Prague - Our neighborhood

Our apartment is on Jungmannova which leads out of (or into) Jungmannovo namesti (which is Czech for square).  Josef Jungmann translated many English and German classics into Czech during the 19c National Revival.  He also worked on a 5 volume Czech-German dictionary.  There is a statue of him in the square surrounded by flowers.  This is often a first 'rest stop' for Alan when we use the metro stop here.

Josef Jungmannov Tribute

Mustek B metro (you can tell the Mustek A&B lines apart by the color)

On the corner is the Palac Adria built in the rondo-cubist style.  What the heck is that, I ask myself?  Thanks Wikipedia for this brief explanation: "Czech Cubists distinguish their work through the construction of sharp points, slicing planes, and crystalline shapes in their art works.... They believed that objects carried their own inter energy which could only be released by splitting the horizontal and vertical surfaces that restrain the conservative design and “ignore the needs of the human soul.”  Not that I think this makes it any clearer, but I do love the design of this building.

Palac Adria

If you follow a cut through you come out onto Wenceslas Sq.  This large area is really more of a divided boulevard with a really large center area.  It began life as a horse market.  You've come a long way baby!  At the end is the huge National Museum with a statue of Wenceslas himself astride a horse.  And in the 20th c. the center of Prague activity moved here from Old Town Sq. architects designed buildings spanning a wide spectrum of styles.  There are also street vendors that sell grilled sausages which we have frequented more than once. 

Cut through to Wenceslas Sq.

National Museum at end of square

Our sausage street vendor

One other interesting neighborhood feature is the 'rotating metallic head' that sits in a small square.  We pass this on our way to the tram stops (our favorite form of transport) and I pass this every time I go to the local Tesco to grocery shop.  One improvement I made in grocery shopping this year; I brought along a rolling carry-on for the first time which I am using as a rolling shopping bag to carry the large bottle of water and juice drinks.  Makes shopping so much easier.

Trams!!!

Prague - Our Apartment

Our apartment is located on Jungmannova, just a block away from Wenceslas Sq. in Nove Mestro or new town.  This is really just an extension of the old town to the south and east.  We have trams and metro stops close by and can walk to many sights even in Alan's compromised state. 

Our Apartment - we are the 2nd balcony which is on the 4th floor.

Our apartment is open and spacious.  The a/c is good which was important as temps were in the 90's when we arrived.  The have fortunately moderated some since then.

Living area with a int of the view

Towards the kitchen area

 

Our building is like many here, the front half is businesses and shops while the back half is apartments.  There are only six apartments in this building, one per floor.  We finally came in at the some time as another occupant.  He appeared to be a businessman not a tourist.  Of course he could be both, but only 2 apartments in this building are owned by the company we leased from Prague-Stay.  

View from Living Room & balcony

View in another direction

We look out over Our Lady of Snows church and the Franciscan Gardens.   The gardens are a lovely park which was first a monastic courtyard.  The church dates from 1347 but was not completed (what you see is the choir) due to the Hussite Wars.  The Franciscans took over in 1603-1950.

Our Lady of Snows from Franciscan Gardens

Sculptures in the gardens

Our building from the gardens

 The gardens are lovely and also have some interesting characters.  It seems a favorite haunt for some of the local men - unemployed or retired. Maybe homeless.  Definite fondness for drink.  They never ask for handouts and they seem to share a camaraderie.

Prague's Municipal House, Art Nouveau Wonder

What do you do if you're Czech and marginalized by your Germanic rulers?  You decide to build a cultural center, which was the original purpose of the Municipal House or Obecni dum.  While the style is specifically Prague Secessionist, it incorporates the Art Nouveau influences popular when the building was begun in 1903.  By the time it was completed in 1912 Art Nouveau was passe and the structure was criticized.  It did. however, become a national symbol since the design inside and out was strictly done by Czech architects and artists.   When the Czechoslovakian state was declared in 1918 it was from this building and it was used for Czech affairs.  When the Nazis invaded in 1939 they took over the building  and used it as their headquarters.  Then when the Czechs fell under Soviet rule it fell into disuse and disrepair as Stalin hated it.  Happily, the Soviets did not have the money to tear it down as they wanted.  It has been restored and the concert hall is now in use.  It also houses two restaurants, a cafe, a bar and a space for art exhibitions.  

Smetana Hall is named in honor of one of the Czech Republics great composers Bedřich Smetana and you can click this link for a quick listen to one of his pieces.  Smetana musical piece  The concert hall could easily be overshadowed by the very big organ if it wasn't so beautiful in its own right.

Smetana Hall Organ

Balcony Box in Smetana Hall

 There is more to the Municipal House than just Smetana Hall.  When MH was build the women's lounge and men's rooms were separated.  And yes, men had more places they could go.  But the women's lounge is a beauty.  A combination of both art nouveau (curved lines of nature) and art deco (geometric lines) in style.

Municipal House former Women's Lounge

There is much more, but I will never get this posted if I go on.  I will have more about the Mayors Hall done by Mucha in a subsequent post.