Na Příkopě 864/28: Czech National Bank
The vicinity of the Czech National Bank has been a trading quarter ever since the Middle Ages, when precious metals regularly arrived at the city’s east gate from the silver mines of Kutná Hora. Nearby...
Tagged: neo-classical
Petrohradská 141/52: Vila Jitřenka
This villa by the banks of the Botič – currently home to the Prague Gentlemen’s Fly Fishing Club – dates from 1738, and is therefore only slightly younger than the nearby Church of St Nicholas,...
Havlíčkovo náměstí
Karel Havlíček Borovský (1821 to 1856) was a free-thinking writer and journalist whose liberal views were strongly influential in the debate regarding Czech independence in the mid-nineteenth century. A critic equally of the Austrian regime...
Podolské nábřeží 15/10: Podolí Waterworks
The exponential growth of Prague in the second half of the nineteenth century placed particular pressure on the city’s fresh water supply. Ancient water towers and drinking fountains were no longer good enough, and in...
Wilsonova 101/4: State Opera
In the early nineteenth century, Prague was home to a substantial number of German speakers, especially among the nobility and professional classes. In the light of the Czech National Revival, however, their linguistic and cultural...
Heroldovy sady 411/3
The first village schoolmaster in Vršovice was appointed in the 17th century, and we know that in 1797 Matouš Holub was running a small school from his family cottage near the Botič stream. But the...
Husova 158/20: Clam-Gallas Palace
Descended from a distinguished Austrian family, Count Johann Wenzel (Jan Václav) von Gallas managed an extensive diplomatic portfolio. As well as being Ambassador to London and the Hague during the War of the Spanish Succession,...
Londýnská 595/26
This smart neo-classical frontage in Vinohrady is a typical example of fin-de-siecle Prague townhouse architecture; it could easily have been transplanted from the British capital after which this desirable street is named.
Náměstí Jana Palacha 79/1: Rudolfinum
In 1885, the Böhmische Sparkasse (Czech Savings Bank) commissioned the architects of the National Theatre, Josef Zítek and his pupil Josef Schulz, to design a new art gallery and concert complex on an undeveloped riverside...
Gröbe Villa (Grébovka)
In 1871, a kilometre-long train tunnel was constructed under the high ground of this historic district on the southern side of the city. Moritz Gröbe, the railway magnate whose company was responsible for digging it,...
