Svatomikulášská městská zvonice, The bell tower of the Church of St. Nicholas in Prague's Lesser Town

The Svatomikulášská městská zvonice is a tall Baroque tower standing beside the Church of Saint Nicholas in Malá Strana. It has a narrow, upright form with a wide cupola roof and defines the skyline of this historic quarter.

The tower was built together with the Church of Saint Nicholas by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer and completed after 1751 by Anselmo Lurago. It was not part of the church but belonged to the town of Malá Strana, which used it as a fire watchtower from 1755 and marked its ownership with the town coat of arms above the entrance. A dispute with the Jesuits over the loss of the old town bell tower led a provincial court to award the tower to the town.

The tower was never part of the church: from the start it belonged to the town of Malá Strana, which marked its ownership with the Malá Strana coat of arms above the entrance. A watchman lived in the tower and, paid by the town, announced fires, floods and enemy attacks by hanging a red flag by day or a lantern by night and ringing the bells. The tower kept a watchman until 1891, when the fire telegraph replaced him.

The tower is entered from Malostranské náměstí beside the Church of Saint Nicholas; the climb to the top passes through the former watchman's flat and the lookout room. The 112 steps are narrow and uneven, so allow time and wear sturdy shoes. The bell floor with the 1576 bell Mikuláš and the preserved black kitchen are seen along the way.

The tower's black kitchen is the one preserved original feature of the keeper's flat, shown in an exhibition recreating the home of the tower watchman of the 18th and 19th centuries. The flat continued in use far longer than the watch service: a couple still lived here in the late 1950s, with electricity, running water and a telephone, hauling themselves up 112 steps several times a day to walk their dog.