The Jesuits took over the former Gothic parish church after about 1620 and decided to build a new one. The cornerstone was laid in 1673. Christoph Dientzenhofer built the nave, vault and side chapels, with the facade, choir and two chapels built from 1703 to 1711. Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer drew the chancel and copper cupola, built from 1737 to 1752.
Anselmo Lurago completed the belfry in Rococo forms between 1751 and 1756, and the church was finished in 1755. The infobox gives a height of 161 feet (49 m), while the text gives 70 meters for the dome and 79 meters for the belfry. Frescoes are by Jan Lukas Kracker and František Xaver Palko, and the organ has over 4,000 pipes.
It became the main parish church of the Lesser Town in 1775, after the Jesuits were abolished. Concerts run daily from April to October.
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