Our Lady of the Snows

The Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Kostel Panny Marie Sněžné) stands in Prague's Nové Město and is one of the city's lesser-known Gothic landmarks, tucked behind the bustle of Wenceslas Square. Founded in 1350 by Emperor Charles IV, the church was conceived as a grand coronation church that would rival St. Vitus Cathedral in height. The Hussite Wars and chronic funding shortfalls halted construction so early that only the choir was ever completed — which explains the building's unusually squat proportions relative to the soaring height of its surviving Gothic vault, one of the tallest medieval church interiors in Prague. Protected as a Czech cultural monument, the church rewards visitors who seek it out with an atmosphere of quiet, centuries-old stillness rarely found in the city center.