Ten centuries of European architecture & heritage
At the centre of Strossmayer Square in Holešovice stands the neo-gothic Church of Saint Anthony of Padua. If its profile looks faintly familiar, that’s because its soaring towers were deliberately modelled on those of the...
For many years, the eastern wall of the city was guarded by an imposing gatehouse on the road leading to the royal mint at Kutná Hora. In time, it came to form the entrance to...
The Klementinum has always been at the academic heart of Prague. In 1556, when twelve missionaries arrived in the city to found a Jesuit college, they chose as their new home the complex of buildings...
Founded on 21 November 1344, Saint Vitus’s Cathedral in Prague Castle is the work of generations of master builders. The east end (to the right of this picture) was built by the French architect Matthew...
Similar in date and style to Josef Gočár’s St Wenceslas Church in Vršovice, the nearby Hussite church on Dykova Street is the work of constructivist architect Pavel Janák. The foundation stone was laid in October...
Close to the mediaeval merchants’ courtyard known as the ‘Týn’ (the word comes from the same root as the English word ‘town’), the gothic masterpiece of the Church of Our Lady dominates the Eastern side...
The Vinohradská Vodárna (Vinohrady Water Tower) is a handsome neo-renaissance turret dating from 1882. Its designer was Antonín Turek, a local architect responsible for many noteworthy public buildings, including the National House of Vinohrady and...
In 1929, to commemorate the millennial of the martyrdom of St Wenceslas, three major commissions were undertaken for the Catholic Church in Prague. The cathedral of St Vitus – begun in the 14th century –...
If the imposing Hotel International in the northern quarter of Dejvice momentarily calls to mind the buildings of downtown New York, that’s deliberate: Stalin’s personal approval of this architectural style was based on his desire...
The south range of the Cathedral of Saint Vitus in Prague Castle is dominated by the so-called Golden Gate (Zlatá Brána). This ceremonial facade, commissioned by Charles IV in 1370, is covered in a priceless...
