Týn 639/1: Granovský Palace
The area bounded by the churches of St James the Greater and Our Lady before Týn is one of the most well-preserved mediaeval public spaces in Europe. A significant trading place since at least the...
Category: renaissance
The Italian renaissance arrived in Prague in the 16th century, bringing with it a revival of all things classical. The reign of Rudolf II in particular was a time of great accomplishments in the arts and sciences, and an increasing interest in the applied and decorative arts, even in vernacular architecture.
Újezd 450/40 Michna Palace (Tyrš House)
This sumptuous late renaissance structure in Prague’s Malá Strana district was developed from a property owned by the Kinsky family. After 1623, on the instructions of the new owner Pavel Michna of Vacínov, it was...
Prague Loreto
According to legend, in order to keep it safe from the hands of the infidel, the simple house in which the Virgin Mary is supposed to have lived was transported from Nazareth by divine intervention....
Novoměstská radnice: New Town Hall
The founding of the so-called ‘New Town’ in 1348 made Prague the third largest city by area in the whole of Europe after Rome and Constantinople. According to the census of thirty years later, the...
Prague Castle: Ludvík Wing and ‘Bull’ Staircase
Halfway along the impressive southern rampart of Prague Castle stands the Ludvík wing, a five-storey bastion built between 1503 and 1509 and named after Ludvík Jagellonský, ruler of Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. Its architect,...
Větrná ulička, Liberec: Waldstein houses
Houses with exposed timber frames (fachwerk) are a rare sight in the Czech Republic, but in towns where German influence was historically strong, there remain some good examples. In Liberec, this narrow lane near the...
Malé náměstí 456/14: The Black Pony
The Black Pony stands in the heart of the Old Town, one of a row of attractive renaissance town-houses which in the early fifteenth century were home to the city’s first pharmacies. Its neighbours include...
Rašínovo nábřeží 412/30: Podskalí Customs House
Prior to the construction of the half-mile-long Rašín Embankment in 1904, visitors would have passed among the streets and low wooden buildings of ‘Podskalí’, a hamlet named for its position ‘under the rock’ of Vysehrad,...
Královský Letohrádek (Royal Summer Palace)
Perched high on the castle hill overlooking the city from a viewpoint known as the Belvedere, the palace is said to be the finest example of Italian renaissance architecture outside Italy itself. Commissioned by Emperor...
Prague Castle: Míčovna (Ball-Game House)
The Great Ball Game House in the grounds of the castle dates from between 1567 and 1569 and is the work of Bonifaz Wohlmut, who also contributed to the nearby Royal Summer Palace as well...
