Prague

Old Town Hall in Prague

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Old Town Hall in Prague is one of the places every tourists visiting the Czech Republic has to see. First of all it is an important construction from historical point of view. On the other hand the Town Hall has a lot of interesting features and details like: Astronomical Clock, tower, underground, wedding hall and so on. Let’s look closer!

History

The first stone into the basement of the Old Town Hall in Prague was put in 1338. At that time Jan Luxembourg decided to build this hall and to make it in a unique way. The construction had the main facade and the tower of 69,5 meter high. And that was one of the highest buildings in Europe in that times. It occupies the central place in the Old Town Square.

At the top of the Old Town Hall Tower worked a watcher keeping his eye at daily life of Prague

But that was only the start of the long history. In 1381 they built in the Hall a small chapel with bay windows. You can see it even today. After 1410 several neighboring houses were linked to the Old Town Hall giving it the look we all know nowadays.

Old town Hall in Prague houses

the house U Zlatého rohu;
dům U Minuty (between 1889 and 1896 Franz Kafka lived in this house).
the house U Kohouta;
Mikšův dům;
Kramáře Kříže;
Wolflinův dům.

XIX century reconstruction

In 1838 they began to build a new wing of the Old Town Hall. It was one of the constructions we can’t see today. At that times it was an amazing example of neo-Gothic architecture. People called it Sprengerov wing after the name of the architect. From the very first years it became a real symbol of Prague.

Old Town Square in Prague in XIX century

Unfortunately, this part of the Old Town Hall was destroyed by the Nazis on the 8th of May 1945.

What to see in the Old Town Hall in Prague?

One of the most important and interesting places to visit in the Old Town Hall is the main hall. It represents the way this room used to look like in the XV century. Above the entrance you will see an unique sign “Senatus”.

In side the Old Town Hall in Prague

Another monument from past times is the statue of Jesus Christ. The sculpture dates back to 1410. There is another writing: Juste iudicate filii hominis — Sons, judge fair.

Jiříkova and Brožíkova halls

Jiříkova hall is located on the second floor of house U Kohouta. There you will find an old sculpture of Jiří z Poděbrad and writings on the walls from the XV century. The second hall — Brožíkova síň, has the main conference hall.

These two huge rooms preserve interior of the past centuries. Local authorities use these halls for special occasions and meetings.

Wedding hall

Old Town Hall in Prague is a famous wedding place. People from all over the world travel to Czechia in order to marry each other. And a lot of both official marriages and elopements take place in the hall.

Wedding in Old Town Hall

In case you are interested in such an offer, contact me and I will provide you with information for the best weddings planners in Prague.

Tower

The tower in Old Town Hall is the only tower in Prague with elevator, but for Zizkov TV tower. Therefore every day thousands of tourists climb it to see one of the most incredible view of the Old Prague. There is also a nice gallery about the history of the tower’s construction.

To my mind this tower should be in the list of every tourist visiting Prague

Astronomical clock

Unfortunately, most of the tourists don’t know that they can get inside the Old Town Hall in Prague. The only thing they do is watching the Astronomical clock show. After that they go either in direction of Charles Bridge or Powder Tower.

Tours in the Old Town Hall

There is an office of tourist information in the Old Town Hall. There you can find the list of guided tours to around the houses of the Hall and even undergrounds. By the way, at the basement one can see original way of how these constructions were built many centuries ago. Everything remained untouched there.