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The current building, looming over the castle complex with majesty, is a combination of architectural styles and took more than 500 years to complete. In days of old the cathedral was the setting of spectacular Bohemian coronations by Prague’s archbishops. It’s also the final resting place of the saints Wenceslas, John of Nepomuk and scores of other Czech worthies.

Prague’s Orthdox Jewish community still holds services in this 700-year-old synagogue – the oldest in Europe. The building’s curious name may come from the Hebrew Al-Tenai , meaning “with reservation”. Legend has it that its stones will eventually have to be returned to Jerusalem, from whence they came (see Features in the Old-New Synagogue).

At the heart of this elaborate shrine to the Virgin Mary is the Santa Casa – a reproduction of the house where Mary received the Angel Gabriel. The Loreto treasury holds scores of priceless monstrances as well as other religious artifacts (see The Loreto).

The Gothic towers of Týn loom over Old Town Square’s dainty houses. During the Counter-Reformation, the Jesuits melted down the gold Hussite chalice that stood between the towers and recast it as the Madonna seen today.

Opposite Bernini’s Ecstasy of St Teresa in the nave is the famed Infant Jesus of Prague. The wax baby doll is credited with miraculous powers. The resident Order of English Virgins look after the little man and change his clothes.

The Malá Strana church’s cartoon-like clock tower and dome upstage its namesake across the river. The splendid Baroque sanctuary was meant to impress Catholic sceptics of the might of Rome (see St Nicholas’s Church).

The present Moorish building with its opulent interior replaced Prague’s oldest synagogue after the latter was razed in 1867. The Conservative Jewish community holds services here. It also houses Jewish Museum exhibits, offices and reference center.

The names of approximately 80,000 Czech victims of the Holocaust cover the walls of this house adjacent to the Old Jewish Cemetery, as an emotive memorial (see The Jews in Prague). The women’s gallery was added in the 18th century.

The Baroque façade is awash with cherubim and scenes from the lives of saints Francis of Assisi, James and Antony of Padua. It’s an active house of worship, so gaze respectfully at the mummified arm hanging above the door inside.

Nazi Reichsprotektor Reinhard “The Hangman” Heydrich’s assassins (see Karlovo náměstí) took refuge in this Eastern Orthodox Cathedral’s crypt. The Gestapo executed the bishop who sheltered them.