St Nicholas Bell Tower (Svatomikulášská městská zvonice)

A picturesque view of the Lesser Town's buildings and square is the reward for climbing 215 steps to the 65-metre high viewing gallery of the tower adjacent to the Baroque Church of St Nicholas. The bell tower from 1755, which also served as a fire watchtower, was the last town crier's tower in Prague. From the 1960s to the 1980s it served as an observation post for the State Security Service for monitoring the Western embassies located in the surrounding area.

Object description

Temporarily closed.

Building history

The baroque tower adjacent to St Nicholas Church was built by multiple architects, mainly Kryštof and Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer. It was completed by Anselmo Lurago according to the original plans in 1755. The tower’s height is the same as the adjacent cupola and the gallery, which is open to the public, is 65m tall and has 299 steps. The tower belonged to the community, not the church, as indicated by the Malá Strana symbol over the entrance. This is the reason its street address is 556, since churches for the most part do not have numbered addresses. The tower has a separate entrance from the square.

Opening hours