Ten centuries of European architecture & heritage
Mikoláš Aleš (1852 – 1913) was a prolific illustrator and painter, especially of scenes and characters from Czech legend and history. His designs, rooted in the spirit of the Czech National Revival, adorn the facades of countless neo-renaissance houses in Prague and further afield.
In 1887, a small group of Czech artists and writers came together to found the Mánes Society of Fine Arts. In the context of their country’s desire to break away from the Austro-Hungarian empire, ‘S.V.U....
In 1791 a vast outdoor exhibition took place in Prague to mark the coronation (as King of Bohemia) of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II. The celebrations included the first performance of Mozart’s penultimate opera,...
The Municipal House (Obecní dům) was built between 1905 and 1912 on the site of the former Royal Court as an official centre for Czech social and cultural affairs. When an open competition for its...
John of Luxembourg (King of Bohemia 1310-1346) is one of three rulers in this neo-renaissance frieze by the 19th-century painter Mikoláš Aleš. He is flanked by his successor Charles IV (King of Bohemia 1346-1378, Holy...
‘Mír a štěstí buď pod touto střechou’: ‘May peace and happiness reign under this roof’ AD 1897. The House of the Bohemian Eagle (U České orlice) stands in the historic fruitmarket, near to the House...
The first duke of Bohemia to be officially crowned as King was Vratislav II, in 1085. A strong proponent of the Slavonic rite – which had been banned by the papacy for the previous two...
This plot in Wenceslas square has a fascinating pedigree. In 1396, shortly after Charles IV founded the New Town, a brewery stood here, strategically placed halfway along what was then the horsemarket. By 1600, a...
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’ —...
Facade of A. Storch and Son, Bookseller and Publisher, built in the neo-gothic style in 1896 on the site of the former 15th-century Marshall’s House. The mural is by Láda Novák after a design by...
This magnificent sgraffito on the theme of War and Peace is by the artist Mikoláš Aleš, whose distinctive murals of Czech legend and history turned the city into a living textbook at the end of...
