The dual purpose of Prague's churches

When we heard that the pope was dead, my housemate Olena and I wanted to go to church and light a candle. In we ventured from the suburbs to find ourselves some suitable holy location. Olena knew of a cloister in central Prague, but when we got there, only the adjoining 'cloister restaurant' was open. We forewent the appeal of a refreshing ice tea and trekked onwards.

The trek was very pleasant in fact; a balmy Sunday afternoon, dodging in and out of the shade in Prague's rat-run little alleys. It was nice to feel like a tourist again, in a city which I far too frequently cross in a flap, an obligatory five minutes behind schedule. However, our purpose remained; we were set upon finding a church.

This proved surprisingly difficult a task in the (other) city of dreaming spires. A great deal of the churches we came by were either entirely locked up, or the venue of some classical music concert, which, I'll be poetic and say, wafted on the air.

In the end, we arrived at the Lesser Town Square - a picturesque hub of Baroque architecture, overshadowed by a towering church. Having shown parents and grandparents around on numerous occasions, I knew that the inside of this edifice was every bit as impressive as its exterior. I also knew that they normally charged an entrance fee, but in this case we explained the purpose of our visit, and were reluctantly let in for free.

As we had planned, and explained to the portly lady at the door, we lit a candle and took to a pew, to say a quick prayer. "Your time is up," she curtly informed us, and with that we were unceremoniously ushered out.

Many Prague churches are absolutely splendid on the inside, and to maintain this splendour need to charge an entrance fee or hire themselves out for concerts. Others must be locked when there is no service going on because theft of relics and even church silverware is a very real concern.

But is a church marketing itself as a tourist attraction to preserve its original purpose, which is to be a home for religion? Or does a church make a quirky and romantic setting for a concert? Is its original purpose a booster for ticket sales?