Václavské náměstí 832/19

Currently the home of the H&M fashion store in Wenceslas Square, this grand neo-baroque building by Friedrich Ohmann and Osvald Polívka was at one time the headquarters of the Trieste-based insurers Assicurazioni Generali. Between 1 November 1907 and 15 July 1908, Franz Kafka worked for the company in this building, no doubt acquiring that intimate understanding of the machinery of bureaucracy which haunts his writings.

The allegorical gable (above) includes statuary by Stanislav Sucharda, Bohuslav Schnirch, Čeněk Vosmík and Antonín Procházka. The entrance, below, leads to the impressive baroque-style Emperor staircase, decorated with opulent stucco-work: