New Town (Nove Mesto) in Prague – attractions, history, photo, description, map
Nové Mesto until 1784 had the status of an independent city, founded in 1348 at the behest of Charles IV. It “grew” quickly, thanks to rational planning, the maximum interest of the king and generous funding. The territory of Nove Mesto was formed from 3 sections connected by a series of streets. To explore as many sights as possible, located on the wide streets and squares of the beautiful “city within the city”, you can use the ready-made route that we have prepared for you.
National Museum
The beginning of an independent tour is Wenceslas Square, the former Horse Market, where the green and red lines of the Prague metro lead. Leaving it at the Muzeum stop, you find yourself in close proximity to the National Museum – the largest museum in the Czech Republic. The magnificent monumental building, built in the Neo-Renaissance style according to the project of Professor Schulz of the Czech Technical University, took 5 years to build. Well-known sculptors and artists worked with inspiration on the design of the external and internal interiors of the main symbol of Czech history, science, culture and art. An impressive equestrian monument was erected in front of the building as a sign of worship to St. Wenceslas.
The facade of the museum is decorated with marble commemorative plaques on which the names of famous representatives of national science, art and politics are engraved. At the entrance there is a fountain with allegorical statues of the Vltava, Elbe and 3 Czech lands. The expositions and exhibitions of the museum reflect all stages of the country's development, the great achievements of its talented figures, hundreds of rarities and art objects.
Phoenix Palace (Palac Fenix)
Located on the other side of the street (Smechkakh, 56) – an example of the era of constructivism in architecture. The impressive size of the 7-storey building is impossible not to notice: it houses a shopping center, a cinema and other establishments.
Jalta Hotel
Built in 1957 by Tenzer, it attracts attention with its display windows, mezzanine architectural and stucco decorations and balcony railings, creating the unique beauty of the facade of a magnificent building.
Passage Lucerne (Lucerna Passage)
The unique building (the first building made of reinforced concrete), which embodied the features of ancient pomposity, was designed in the Art Deco style by Matej Blecht. The grandiose building, located on the left side of the square, is a real masterpiece of architecture decorated with columns, numerous ancient faces, busts, elegant stucco molding, and an original roof design.
All this can be admired endlessly. Now it houses restaurants, bars, clubs, art workshops, shops, one of which is the famous Prague passage of Lucerne (Russian “lantern”), which belonged to the grandfather and full namesake of President V. Havel.
Monument to Myslbek
The attention of tourists is attracted by a parody sculpture of the famous Myslbek monument, where, unlike the original, St. Wenceslas sits on the belly of a horse turned upside down. The author of the creation-parody is the infamous Prague sculptor-prankster David Cherny. In 2000, his brainchild was installed in front of a genuine monument, but later moved to Lucerne.
Grand Hotel Europa
The most beautiful building, built in 1905 according to the collective project of 3 architects in the Art Nouveau style. The central part of the bright yellow facade is crowned with a figured pediment, decorated with sculptures and stucco ornaments. Graceful lattices of balconies, intricate patterns of window casings give the building a delightful look.
Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Kostel Panny Marie Sněžné)
From the building of the Czech Bank at the intersection with Vodickova Street, you can go to the Franciscan Garden, the main attraction of which is the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Snow, built in honor of the coronation of Charles IV in 1347. This is the highest cathedral in Prague (the height of the vault is 33 m) with a large-scale, beautifully executed altar in the late Baroque style. From the north, the cemetery adjoins the cathedral, the entrance to which is a Gothic sculptural portal. On the south side there is a Franciscan monastery with a library of the rarest book rarities and a beautiful garden.
Jungman Square (Jungmannovo námĕstí)
When you reach the small Jungman Square, you will find yourself in a continuous row of architectural masterpieces of the first decade of the 20th century: Krejczek's original Cubist street lamp; the red-and-white palace of Adria in the style of rondo-cubism, the facade of which is all in stucco patterns; Opposite it, the bank building, formerly the former ARA department store, contrasts with it with a strict constructivist look. Near the square, on the corner of the street of the same name, stands the red and black Mozarteum, a former concert hall that hosted prestigious competitions and concerts, as well as theatrical performances.
Church of St. Peter (Kostel svatého Petra na Poříčí)
After passing the streets and the Republic Square, where historical architectural monuments are found at every step, you find yourself on the street. Porzhichi with numerous shops. It intersects with a short Episcopal street, which keeps an ancient shrine – the Church of St. Peter, whose age is 800 years. This temple of strict Gothic architecture was built at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries by local German merchants who lived in the village. Porzhichi.
In the 19th century, two Gothic columns were erected at the entrance. Deprived of external splendor, the cathedral suffered more than one restructuring, fires, but survived. The reconstruction of the end of the 20th century gave a new life to the church, which belonged to members of the Order of the Red Star for almost 700 years. Spiritual and classical music sounds within the walls of the temple, the shrine is honored and protected.
Church of St. Henry (Kostel sv. Jindřicha)
To the left of the church is Petrska Square – the center of the northern sector of Nove Mesta, from which you can go to Zlatnicka Street. On it – to Trukhlarzhskaya, leading to the Republic Square. Having crossed it, you find yourself on Senovazhnaya Street, connected with the square of the same name, which used to be Sennoy Market – a significant object of the district. Here is the old church of St. Henry from 1348, which also underwent a 19th-century rebuild, adding Gothic features to it. The entrance of the cathedral is decorated with statues of John of Nepomnutsky and Judas Thaddeus. The bell tower, equipped with massive bells, stands apart.
Main Post Office
If you go from Senovazhnaya Square along Indrizhskaya Street, you will not pass indifferently past the building with yellow flags – the Main Post Office, located near the intersection with st. Politickych vernu. Not shining with exterior decoration, the building is quite ordinary from the outside and is famous for its chic interiors.
Until the end of the 60s of the 19th century, this place was a courtyard where post stagecoaches stopped. Later, the walls of the courtyard were connected by a roof, and a 3-storey building of the Main Post Office was formed with a glass ceiling and magnificent wall paintings in the Art Nouveau style based on the paintings of the artist Alphonse Mucha. All visitors, making postal transactions, admire the real artistic masterpieces. Among the exotic plants that decorate the hall, there are cozy benches where you can sit down and look at the wall paintings.
Palace of Porges from Portheim (palc Porges z Portheimu)
One cannot ignore the National Avenue, on which there is the palace of Porges from Porteim (N 38), associated with the name of A. V. Suvorov, who, according to legend, spent one night there. In 1947, a bust of the great commander was erected on this occasion.
The old building of the National Theater (Národní Divadlo)
On the opposite side of the avenue, the Old Building of the National Theater flaunts – a kind of monument to the development of the theatrical art of the Czech Republic and the patriotism of its inhabitants. In 1852, an extensive campaign was launched to collect donations for the construction of the National Theater, a design competition was held, in which the creative idea of the architect Siegek won.
Construction lasted 13 years before a magnificent neo-Renaissance building grew. Its grand opening was scheduled for September 11, 1881, but it was not destined to take place: there was a fire, and the building burned down almost entirely. For the people of Prague, this was a real tragedy, but they again organized a fundraiser, and the theater was revived under the leadership of Josef Schulz. An unusually beautiful architecture building with many sculptural decorations, with a hemispherical roof topped with a “crown”, faces the Vltava embankment.
The new building of the National Theater
Next door is the New Building of the National Theatre, opened in 1983 to commemorate the centenary of the Old Building. The new theater is a huge colossus of glass, hoisted on powerful concrete supports – the embodiment of Prager's avant-garde project. According to the architectural community, this building is considered the best example of the period of Soviet construction in Czechoslovakia.
Dancing House
The path from the National Theater along the Masaryk Embankment will lead to the Irasikov Bridge, from which you can see the world-famous Dancing House – the brainchild of a joint project of the Croatian architect Milunovich and the American Gehry. The two towers seem to have “merged into a dance” as a symbol of the memory of the popular Hollywood dancers Ginger and Fred.
Church of St. Wenceslas
On the nearest Reslova Street, one cannot ignore the Church of St. Wenceslas – an example of early baroque architecture, built in the 12th century as a parish church for the inhabitants of Zderase, a small village. Later it was rebuilt, adding Gothic elements, and the last reconstruction in 1827 emphasized the Baroque style of a unique ancient monument.
Faust House (Faustův dům)
Along the same street you can go to Charles Square, where there is a house covered with legends about the famous doctor Faust, which is associated with many mysterious stories related to its past inhabitants. And although now a pharmacy and a university library are located in a building with a pink facade, the name of Faust has become attached to it.
Church of St. John of Nepomuk (Church of St. John of Nepomuk)
Next to the Faust House is the church of St. John of Nepomnutsky on a rock. The memory of the great martyr, protector of the Czech people, was expressed in the beautiful creation of baroque architecture by Dientzenhofer, placing the temple on an elevated terrace, where everyone climbs the stairs with sculptures of religious characters. Inside the altar there is a wooden statue of Yang.
Nove Mesto is an area of amazing historical, architectural and cultural monuments that leave an indelible memory of yourself in your heart and soul.