The Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers was constructed as part of a monastery under Duke René II of Lorraine following the Battle of Nancy, next to the Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine. It was consecrated in 1487. The monastery was Franciscan and the French name term cordelier refers to the simple rope belts the monks would tie their cassocks around. Since the monastery was under the patronage of the dukes, the church had close ties to the House of Lorraine and a number of its members were laid to rest there. Previously members of the family were laid to rest in St George's Collegiate Church, which does not exist anymore.
The church continued to keep its connection to the ducal house after Lorraine passed under royal French rule. Marie-Antoinette of Austria stopped at the church to pray on her way to Paris for her marriage to her future husband King Louis XVI of France. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria also came to pray here in 1867.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.