Prague's Wenceslas Sq.

Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske namesti) is one of the main tourist shopping areas in Prague. This large boulevard was initially a horse market during the Middle Ages.  In 1880's it was renamed Wenceslas Square as the pride of Czech citizens rose.  Wenceslas is the patron saint of Bohemia.  A good portion of the current Czech Republic is made up of Bohemia.

At one end of the square is the huge neo-renaissance National Museum of 1885-90.  The square had become the center of new town by then and a statute of Wenceslas was placed here as early as 1689.  It was the center of commerce and grand buildings rose lining the boulevard.

Looking down Wenceslas Sq. towards the National Museum

The other end of the square is the boarder between Old and New Town.  Charles IV decided to expand Prague to the south and east and Nove Mesto became the home of many craftsmen.  At this boarder is a little street leading from Wenceslas Sq into Stare Mesto called Nu mustka which means 'at the little bridge' because, in fact, a little bridge was here that crossed the moat back in the middle ages. On one side of the street is a building nicknamed Golden Beehive. It was originally two houses that were joined together and enlarged.  In the late 18c it was given its baroque facade with the beehive front.  Today it is a hotel. On the other side of Nu mustka is a post-modernist building

Golden Beehive now the Hotel Prague

Post-Modernism Glass & Concret

Which brings us to the real joy of Wenceslas square which is the architecture.  You can view a stretch of buildings that range from art nouveau wonders to cubist prototypes. 

Bata was one of the functionalist cubist buildings.  It is a shoe store.

I have a few favorites that I will focus on in no particular order.  First is the former Moravian Bank built in 1918 (aka Supich bldg).  It is not delicate art nouveau, it is an art deco hulk with an interesting rotunda and is topped with outstanding art deco sculptured warrior heads.

At # 38-40 on the square at the corner of Stepanska

Warrior Heads

One of everybody's favorites is the Grand Hotel Europa and Meran Hotel.  These were built together to replace the hotel previously on this site.  These are perfect examples of Secessionist architecture.  In one of my Vienna blogs I covered Secessionism which is essentially the Vienna art movements take on art nouveau.  It is all intricate and delicate, with beautiful balconies and lots of ornamentation.  Vienna Secessionist Movement

At # 25-27 on the sqaure

Another grouping I enjoyed was the Secessionist and neo-Baroque pairing at #12 and 10 respectively.  The secessionist was designed by Jan Kotera in 1899 and is known as the Peterka House.  I have no information on the neo-Baroque building, but I love the contrast between the two decorative styles.

Secessionist bldg. on left, neo-Baroque on right

The last sequence I'll show you includes a 1896 Renaissance style building with sgraffito.  This is a technique that is used in pottery but has been applied on a large scale here.  We saw this technique more often in Italy.  The surface is scratched away to reveal the surface underneath. This is the building on the far right, with the Moravian Bank on the far left.

The building in the middle has great historic significance for Czechs which I will get to in a minute.  Although Wenceslas square is a great shopping area the square has been witness to some of the great triumphs and tragedies in Czech history.  In 1918 it was the sight of celebrations as the Hapsburg empire fell and Czechoslovakia was declared an independent country.  German troops marched down the square when they entered in 1939 and Soviet May Day parades were held here under the communist occupation.  In 1968 Soviet tanks rolled in trying to diminish the effects of the Prague Spring where artist controls had begun to loosen, followed by Jan Palach setting fire to himself in 1969 to draw international attention to Czechoslovakia's plight under the harsh communist regime.  And finally in 1989 this is where the final revolution took place.  Throughout November there were growing protests of students chanting and singing for freedom.  While initially the police reacted with brutality, the crowds continued to swell.  On November 24th Vaclav Havel and the Alexander Dubcek stood on the balcony of the building in the middle and declared the success of the Velvet Revolution, so called because it was for the most part nonviolent and met no resistance. 

Announcement of Velvet Revolution occurred from this balcony