St. Francis of Assisi Church (Kostel sv. Františka z Assisi) in Prague was built between 1679 and 1688 to designs by Jean-Baptiste Mathey (1630–1695), a French architect working in Bohemia whose work reflects the influence of Roman High Baroque filtered through the French classicist formula. His design introduced a more regular, centralised spatial scheme to Prague, while respecting local Baroque traditions already shaped by Italian models and Bohemian liturgical needs. Mathey was also responsible for the remodelled façade of the Archbishop’s Palace and the celebrated Troja Chateau, further consolidating his role in shaping the Baroque identity of Prague.
The church was commissioned by the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, the only male religious order founded by a woman—St Agnes of Bohemia (1211–1282)—and replaced the earlier Gothic Church of the Holy Spirit, founded in 1252, of which masonry remains are preserved below ground. It was one of the first domed churches in Prague, predating later centralised churches of the Castle district.
The plan is octagonal with a dominant dome rising 40.88 metres above the floor. The dome was frescoed in 1722–1723 by Václav Vavřinec Reiner (1689–1743), who depicted The Last Judgement in dynamic vertical movement, with Christ enthroned above apostles, angels, and the ascending elect. The high altar bears The Stigmatisation of St Francis by Jan Kryštof Liška (1650–1712), portraying the six-winged seraph appearing to Francis on Mount La Verna. Sculptures of St. Augustine and St. Helena by Matthias Bernard Braun (1684–1738), carved around 1700–1701 in collaboration with Ottavio Quittainer, flank the altar. Michael Leopold Willmann (1630–1706) painted the side altars—Assumption of the Virgin, Finding of the True Cross, and Expulsion of the Merchants from the Temple—between 1701 and 1702. The organ, built 1701–1702 by Abraham Starck of Loket (c.1670–after 1719), is the second oldest in Prague and was played by W. A. Mozart (1756–1791) and Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904).
