Ke Karlovu 453/1: Church of Our Lady and Charlemagne

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Charlemagne was constructed by the great gothic architect Matthew of Arras in 1351 on an escarpment overlooking the Botič Valley; its octagonal ground plan was chosen by Charles IV to reflect that of Charlemagne’s own Palatine Chapel in Aachen.

A later addition (1575) is the vast star-ribbed vault, the work of the German master-builder Bonifaz Wohlmut, who also constructed the Royal Summer Palace next to Prague Castle. Following substantial damage, the roof and exterior walls were remodelled in the Baroque style in the mid-1700s.

The adjacent Augustinian monastery, also dating from 1351, now houses the Czech National Police Museum.