It is something that is generally found in Czech churches, taking its name from the city of Prague. |
It was a symbol of plenty to the German people of old. A group of tourists from Germany explained the tradition to me, saying that the people believed if they had turnips planted or stockpiled after the harvest then they had no fears of going hungry, and it was thus a sign of good luck. |
Not everyone came from the exact same place. While many came from the same general area, each member of the church would have brought with them slightly different traditions from their individual home churches and those were melded into something new here. |
One of the distinctive elements is the tongue and groove ceilings. The roofs are designed to look like an inverted Noah's ark. They also have faux columns made of wood but painted to resemble marble, the stone used to build the cathedrals and churches left behind in the old country. |
The congregation at that point had grown so much that everyone couldn't fit inside for services. He told them he could get everyone seated and built 44 pews. They are very narrow and upright and I think uncomfortable, but he fulfilled his promise of increasing the seating. |
The stations of the cross in a Czech church run in reverse of what you would find in other churches. They start on the front left (facing the altar), Mary's side and the traditional women's side of the church, and proceed around to the front right, Joseph's or men's side, which is the reverse of what you find elsewhere. |