The mummified arm of St James: the hidden basilica of Prague's Old Town

A few dozen metres from the Old Town Square, where the crowds press beneath the Astronomical Clock, the narrow Malá Štupartská opens up. It is a lane easy to miss, and indeed almost everyone does: the Baroque façade of the Basilica of St James the Greater (Bazilika svatého Jakuba Většího) faces onto this side street, eclipsed by the more popular attractions a stone's throw away. Those who go in, however, find one of the most surprising churches in central Prague.

The mummified arm

The strangest thing is the first you see, even though most visitors walk beneath it without noticing. Immediately to the right of the entrance, high up toward the ceiling, a blackened and shrivelled human forearm hangs from a metal hook, suspended there for some four hundred years. Its shape is so withered that at a careless glance it looks like a piece of wood; look more closely and there is no doubt what it is. Legend tells of a thief who tried to steal the jewels from the statue of the Virgin: the moment he touched it, the statue seized his arm and would not let go. When the parishioners found him they could not free him, and had to amputate the limb; only then did the stone hand open again. Tradition links the episode to the butchers' guild, active in the area, said to have provided the chain still in use today. More than a picturesque anecdote, it was a concrete warning to anyone thinking of robbing the church.

The history of the church

The history of the building helps make sense of what you are looking at. The church was founded in the 13th century for the Franciscans in Gothic forms, but a fire in 1689 destroyed almost all of it. In the 18th-century rebuilding it took on its present Baroque appearance, with over twenty altars and altarpieces by Bohemian painters such as Petr Brandl, Václav Vavřinec Reiner and Jan Jiří Heinsch. In 1974 Pope Paul VI conferred on it the honorary title of minor basilica. It should be said that much of the interior is closed off by ropes: you walk mainly the central nave, from which you can nonetheless take in the theatricality of the altars.

Along the way you come upon the funerary monument of Count Vratislav of Mitrovice, Bohemian chancellor to Emperor Joseph I, who died in Vienna in 1712 and was buried here in 1714. The tomb was designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, and is one of the finest examples of Baroque funerary sculpture in the city. A dark legend hangs over this tomb too: it is said that after the funeral noises came from the sepulchre, and that during a later restoration the count's body was found outside the coffin, as if he had been buried alive and trapped by his own monument. True or not, it gives the measure of how far this church has cultivated its own darker side.

The organ

The last reason to stop is up high, above the portal: the organ, installed in 1702, is considered one of the most important in Prague. The acoustics of the nave are excellent and make the basilica a sought-after venue for organ concerts; in August it hosts festivals and competitions, and on Sunday mornings there is often the chance to hear it. For your visit it helps to know that the hours are inconsistent: generally the church opens for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the early afternoon, closing around midday and with no access during Masses or concerts, so it is best to aim for early morning. It stands on Malá Štupartská, in the Old Town: on foot from the Old Town Square, or by tram to Náměstí Republiky.

Getting there

The Basilica of St James (svatého Jakuba) stands on Malá Štupartská, in the Old Town, a short distance from the Old Town Square. It is easily reached on foot; the most convenient metro station is Staroměstská (line A), while Náměstí Republiky (line B) is another nearby option, both also served by trams. The main railway station is Praha hlavní nádraží, not far from the centre, and the reference airport is Prague Václav Havel.

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