Nase Praha

Nase Praha by Miroslav Khol and Bohumil Riha.  Hardocover book published by Panorama Praha 1982.  Text is in Czech with translations (including English) in the back of the book.

Picturesque Zlata ulicka (Golden Lane) in the north-eastern section of the Castle compound was built between Romanesque ramparts and the Late Gothic fortifications in whose walls, with vaulting under the defence corridors, tiny houses were constructed in the 16^th century for the Castle archers and goldsmiths.

C. 1320, west of the Castle, the little subject town of Hradcany was founded, later expanded to include Pohorelec and Novy Svet (New World) and from the 16^th century built up with palaces of the nobility.  Schwarzenberg, originally Lobkowitz, Palace at Hradcanske namesti (Hradcany Square) is among the oldest and most prominent of Prague Renaissance palaces – built by Ausgustin Vlach from 1545 to 1563.  It is presently  the Military Historical Museum housing a remarkable collection.

The Little Quarter cafe in the house At the Stone Table, built in 1780 by Josef Jager, offers a moment’s respite amidst the hustle and bustle of Malostranske namesti.  In the background is the house At the Splavins and Kaiserstijn Palace.

The Charles Bridge, now closed to vehicles, has become a pleasant pedestrian communication linking the Little Quarter with the Old Town.

From Celetna ulice (Celetna St.) through the Powder Tower we come to the New Town of Prague (Nove Mestro) founded by Charles IV in 1348.  A big city avenue with modern architecture has replaced what was once a polluted moat separating the Old and New Town.  On this street is the palace that houses the State Bank of Czechoslovakia, built by Frantisek Roith in 1938.  Over its entrance is the statuary Genius with Lion by Antonin Popp, taken from an older building that stood here and was built between 1898 and 1901.

Vaclavske namesti (Wencelas Square), originally the Horse Fair, extended from the one-time little bridge in front of Old Town Gall Tower to the former New Town Horse Gate.  Today it is the liveliest thoroughfare and shopping centre in the city.  

The new Prague airport at Ruzyne went into operation at the end of the sixties.

The workers of Prague first celebrated Labour Day on May First, 1890 by the gathering of about 40,000 people on Marksmen’s Isle.  From the year 1948, when the National Front organized the first common celebrations of May Day, Vaclavske namesti (Wencelas Square) for a number of years became the scene of these celebrations.  As late as the beginning of the seventies, when the centre of the city was blocked by equipment for the construction of the underground railway, May Day parades have been transferred to Letna plain.