Church of the Virgin Mary, Former church at Prague Castle, Czech Republic

The Church of the Virgin Mary is a former church at Prague Castle, built by Prince Bořivoj I after 884 and rebuilt in the 11th century. Its remains lie under the second courtyard: a rectangular nave about 7.4 by 5.9 m with a raised polygonal apse, of which the northern masonry survives up to 1.5 m high, seen through two windows in copper frames in the passage from the fourth to the second courtyard.

Prince Bořivoj I had the church built after 884, making it the oldest church at Prague Castle and the second oldest in Bohemia after St Clement at Levý Hradec. Rebuilt after a fire in the 11th century, it was destroyed again in the 13th century, last mentioned in 1255 and gone by 1278. Duke Spytihněv I was buried here in 915.

The church's name recalls the Virgin Mary, but its documented role is tied to the Přemyslid dynasty: Duke Spytihněv I was buried here in 915, his wife in 918, and St. Wenceslas's postřižiny likely took place here. The site is now seen through two windows in copper frames set into the passage between the fourth and second courtyards.

The remains are visible through two glass panes in copper frames set in the passage between the Second and Fourth Courtyards of Prague Castle, opened by architect Bořek Šípek in 1997. Look for the windows at eye level in the corridor; the masonry stands up to 1.5 m high behind the glass.

The remains are not entered but viewed through two windows set in copper frames, installed by architect Bořek Šípek in 1997 during Václav Havel's castle renovations. They look onto the passage between the second and fourth courtyards, where the north wall of the 11th-century church stands up to 1.5 m high.