Betlémská kaple

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Betlémská kaple (Bethlehem Chapel)
Betlémské náměstí, Staré Město
Prague, September 2024

“The Bethlehem Chapel (Czech: Betlémská kaple) is a medieval religious building in the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic, notable for its connection with the origins of the Bohemian Reformation, especially with the Czech reformer Jan Hus. The chapel is named for the Innocents massacred in Bethlehem by Herod the Great in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus Christ. The Bethlehem Chapel was founded in Prague in 1391 by Wenceslas Kříž (known as 'the Merchant'), and John of Milheim, and taught solely in the Czech vernacular, thus breaking with German domination of the Medieval Bohemian church. The building was never officially called a church, only a chapel, though it could contain 3,000 people; indeed, the chapel encroached upon the parish of Sts. Philip and James, and John of Milheim paid the pastor of that church 90 grossi as compensation. Hus became a rector and a preacher in March 1402. After Hus's excommunication in 1412, the Pope ordered the Bethlehem chapel to be pulled down, although this action was rejected by the Czech majority on the Old Town council. After Hus's death, he was succeeded by Jacob of Mies.” (Bethlehem Chapel, Wikipedia)