate interior details and artworks at a comfortable pace.
The church is a former Carmelite convent church; the nuns left in 1782 under Joseph II's reforms, and the Congregation of English Virgins ran a school here until 1919. The facade bears the date 1691 and the inscription ITE AD JOSEPH above the statue of Saint Joseph.
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