Farní škola u sv. Jindřicha a sv. Kunhuty School building

The former St. Jindřiš parish school at the address of Jindřišská 974 / 32 in Prague's New Town is a valuable Renaissance building in close proximity to the church of St. Henry and St. Kunhuta. The building excels with preserved historical vaults, Renaissance roof and portal with carved date 1358, which recalls the original Gothic foundation. It is also remarkable in its history of the beginnings of modern politics and the remains of historical gardens dating back to the former Horse Market.

The creation of this school facility in 1358 is directly linked to the promotion of the newly built crucifying church of St. Henry and St. Kunhuta to the parish. It happened during the reign of the Czech king and Roman Emperor Charles IV. In this period of the High Middle Ages, the development of the New Town of Prague and the creation of new urban institutions and educational centres was spectacular. Although the original parish school was one of the seven parish schools in Prague's New Town, a new Renaissance building between the church and the parish later grew up. It is located at the intersection of today's streets of Rosé and Henry. In its days of operation, it was used to teach basic teachings at the time, where it included reading, writing, numbers, basic Latin and ecclesiastical singing.

The building represents a Renaissance building, the current form of which came from the reconstruction of an earlier Gothic building from the 14th century. In the course of the following years she also went through classical modifications. On the portal of the building there is a date 1358 drawn referring to the original Gothic foundation. In the interior are preserved original vaults and Renaissance crows. The architectural details include the sgraffiti on the facade, which was professionally restored during reconstruction in the twentieth century. The grounds include a garden, which is connected to the garden in the past. Both of these areas are the remains of extensive gardens ranging from the mid-14th century to the Horse Market. They were previously followed by the garden of the Royal pharmacist Angela from Florence, now fully built by the Main Post Office.

Over the centuries, the building served in addition to its original spiritual and educational functions also for other purposes. An important episode in the modern history of the building was the period 1897 to 1898. Back then, after the founding of the Czech Social Party, its first secretariat was based here, led by Secretary Josef Klečák. In the 1970s, the building underwent a landmark reconstruction, supervised by the Prague Centre of State Heritage and Nature Protection. Part of these works was the restoration of sgraffiti on the facade, as well as an archaeological survey of the courtyard of the building, which was carried out by the archaeological department of historical care.

Today, this historic building is located in the dense building of the city area Praha 1 in close proximity to the church of St. Henry and St. Kunhuta with Gothic bell tower and Senovážné Square. Visiting this place offers a unique opportunity to see material documents of building development from the 14th century to the Renaissance period in the very center of the metropolis. Discover this remarkable monument and let yourself breathe history associated with the development of Prague's education and political history with your own eyes.