Old Town Hall with Orloj chimes in Prague – history, photo, description, opening hours, prices 2021, map
The Old Town Hall is the most popular point on the map of any tourist who decides to visit Prague. This is the dominant structure of the Old Town Square, which invariably attracts hundreds of thousands of travelers from all over the world.
Story
The Old Town Hall was founded in 1338, and this is an extremely unusual historical object, as it was assembled from various small houses. Its expansion continued in 1458, when the so-called “Miksha house” was attached to the west side. Two more houses “At the Golden Moon” and “At the Rooster” were added at the end of the seventeenth century. council to expand the town hall in 1896. The Mikš House was rebuilt in neo-Renaissance style between 1879 and 1880 by Antonin Baum This wing was destroyed in the last years of World War II during the Prague Uprising.
As in every medieval town hall, a prison was also located here at one time. Prisoners were lowered into a cell, essentially a hole in the ground, which was then covered with rocks. In a word, they were buried alive. Throughout the twentieth century, many architectural competitions were held, the purpose of which was to identify the person who would be able to make the right project for the expansion and reconstruction of the town hall. But all competitions ended without a winner, or their projects never materialized.
Description
Built in 1338, it is one of the central tourist sites in Prague. In many ways, its popularity is due to the famous astronomical clock, which daily announces the arrival of a new hour with a bizarre performance. Once upon a time, the city council functioned with might and main in the town hall, but now anyone can visit it for a fixed fee, and lovers can even get married. The original appearance of the town hall, unfortunately, has not been preserved – the eastern wing was destroyed in the year of the end of the Second World War.
Architecture of the Old Town Hall
The Old Town Hall is essentially five buildings, different in style, but assembled into a single complex. These buildings are the former mansions of Czech nobles, which were gradually bought up by the city council. In general, all facades are decorated in the Italian neo-Gothic style. The dominant structure of the Old Town Hall is a 69.5 meter high tower built at the end of the fourteenth century, with a richly decorated window and a chapel on the east side.
The interior decoration of the rooms perfectly matches the imposing exterior. The spacious entrance hall was decorated during the reconstruction of the late fifteenth century. The two large mosaics created by the Czech architect Vojtech Ignaz Ullman and designed by Mikolas Alyos are truly impressive. The theme of the mosaic of the western wall is taken from national myths.
It depicts Princess Libuse predicting the greatness of Prague. On the opposite wall is an allegory entitled “Slavdom's Homage to Prague”. Modern refurbishment of the second lobby has made changes to the original architecture. There is a bronze statue (1885) cast by the sculptor Josef Vaclav Myslbek, which also embodies the plot of a folk myth – the statue depicts the legendary singer Lumir, accompanied by the metaphorical figure of the Song.
A staircase designed by Jan Bielski leads to the first floor. The rooms here are adapted for wedding ceremonies. The façade is dominated by a wide Renaissance window. On the second floor there is a session room and a council room.
The latter is one of the most beautiful rooms in the town hall. Despite numerous reconstructions, she managed to preserve the appearance, created back in 1470, to the maximum. The walls are decorated with gothic cladding, emblems, coats of arms of the old city. The most precious piece of furniture is a wooden figure of Christ from the beginning of the 15th century.
Chapel of the Virgin Mary
The chapel is located on the first floor. Visitors can admire the unique stained glass windows that actually depict the figures of the apostles and how the mechanism of the astronomical clock works. Outside, the chapel can be seen from the five-sided bay window, decorated with the coats of arms of local lands.
Nothing surrounds the chapel on the right side – once there was a Gothic portal, but it was destroyed during the Second World War. An amazing fact, but the chapel was illuminated, almost five times. Initially, divine services were held in it, announcing the beginning of the meeting of the council, as well as various festive events and liturgies. Currently, only events of national importance and weddings are held in the chapel of the Virgin Mary.
Orloi chimes
One of the most mysterious places in Prague that attracts thousands of tourists every day is the Astronomical Clock of the Old Town Hall. The Orloi chimes can be conditionally divided into three parts: the first contains small windows in which 12 apostles appear every hour and bow to the crowd waiting for them. Each apostle holds a certain symbol: St. Peter has a key, St. Matthew has an ax, St. John has a bowl. The four figures below them are directly involved in the action when the apostles appear.
The skeleton turns its hourglass over and rings the bell, announcing the end of life; the Turk – a symbol of a comfortable life – nods his head, and then shakes it, not wanting to surrender to death. The figure that depicts vanity looks into the mirror, and the miser (a symbol of stinginess) shakes a purse full of money. At the end of this peculiar performance, the crowing of a cock heralds the beginning of a new hour.
The second section (top) shows the movement of the planets. Naturally, they express a vision of the universe of past generations, where the Sun circles around the motionless Earth. At the very bottom there is a wheel-calendar, in which, in addition to the coat of arms of the Old City, the signs of the zodiac and months are depicted. Along the edge of the wheel – 365 notches – the wheel turns one notch every day, thereby making a full revolution in a year.
In addition, the clock shows four different times: Central European time is depicted in Roman numerals along the edge of the upper edge, Old Bohemian is shown in Gothic numbers (the day begins at sunset), there is also Babylonian time, where summer lasts much longer than winter, and finally, heavenly time, depicted by a small star on the zodiac cross.
According to some researchers, you can see that the clock is divided into four imaginary levels. Ancient alchemists and astrologers believed that the universe consists of four elements: earth, water, air and fire. As a matter of fact, it is these elements that are presented in the design of astronomical clocks. The earth is the watchmaker's entrance doors, the water is the dial, the air is the astrolabe and, finally, the fire is the apostles and the rooster. But does this represent the Cosmic Universe? Now it's hard to guess. Let's try to look at history and stretch a thin thread of knowledge in our days.
At an early stage of creation in 1402, a classical clock was installed on the tower of the Old Town Hall, and a couple of years later a large bell was installed. The first record of the Prague Astronomical Clock is dated October 14, 1410. Based on this document, the clock was built by watchmaker Mikulas from Kadan, who created it using the calculations of Jan Schindel, at that time the best mathematician and astronomer in Prague. The appearance of the clock, which is observed by modern travelers, was designed by masters Jan Hanusz and Jan Taborski. Equally valuable are the sculptural decorations of the clock, fashioned by the famous architect Piotr Parler.
But back to 1410. At that time, the most ancient parts of the clock were made – the clockwork itself and the astronomical dial. Historians have long been convinced that the clock was created by Jan Rezh in 1490, who was widely known under the pseudonym Mister Hanush. But he was not a designer of astronomical clocks, but only repaired them between 1475 and 1497. At that time, he significantly modernized them. After his death, watchmaker Yakubu worked for hours, then Vaclav Zvenek, and after him Jan Taborski. Each of them made a small contribution to the adjustment of the clockwork.
Over the long period of its work, the clock was repaired several times. Sometimes they even stopped. In the eighteenth century, people were not too interested in the mechanisms of measuring time, the Orla chimes were forgotten, and their condition left much to be desired. Fortunately, they were subsequently repaired thanks to Professor Antonin Strand. He managed to convince the government of Prague to restore such a significant historical artifact. The restoration of the watch was carried out by the watchmaker Simon Landsperger between 1787 and 1791. A few years later statuettes of the apostles were installed in the clock, and after another reconstruction (between 1865 and 1866) a rooster was added.
Once again, the clock was badly damaged during the Prague Uprising in 1945. The town hall was on fire, resulting in significant damage. The flame touched not only the wooden structure, but also the clock mechanism with the statues of the apostles. Thanks to the incredible efforts of the Wesecki brothers, the watch was repaired in 1948 and works perfectly to this day.
South facade of the town hall
When another house was bought in 1458 to expand the facility, global work began on the interior of the building, which could not but affect its outside. This is especially noticeable from the south side. The renovation of the entrance hall on the first floor of the Wolflin house culminated in the construction of a beautiful new portal in the late Gothic style, which was very characteristic of Czech culture. The structure itself dates from the fifteenth century, but the double wooden door was built at the end of 1652.
The windows of the southern façade belong to the twenties of the sixteenth century, and the Renaissance style is clearly traced in their design. The central window is original, while the other two were added in 1731. In truth, these side windows are in the same style as the main one, but the canopies above the pilasters are in a clear Gothic style. The southern façade is a wonderful piece of architectural thought that you can admire and admire. In addition, this is the first thing travelers see if they move from Wenceslas Square.
Opening hours and ticket prices
Monday: 11:00 – 19:00
Tuesday – Sunday: 9:00 – 19:00
Entrance ticket – 250 CZK, family ticket – 500 CZK.
The price includes entrance to the tower, historical halls and the Chapel of the Virgin Mary. There are also printed guides available for tourists in 13 languages.
Where is it located and how to get there
The Town Hall is located on the famous Old Town Square – in a place that every decent tourist visits while in Prague.
Address: Staromestske namesti, Prague 1
Tram: No. 2, 18 (during the day), 93 (at night), stop – Staromestska.
Metro: line A, Staromestska station.