Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral
Orthodox Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius
General information
Town or city Nové Město, Prague
Country Czech Republic
Coordinates 50°04′33″N 14°25′01″E / 50.075833°N 14.416944°E / 50.075833; 14.416944Coordinates: 50°04′33″N 14°25′01″E / 50.075833°N 14.416944°E / 50.075833; 14.416944

The Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic is the principal church in the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.

The existing structure had its origins as a Roman Catholic church built between 1730 and 1736 by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, dedicated to Charles Borromeo, archbishop and cardinal of Milan in the 16th century.

In 1942, during World War II, the cathedral was the scene of the last stand of a number of Czech and Slovak patriots who, in Operation Anthropoid, had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi SS Obergruppenführer and General of Police. Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld was in command of the troops that stormed the church on 18 June 1942. After a fierce gun battle, they committed suicide to avoid capture.[1] There is a museum in the church crypt dedicated to them as national heroes.

Citations

  1. Evans 2008, p. 277.

Sources

  • Evans, Richard J. (2008). The Third Reich at War. New York: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-311671-4.
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