Prague - The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

Prague - The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, originally uploaded by Live4sports.

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, or Tyn Church, (Týnský Chrám) dominates one side of the Old Town Square. The two spires of this powerful looking Gothic church (with a Baroque interior) can be seen from all over Prague.

Tyn Church was founded in 1385, a tumultuous period when Hussites were being slaughtered by the ruling Roman Catholics. Indeed, in time Catholic Jesuits took over the church, recasting the bell and replacing the Hussites symbolic chalice with a large figure of Mary nailed between the towers.

Tyn Church is impressive by day, striking by night, lit up against the dark night sky. Take a close look at the two spires. They are not symmetrical. This is characteristic of the gothic architecture of the time and is a representation of both the masculine and feminine sides of the world.