Ten centuries of European architecture & heritage
The Jesuit church of the Holy Saviour (Sanctus Salvator) was originally constructed in 1578. From 1638 to 1648, it was remodelled in the baroque style by the youthful Italian architects Carlo Lurago and Francesco Caratti,...
This outstanding art nouveau facade designed by the architect Osvald Polívka was restored in 2005, exactly a hundred years after its completion. The sculpture of a girl with a harp and doves – possibly a...
The sundial on the south-facing wall of the Velikovský Dům, now part of the Czech Parliament in Malostranské náměstí (Little Quarter Square). Originally painted in 1608, it was restored – along with its fellow dial...
These colossal bas-reliefs by the sculptor Jaroslav Brůha decorate the gymnasium wall of the Czech Sokol organization. The movement, which was founded to promote healthy living and physical fitness, was founded in 1862 by Miroslav...
This flying art nouveau figure from 1907 looks like an allegorical representation of vanity: she is holding a mirror after all, and her floating cloak seems to be impossibly thin and insubstantial. But the clue...
The market hall of Smíchov — the industrial suburb on the left bank of the Vltava — was built between 1906 and 1909, along with the adjacent town hall. Both buildings are by the architect...
One of the most commonly-found motifs of the art nouveau period is the combination of a representative female head surrounded by branches and leaves of the linden tree. This collection of national symbols took on...
Dům U minuty (‘The Minute’, also known as ‘The White Lion’) is a 15th-century house in the corner of the Old Town Square. The delicate sgraffito-work was added in 1610, but was later plastered over...
Not far from the Charles Bridge, in Prague’s historic Malá Strana district, appears this plaque celebrating the life and work of Ladislav Zelenka (1881-1957), a cellist with the celebrated Czech Quartet. Founded in 1892 by...
The foundations and surviving romanesque cellars of this substantial property date from the second half of the 12th century. Five hundred years later, the house — by then known as ‘The Three White Roses’ —...
