Tyn Church Prague — The Old Town's Most Iconic Silhouette

The twin spires of the Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem — the Church of Our Lady before Týn — define the Old Town skyline. They rise 80 metres above Staroměstské náměstí, dark and pointed, visible from half the viewpoints in Prague. The silhouette is on postcards, in photographs, and in the memory of anyone who has stood in the Old Town Square after dark, when the spires are lit against the sky. It is, along with Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, one of the three images that say "Prague" without explanation.

We walk past the Týn Church with every private tour group that visits the Old Town Square, and the first thing we point out is something most people don't notice until it's mentioned: the two spires are not the same height.

The Asymmetric Spires

Look carefully at the twin towers. The north tower (on the left as you face the church from the square) is slightly taller and wider than the south tower. The difference is subtle — roughly a metre — but once you see it, you can't unsee it.

The reason for the asymmetry has generated folklore: one tower represents the masculine side, the other the feminine; one is Adam, the other Eve. The more prosaic explanation is that the towers were built at different times. The north tower was completed first, in the mid-15th century. The south tower was finished decades later, and the builders either couldn't or didn't try to match the dimensions precisely. Medieval construction was an imperfect art, and perfect symmetry was neither expected nor prioritized.

The spires themselves — the pointed caps with their corner turrets — are late additions, from the second half of the 15th century. They replaced earlier, simpler rooflines. The current profile, with its distinctive bristling silhouette, dates to this period and has been maintained through subsequent restorations.

Hidden in Plain Sight — The Entrance

The Týn Church has no direct entrance from the Old Town Square. This surprises virtually every visitor who assumes they can walk straight in from the open square. Instead, the church is hidden behind a row of medieval houses built in front of it, and the entrance is through a narrow passage under the arcaded house at Celetná 5 (or through the Týn School courtyard at Staroměstské náměstí 14).

This arrangement is not accidental. The houses in front of the church predate its current Gothic form. When the church was expanded in the 14th century, the existing buildings were not demolished — the church was built behind and above them, rising over the roofline but leaving the houses in place. The result is that the most famous church in the Old Town is entered through an arcade passage that feels more like a back door than a main entrance.

The hidden entrance is one of those Prague details that rewards a guide. Many visitors walk around the church looking for a door, assume it's closed, and leave. It isn't closed — it's just not where you expect it.