The painted Gothic altarpieces
Gilded 14th-century panels of extraordinary fineness — the core and the treasure of the collection.
VitVit — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ray Swi-hymn from Sijhih-Taipei, Taiwan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Donald Judge — CC BY 2.0 · Donald Judge — CC BY 2.0
The building and garden reward a visit on their own, and they are free. But if Gothic art means something to you, this is among central Europe's most important collections, shown in complete calm.
Agnes was canonised in Rome on 12 November 1989, and the demonstrations that brought down the regime began five days later. An old popular tradition held that her canonisation would precede good times for the Czechs, and the coincidence lodged in the national memory.
Yes — the collection is labelled in Czech and English, with an audio guide available. The display is clear and chronological, easy to follow without background.
Use it as the quiet stop between the Old Town and the Jewish quarter: the Spanish Synagogue is seven minutes' walk, the Old Town Square ten.
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The Convent of St Agnes is the oldest Gothic building in Prague, founded in 1231 by Princess Agnes of Bohemia — a king's daughter who left the court to live as a nun and founded a convent and a hospital for the poor. She was canonised in 1989, days before the Velvet Revolution, a coincidence Czechs mention often. The building itself is plain and severe: early Gothic arches, bare stone cloisters, an inner courtyard and a quiet garden. No Baroque ornament and no gold — Franciscan austerity at its purest, and a restful contrast after Prague's detail-crowded churches. The convent today houses the National Gallery's collection of medieval Gothic art: painted altarpieces, polychrome wooden sculpture and panels from Bohemia and central Europe between the 13th and 16th centuries. It is among the most important collections of its kind in central Europe, and the display is calm and clear. Most usefully: the place is nearly always empty despite standing close to the Old Town Square — ten minutes on foot takes you from total crowd to silence.
Gilded 14th-century panels of extraordinary fineness — the core and the treasure of the collection.
Bare stone and simple arches from 1231 — the oldest Gothic architecture in Prague, standing almost as built.
A quiet garden around the convent with modern sculpture and benches — the best free rest stop near the Old Town.
A princess who left the court to found a convent and a hospital for the poor, canonised in 1989 days before the Velvet Revolution.
U Milosrdných 17, Old Town, Prague 1