an illustrated guide to Czech architecture and heritage
Caught between two highways that sweep westwards to Prague airport, the suburbs of Střešovice and Břevnov retain a curiously quiet, semi-rural atmosphere. On their slopes can still be found the traces of numerous baroque farmsteads and estates; one...
In 1897, the young artists of the Viennese secession sent shockwaves through Europe with their radical new approach to art and architecture. While not completely throwing out the neoclassical rulebook, their boldly geometric designs elevated decorative features to...
In 1928, the city of Brno hosted the Exhibition of Contemporary Culture in Czechoslovakia. For the main pavilion, the design of Josef Kalous was selected: a V-shaped cathedral of reinforced concrete, its two naves terminating in a single...
The classical-style frieze above the entrance to this residential building in Prague’s Vinohrady district presents an idealized portrait of domestic life in communist Czechoslovakia. Typically for a work of socialist realism — the only approved form of public...
The monumental congregational church in Prague-Dejvice was designed by Jiří Stibral and built by Alois Zima between 1925 and 1927. Combining religious, educational and residential functions, the building today continues to serve as the headquarters of the Czechoslovak...
Na Švihance — an architecturally rich street in Prague 2 close to Riegrovy sady (Rieger Park) — captures very well the blend of historical styles popular in the first decade of the twentieth century. Three of the houses are...
Now the municipal court of Prague (business division), this great ship of a building was constructed between 1926 and 1928 as the headquarters of the national Tobacco Company. As a young man, the architect, Alois Dryák, had been...
Built between 1890 and 1891 on high ground of Střešovice to the west of Prague, this romanesque-style church provided a much-needed place of worship for a rapidly expanding population. The church’s dedication to Saint Norbert – a 12th...
Prague’s well-heeled residential district of Vinohrady is renowned for its grand apartment blocks, built at the turn of the 20th century in a variety of historicist styles. Their monumental entrances and lavish facades present a panoply of historical,...
Predating Mies van der Rohe’s nearby Vila Tugendhat by two years, this house — commissioned by textile manufacturer Alfred Stiassni and his wife Hermine — was built to the design of local architect Ernst Wiesner between 1927 and...
