The Church of St. Ludmila is a distinctive landmark of Vinohrady. The two towers 60 meters high are like two hands clasped together in prayer. The church is a neo-Gothic basilica – a three-nave basilica with a transept, i.e. a transept in the shape of a cross. In the center of the church there is a sanctus tower (sanctuary). The church is built in the style of early, North German Gothic.
Above the magnificent staircase, so popular at numerous weddings, is the main portal (G). In its tympanum there is a beautiful relief by Josef Václav Myslbek, representing God the Father, the Holy Spirit (dove) at the top, in the middle there is a blessing Christ with St. Wenceslas and St. Ludmila on the sides. In the side niches there are statues of St. Procopius and St. Adalbert by Fr. Hergestel and A. Procházka. The gables of the transept are decorated with statues of St. Adalbert, St. Prokop and St. Cyril and Methodius by L. Šimek and B. Seeling.
A massive staircase leads through the main entrance to the main 50-meter-long building. The interior of the church attracts every visitor with its decoration. The paintings and ornaments on the walls are by J. Jobst.
The frescoes on the walls of the main nave and on the ceiling depict not only a number of saints (e.g. St. J. of Nepomuk, Bl. J. Sarkander, St. John, St. Agnes, St. Cyril and Methodius, St. Vitus, St. Sigismund, St. Vojtěch, St. Procopius, St. Wenceslas, St. Ludmila, the four evangelists), but also figures from the Old Testament (Isaac, Abraham, James, Noah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel).
A significant part of the decoration consists of stained glass windows – colourful windows with figures of saints (according to F. Mocker, F. Ženíšek, F. Sequence, A. Liebscher, F. Urban). It is a pity that the donors enforced their will, so some saints are depicted more often. The most interesting are the large windows in the transept – the martyrdom of St. Wenceslas and St. Ludmila. Some windows were destroyed during an air raid during World War II, but were well replaced by new ones after the war.
The main altar (A) designed by arch. Turka, chiseled by Houdek, is decorated with precious and semi-precious stones. Its height is 16 m. The figural decoration consists of a crucifix, a medallion of God the Father and a statue of St. Ludmila (by Č. Vosmík). Around the altar there is a fresco on the wall Nine Pictures from the Life of St. Ludmila.
Side altar (C) on the right a statue of St. Cyril and Methodius with a sculpture of the baptism of St. Ludmila and her husband Bořivoj and the approval of the Slavonic service in Rome. On the left, the Virgin Mary – sitting on a throne with Jesus in her arms and around are the Czech patrons: St. Ludmila, St. Wenceslas, St. Adalbert, St. Procopius, St. Agnes, St. John of Nepomuk (the authors of the altar decoration are J. Kastner, Š. Zálešák, F. Lukavský).
The marble altar – mensa (B) facing the people, consecrated on 16.9.1992 and placed in the optical centre of the church according to the requirements of the Second Vatican Council, becomes the centre of attention of the faithful after the Blessed Sacrament of the altar in the tabernacle – the Holy Sacrifice (Holy Mass) is celebrated here.
In the side aisles by the wall, we can contemplate at the ceramic altars (D) – the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Pietà – the mystery of Christ’s love for us and the sorrows of the Virgin Mary after the death of her only Son; before the death of the Lord Jesus, she became the Mother of the Church, the Mother of all of us sinners who are guilty of the death of the Lord Jesus. Not only can we look at, but also contemplate the suffering of the Lord Jesus at the fourteen images of the Way of the Cross, and thus draw strength for our life’s Way of the Cross.
Four confessionals (E) – a beautiful carving – what could tell about the mystery of Christ’s mercy to sinners, when through the priest he forgives those who return to God, even after many years. At the main entrance on the right, looking from the altar, there is a sculpture of St. Adalbert and St. Ludmila on the wall. Adalbert and St. Ludmila.
On the left is the Chapel of St. Cross (F), which serves as the Holy Sepulcher at Easter and a nativity scene is exhibited in it at Christmas.
