Prague history
The municipal territory of nowadays Prague has been settled for about 15 centuries and each place has its history. The Prague monuments by itself can tell more about the history and life than any tourist guide. The centre of the city with unique panorama of the Prague castle is the UNESCO landmark and it attracts every year hundreds of thousands visitors from all over the world. The area on which Prague was founded was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. We can guess what has been attracting people to the place where the city is located for sure it has been the river, the richness of the deer, may be something unspeakable which is attracting the people up to the present day. The first real Prague nation were the Kelts, the Slavs have entered the present Prague territory around the 6th century.
Gothic Prague - Architecture is the field which was mostly influenced by Gothic. Gothic architecture is the architecture of many churches, cathedrals, castles, fortresses and also town halls, townsman houses and bridges. The most distinctive Prague Gothic monuments are St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, Karolinum – Charles University, Bethlehem Chapel, Virgin Mary in front of Týn Cathedral, Powder Tower and Old Town Hall Tower.
Renaissance in Prague - a typical sign of Renaissance architecture are graffiti – inscribed ornamentation on damp render which looks akin to envelopes. Another characteristic were straight windows, wide and spacious buildings, pillars, arcade galleries, cylindrical vaults, wooden compartment ceilings and many other features. The most important examples of the Renaissance architecture can be found in Prague Castle the Hall of Vladislav, the Royal Summer Palace, Lobkovic Palace and Schwarzenberg Palace, the Summer Palace Hvězda, several Old-Town houses, St. Salvator and St. Roch Churches and Chapel of the Ascension of Virgin Mary.
Baroque in Prague– a fundamental principle is the use of space whose spaciousness had to astound and make a strong impression of people’s inner feelings. An important role was also played by light, shadows and rich colours accompanied by gold mosaic or paint. Vital were various types of vaults, onion shaped domes with a strong layer of brick or stone wall and rich stucco decoration on both inner and outer sides. The famous Prague Baroque buildings are Klementinum in Old Town, Czernin Palace at Hradcany, Castle Riding Hall, Thun Palace, Troja Chateau and Wallenstein Garden with a palace.
Secession in Prague – the period brought a gush of artistic styles and novelties. Decorativeness was displayed not only on facades but also in house interiors. The major inspiration was nature, waves, curves and flowers and leaves. The most important Prague Secession buildings – hotel Europe, The Main Train Station, the Municipal House, the Industrial Palace and the Petřín Tower.
