Prague will buy the church of St. Simon and Judy, starring Haydn and Mozart
The capital city of Prague will buy the consecrated church of Simon and Jude, which now serves as a concert hall for the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK. The metropolis will pay 99.99 million crowns for the monument.
“The church has been serving as an important cultural stand for many years and Prague has already invested considerable funds in it in the past. I am glad that such an important building is owned by the capital, due to the fact that its cultural and social mission will be preserved. so that he would not meet the same fate as the church of St. Michael, where there was at one time a club and a brothel, “says councilor Jan Chabr from TOP 09.
Consecrated Church of St. Michal, which stands a short distance from the Old Town Square, was transferred to the National Library, which fell into disrepair in 1984 and found no use for it. In the 1990s, she tried to sell it unsuccessfully, then leased it. In 2005, she sold it to a controversial tenant for 46 million crowns.
The original price of the church of St. Simon and Judy was 125 million crowns. The city agreed on a discount after long negotiations. According to a document approved by councilors, the owner offered to buy the town church.
According to the contract valid from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020, the municipality pays an annual rent of CZK 800,000. According to Chabr, if Prague wants to get rid of the church in the future, the church order will have the right of pre-emption.
The church dedicated to St. Simon the Canaanite and the Apostle Jude was built in the 17th century on the site of a Gothic church. The Baroque monument was part of the Hospital of the Merciful Brothers. Based on the contract, the church has been administered by the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK for a long time. Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have played in it in the past.