Description from The Chapel of John the Baptist upon Laver

The wonderful Mr. Zidlicky provides complete wedding services in German or English. The package includes horse carriage transport to the chapel, flowers, and a wedding dinner in one of the romantic restaturants close by. Pleasant accomodation is available in the small romantic hotel U Modrého Klíče. Weddings take place in the beautiful medieval chapel in magic Malá Strana just next to the river.

History of the Chapel of John the Baptist upon Laver:
The chapel itself is a very simple structure and one of the oldest in Prague. It was probably founded before the Romanesque sections dated from 1240 were incorporated. Although it was damaged later, during the Husite wars, it has not been extensively reconstructed. History of the Újezd settlement to which the Chapel of John the Baptist upon Laver has always been central, reaches back to the beginning of the 12th century.

Újezd at that time was situated just outside the castle battlements with a few buildings, courtyards and many gardens. Nearby, at the riverside was a ferry, timber-yard for wood rafted down the river, mills and the Laver. In the middle of the 14th century new battlements were built and Újezd area was included within, becoming part of Malá Strana.

Certain alternations were carried out during the 17th century when the chapel became a part of the hospital. The buildings of the Early Baroque arcade form a rare composition still enclosing the forecourt to this day.

Significant but sensitive late Baroque alternations from the first half of 18th century include the oratory on the northern side as well as the windows in the opposite wall and the west front. The quality of these alternations indicates work by Kilian Ignace Dientzenhoffer who was active in the vicinity at that time.

In 1784, the hospital was closed, the buildings were converted into residential use and the Chapel became a Laver, hence the name.
In 1939, the Chapel of John the Baptist upon Laver was repaired and restored and it was placed at the Husite Church of CzechoSlovakia disposal.

The chapel is a simple, yet very interesting, due to the composition of various architectural elements dating from several epochs. Such as the narrow Romanesque windows in the southern wall, Gothic Sedile in the presbytery, Late Gothic to early Renaissance loft and gable, the Baroque addition of the oratory as well as dynamic forms of the windows. Several works by František Bílek (1872-1941) are the most valuable part of the interior.

The degree to which the completeness of this location has been retained over the ages deserves all the attention this Chapel commands.