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Choosing your concert

Mirror Chapel tickets guide

Which Prague classical concert to book: the Mirror Chapel, a concert in the Klementinum's church or a recital in the Spanish Synagogue, and what each covers.

By Prague Mirror Chapel Concerts · facts last checked

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Quick answer

Book the Mirror Chapel concert for an hour of familiar classics in one of the Klementinum's most treasured rooms, minutes from Charles Bridge. Pick the concert in the Klementinum's church if you prefer a church and a programme with Handel and Schubert, or the Spanish Synagogue for classical, modern and Jewish music with step-free access. All three last about an hour, cancel free up to 24 hours ahead and let you pay later.

Three Prague concerts compared

Mirror ChapelKlementinum churchSpanish Synagogue
SettingBaroque chapel, 1722 to 1726Main church of the KlementinumMoorish Revival synagogue
MusicFamiliar classics, organ or pianoVivaldi, Bach, Handel, SchubertClassical, modern, Jewish
LengthAbout one hourAbout one hourAbout one hour
CancellationFree up to 24 hoursFree up to 24 hoursFree up to 24 hours
WheelchairNot suitableAsk before bookingAccessible
Best forA first Prague concertA church settingSomething different

What the Mirror Chapel ticket is

The Mirror Chapel from the seating area: rows of chairs facing a gilded organ gallery under a painted, mirrored vault
Rows of chairs facing the organ gallery in the Mirror Chapel · Photo: VitVit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This is an entry ticket for a one-hour chamber concert in the Mirror Chapel, a Baroque room on the ground floor of the Klementinum. The musicians are billed as the Royal Czech Orchestra: a soprano, a violin soloist and, depending on the concert, an organist or a pianist. The programme is built from familiar pieces, so you don't need to know classical music to follow it. The ticket covers entry only, with no food, drink or transport. The chapel is open only during events, which makes a concert the usual way to see inside it.

Read next: The music you may hear

What you can count on

The ticket arrives as a mobile ticket, so nothing needs printing, and it names your seating section. The doors open fifteen minutes ahead of the music. You can cancel without charge until 24 hours before, and you can reserve now and settle the payment later, which lets you hold a date while the rest of the trip falls into place. Unaccompanied minors aren't allowed, so children come with an adult. The concert isn't suitable for wheelchair users. Food, drink and transport aren't part of the ticket.

  • Mobile ticket, with no printing
  • Doors open 15 minutes before the start
  • Cancel free up to 24 hours before
  • Reserve now and pay later

What guests praise and what they criticise

Verified guests rate the concert 4.7 out of 5 across more than 6,400 reviews. They praise the musicians and the soprano, and they say the chapel's acoustics and setting help the familiar pieces land. The complaints are consistent too. Some guests found the room warm with little air movement, some wished for a closer section, and several were bothered by people filming during the music. One guest mentions needing a moment to find the entrance. None of these is a reason to skip it, but each is worth planning around.

The programme, and why it changes

Two programmes are shown for this concert, one for each concert time. Both include Vivaldi's Spring and Summer, Mozart's Lacrimosa, Smetana's Vltava and a Beethoven symphony movement. One adds an organ soloist, with Bach's Toccata and Fugue and Pachelbel's Canon. The other adds a pianist, with Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor and Bizet's Habanera. Programmes can change, so check the one shown for your date before you choose a time. If one piece matters to you, say the Canon or the Habanera, that is the deciding factor.

Mirror Chapel or the church next door?

The same organiser sells a Vivaldi concert in St Salvator Church, the main church of the Klementinum. It also lasts about an hour. Its programme adds Handel's Largo, Schubert's Ave Maria and the prelude from Charpentier's Te Deum to the favourites, and guests mention the church organ opening the concert. You exchange your ticket at a box office a few steps right of the entrance, and arriving 30 minutes early is advised. Choose the church if you want a Handel and Schubert programme, and the chapel for the more ornate room.

The Spanish Synagogue concert

The Spanish Synagogue concert is a different kind of evening. Leading players from the Prague FOK Symphony Orchestra perform classical, modern and Jewish music for about an hour in a Moorish Revival interior. The programme depends on the weekday, and a printed programme in English is included. The synagogue is wheelchair accessible and heated in winter, and attire is mostly smart casual. Choose it if you need step-free access, or if you want music beyond the usual classics.

Booking direct or through GetYourGuide

The chapel is open only during events, and the National Library, which owns the Klementinum, lists concerts among the events it rents the room for. Tickets therefore come from concert organisers, not from a library counter. A booking made through GetYourGuide brings a free cancellation window that closes 24 hours before the start, the choice to reserve now and pay later, and a booking page in your own language and currency. Whichever route you take, confirm that the date and programme suit you before you pay.

Choosing your seating section

The choir loft of the Mirror Chapel with a black and gold balustrade, a Baroque organ and a painted ceiling above
The choir loft and its Baroque organ · Photo: VitVit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Your ticket names a section, and you can't choose an exact seat. In a room of about 170 seats, none is far from the musicians. Guests who sat in the last section say the music still carried, and a few wished they had been nearer. If a clear view of the soprano matters to you, book as far ahead as your plans allow, then check the section on your ticket. The back sections face the same ceiling, the same mirrors and the same sound, so a far seat costs you a little view and nothing of the music.

The room you are paying to sit in

The chapel was built between 1722 and 1726 at the expense of the Latin Major Marian Sodality, and it takes its name from the mirrors set into its walls and vault. A five-part fresco of 1723 covers the ceiling, and a pair of Baroque organs stand in the room. Gilded stucco, marble and paintings complete the interior, which the National Library calls one of the Klementinum's greatest treasures. It has served as a secular space since the mid 1930s, regularly as a concert hall. That history is part of what the ticket buys.

Read next: Inside the Mirror Chapel

How to choose in a minute

Pick by what you care about most. If it is the room, take the Mirror Chapel. If it is a church setting and a Handel and Schubert programme, take the concert in the Klementinum's church. If it is access or something other than the usual classics, take the Spanish Synagogue. If you travel with a wheelchair user, rule out the chapel first. Everything else, the length, the cancellation terms and the pay-later option, is the same across all three.

  • First Prague concert, ornate room: the Mirror Chapel
  • Church setting, Handel and Schubert: the church concert
  • Step-free access, or Jewish music in the mix: the Spanish Synagogue

Who this isn't for

Skip the Mirror Chapel concert if you use a wheelchair, because the concert isn't suitable for wheelchair users. The Spanish Synagogue concert is. Skip it too if you want a full symphony orchestra, a staged performance or a long evening: this is one hour of chamber music. And if you want to film, the room isn't for you, because guests report signs asking for no video and say raised phones block the view for people behind.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Mirror Chapel concert?

Plan on roughly an hour of music. Start times differ by date and show in the booking calendar. Arrive a little early, since the entrance sits inside the Klementinum complex and can take a moment to find.

Which pieces will I hear?

Familiar classics such as Vivaldi's Spring and Summer, Mozart's Lacrimosa, Smetana's Vltava and a Beethoven symphony movement. Two programmes are shown, one for each concert time, so check the one for your date.

Is the Mirror Chapel concert suitable for wheelchair users?

No. This concert isn't suitable for wheelchair users. The Spanish Synagogue concert is marked wheelchair accessible and lasts about an hour as well, so it is the one to choose if step-free access matters to your group.

Do I have to print my ticket?

No. It is a mobile ticket, shown on your phone, so there is nothing to print. Keep your phone charged and your booking open when you arrive, because the ticket shows your seating section.

Can I cancel my booking?

Yes, and it costs nothing if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead. You can also reserve now and settle the payment later, which holds a date while your plans firm up.

Can I see the Mirror Chapel without a concert?

Not as a regular visit, because the chapel is open only during events. The Klementinum's guided tour is a separate ticket and covers the Baroque Library and the Astronomical Tower.

Reserve your seat in the chapel ↗

Sources

  1. Mirror Chapel (National Library of the Czech Republic)
  2. Mirror Chapel of the Klementinum (Prague City Tourism)
  3. Clementinum Astronomical Tower and Baroque Library (Prague City Tourism)
  4. Klementinum (Wikipedia)

More things to do nearby

Reserve your seat in the chapelCancel free 24 h ahead · pay later