Bethlehem Chapel - Lapidarium

The Bethlehem Chapel is a national cultural monument and the first preaching chapel in Europe. It was founded in 1391 for the purpose of preaching in the Czech language. Nowadays is most closely associated with the preaching of Master Jan Hus in the years 1402-1413. From the very beginning the chapel was a centre of efforts to reform the church and progressive trends within Prague University. Most of the chapel was demolished in 1786; however, in the 1950s it was reconstructed to approximately its original appearance according to a project by the architect Jaroslav Fragner, which utilized preserved wall fragments. Since 1987 the chapel has been administered by the Czech Technical University in Prague, which uses the chapel as its Grand Aula. The historic spaces of the Lapidarium, located in the basement of the Bethlehem Chapel, are currently used to host cultural and social events.