Many important chapters of the history of Prague and the Czech nation were
written in a relatively small rectangular space in the middle of the Old Town. The presentday Old Town Square (Staroměstské nárněstí) is a magical place, with an unmistakeable atmosphere, perhaps because it is as old as the city itself. Originally it was abusy marketplace on the right bank of the Vltava, around which a settlement slowly grew. As early as the 12th and 13th centuries it was surrounded by spectacular stone houses. After the establishment of the Old Town (Staré město), enclosed within a circular bulwark, the square became its natural centre, the location of the Town Hall and the main town church. During the course of the centuries many important events, often tragic for the Czech nation, took place here. In 1437 Jan Roháč, the last Hussite commander, was hanged here on a massive three-storey gallows, together with almost sixty of his cofighters. In 1621 executioner Mydlář beheaded 27 Czech noblemen, knights and burghers, leaders of the anti-Habsburg rebellion, in front of the Old Town Hall. In 1902 Praguers demonstrated here for the universal right to vote, and in 1918 for an independent Czechoslovak Republic. During the May Rebell ion of 1945 the square witnessed heavy fighting between the rebels and the German occupants. In February 1948 Prime Minister Klement Gottwald announced from the Goltz-Kinsky Palace balcony the "final victory of the working c1ass", which was followed by more than forty years of the totalitarian communist regime.
ln the middle of the square is a monument of Master Jan Hus. One of the few monumental Art Nouveau sculptures, it was created by sculptar Ladislav Šaloun in 1915.
The prominent figure of Jan Hus is surrounded by a crowd of Hussite fighters and post-White Hill exiles. The most admired feature of the north-western section is the massive Church of St. Nicholas (kostel sv. Mikuláše) designed by Kilián Ignác Dienzenhofer between 1723-1735, one of the most remarkable high Baroque buildings in
Prague, which culminates in a distinct cupola and a pair of spires. The sculptor was Antonín Braun. The houses around the square have Romanesque or Gothic cares, with the facades usually from the Renaissance, Baroque ar Romantic periods. White Lamb House (No 551) retains its pretty Renaissance portal. Unicorn (White Horse) House (No 548) has a late Gothic parta I and a gateway with beautiful ribbed reticulated vaulting; in 1848 composer Bedřich Smetana established a music school here. The interesting roof arbour of Red Fox House (No 480) catches one's eye, providing its owners with a pleasant place to sit down, relax and escape the summer heat.
ln the so-called Little Square (Malé náměstí), separated from the main square by a block of town hall buildings, we find Rott House (No 142), with a facade decorated by Mikoláš Aleš paintings and a Romanesque underground room. In No 144 there is an ariginal late Gothic room with a beautiful stellar vault from the 15th century. From 1353 the oldest pharmacy in Prague was located here.
THE BIRTHPLACE OF FRANZ KAFKA
In a tiny square behind the Church of St. Nicholas, recently named Franz Kafka Square (náměstí Franze Kafky), stands house No 24, a NeoBaroque four-storied corner building built in 1902. Its architecture copies the former convent building and prelature of the Benedictine Monastery pulled down in 1897. In 1883 the world-famous writer Franz Kafka was born in the prelature, the original Baroque portal of which has been preserved. He is commemorated on a plaque and there is a permanent exhibition dedicated to his I ife and work on the ground floor of the house.
was abusy marketplace on the right bank of the Vltava, around which a settlement slowly grew. As early as the 12th and 13th centuries it was surrounded by spectacular stone houses. After the establishment of the Old Town (Staré město), enclosed within a circular bulwark, the square became its natural centre, the location of the Town Hall and the main town church. During the course of the centuries many important events, often tragic for the Czech nation, took place here. In 1437 Jan Roháč, the last Hussite commander, was hanged here on a massive three-storey gallows, together with almost sixty of his cofighters. In 1621 executioner Mydlář beheaded 27 Czech noblemen, knights and burghers, leaders of the anti-Habsburg rebellion, in front of the Old Town Hall. In 1902 Praguers demonstrated here for the universal right to vote, and in 1918 for an independent Czechoslovak Republic. During the May Rebell ion of 1945 the square witnessed heavy fighting between the rebels and the German occupants. In February 1948 Prime Minister Klement Gottwald announced from the Goltz-Kinsky Palace balcony the "final victory of the working c1ass", which was followed by more than forty years of the totalitarian communist regime.
ln the middle of the square is a monument of Master Jan Hus. One of the few monumental Art Nouveau sculptures, it was created by sculptar Ladislav Šaloun in 1915.