Old Town Square and other Prague, Czech Republic Things to Do Tips

It?s with Prague Castle the most meaningful historical place in Prague. It was built in the 11th and 12th century as marketplace for the merchants. In the middle of the square is the monument to the reformer Jan Hus. Through the centuries the square experienced glorious but also tragic moments which made history. It was where Kings were crowned and also where executions took place. In more recent history the citizens of Prague demonstrated for an independent Czechoslovak in 1918 and welcomed in 1945 the victorious Red Army. It was also here that in the Prague?s Spring, the troops of the Warsaw?s Pact marched in 1968 with a violent outcome. In 1988, on the 20th anniversary of Prague?s Spring, thousands of people protested against the occupation by the soviets and the repression of the movement for freedom and civil rights.
In 1987 a big restoration of the square was completed.
In the square are: the Old Town Hall with the Astronomical Clock, the Church of Saint Nicholas in the Old City, Goltz-Kinsky Palace, the Teyn Church and the Teyn School.

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Address: Staromestske namesti
Directions: Heart of Old Town

Today social events still take place here (for example Weddings). The oldest parts of the Town Hall date back to the 11th century. On the eastern side is a memorial tablet to the leader of the Czech protestant revolt, who were executed in 1621. At the beginning of the 15th century the Astronomical Clock was built. On the second-last day of WW2 the building was damaged: the neogothic part and the State Archive (East- and North-wing) were destroyed. The South-wing was in 1981 completely restored. The Council Hall at the second floor has kept its original gothic shape. Something you cannot afford to miss: the wonderful view from the top of the Town Hall.

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Address: Starometska radnice, Starometske namesti.
Directions: Old-Town Square

This church is in baroque style and was built between 1732 and 1737 based on the project by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. This is the last of the religious buildings built on this site (the first in 1273). Until 1785 it belonged to the Slav Benedictines, then it was archive, concert hall, in 1871 it belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church, and in the end in 1920 changed to the Czech Hussite Church, to which it stills belongs today.

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Directions: Old-Town Square

Iit is the most remarkable Gothic church with Baroque interior in Prague. Contains the tomb of Tycho de Brahe, the famous astronomer. Part of the interior is being renovated at present.

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Phone: +420 222318186
Address: Tynsky chram.
Directions: Near Old-Town Square.
Website: http://tynska.farnost.cz/index_en.html

Started in 1357 by Master Otto and completed by Petr Parler, this is the oldest bridge in Prague. The statues and the groups of statues are mostly from the 18th century. Best-known are works by Matthias Braun and Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokof. The bridge is 515 metres long and 10 metres wide. Today the bridge is full of tourists, and many street artists paint and sell portraits, caricatures and landscapes of the city.

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Address: Karluv most
Directions: Connectiong Old Town and Lesser Town

Once the main road leading to the Castle, this street is now named after the Czech poet Jan Neruda who lived in the house called "At Two Suns". Its bourgeois houses and palaces make it one of the most beautiful streets of the Capital.

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When in the middle age a stranger searching for a friend?s house, walked in the streets of Prague, he must have been really in trouble: he had to do it not only without map, but without street numbers and street names! That?s why, to distinguish the houses, they thought to put big signs, made of stone, wood or metal, on the top of the entrance, which represented the profession of the people who lived there. For example a key for a locksmith, scissors for a tailor, or (in the picture) three violins for a violin constructor. The latter is quite famous and is to find in almost all guide book of Prague!

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Directions: Neruda Street

The Castle is one of the main attractions of the Capital. It was founded in the 9th century. In 1024 walls were built around it, and towers were added in the west and east side. In 1135 King Sobeslav I built the castle as a palatinate in Romanesque style. Under King Otakar II began the works on the Royal Palace. Then under the Jagellons, Vladislav and Ludwig II were added renaissance and gothic elements. The castle was enlarged in the 16th century, especially after a big fire in 1541. The Spanish Hall, in a new part of the castle, was added in the reign of Rudolf II, and it took its final form in the time of Empress Maria Theresa, under the direction of the architect M. Pacassi. After World War I the interior and gardens of the castle were renovated by the architect J. Plecnik.
Today the Castle is the seat of the President of the Czech Republic, and it serves as the historical and political center of both city and state.
The main attractions on the Prague castle are: the Royal Palace, S. Vitus Cathedral, St. George Basilica and the Golden Lane.

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Address: Prazsky hrad
Website: http://www.hrad.cz/

It was the residence of Bohemian princes and kings until the 16th century. It was built on relics of the Romanesque palace of the Prince Sobeslav. Additional reconstructions in the gothic and renaissance styles were initiated by famous Czech kings Premysl Otakar II, Charles IV, Wenceslas IV and Vladislav Jagello. The most noteworthy space is the gothic Vladislav Hall - the largest profane hall of the medieval Prague (1487 - 1500 Benedikt Rejt) with a remarkable rounded rib vault, today the scene of presidential elections and representative events.

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Address: Prazsky hrad
Website: http://www.hrad.cz/

It stands at the place of a round chapel, that duke Wenzel had dedicated in 925 to Saint Vitus. This Gothic cathedral, the spiritual symbol of the Czech state, was founded in the year 1344 by Jan Lucembursky (John of Luxembourg) and his sons Karel and Jan Jindrich. It took nearly six centuries to build it. Begun in 1344 by Mathias Arras and Petr Parler upon the site of a 10th-century rotunda, the final phase of construction ended only in the period 1873-1929. The cathedral contains underground tombs of Czech kings. Parler also built St. Wenceslas Chapel, which is decorated with frescoes and semi-precious stones. The crown jewels are kept here, too.

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Address: Katedrala sv. Vita, Vaclava a Vojtecha
Directions: Prague Castle