Architecture of Czech Republic. Must see and must visit landmarks

» Archbishop's Palace is a four-story historic building built at the beginning of 16th century in the Baroque style. The venue is situated in the center of Prague, and serves as the residence of the Archbishop of Prague.
» Today, the palace is one of the most beautiful architectural landmarks of Prague.
» The palace was rebuilt and restored several times. Thus, the Renaissance-style palace was completely redesigned in the Baroque style in the 18th century.
» There is an amazing garden next to the palace, which, unfortunately, is closed to visitors.
» Special attention should be paid to the interior. The Throne Hall features beautiful tapestry work, and the dining room is decorated with portraits of the Archbishop of Prague, as well as other works by famous artists.

Location on the map:   Interesting facts: » Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is the Catholic Church in Vysehrad (Prague) designed in the Gothic Revival style.
» The church is a kind of exhibition. History is the dominant element of its themed interior. Here you can see the history of art and the history of Christianity and the Czech lands.
» Bas-reliefs on the main portal are depicting scenes of the Last Judgment.
» The facade of the church has a memorial plaque in memory of the baptism of 14 Czech princes in Regensburg in 845 year.
» The main attraction of the basilica is stored in the third chapel. That’s the Virgin Mary of the Rain panel. The legend tells that the image of Mary was painted by St. Luke himself. In times of drought believers ask the Virgin Mary of rain and an abundant harvest.

» The Dancing House or Fred and Ginger is the nickname given to an office building in Prague.
» Dancing House consists of two cylindrical towers: normal and decostructivist; that’s an architectural metaphor of a dancing couple of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
» The cylindrical portion extending upward symbolizes the figure of a man, and the second part of the building is visually reminiscent of a female figure with a slim waist and a flowing skirt.
» The building was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunic in collaboration with renowned Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996.
» Dancing house is built on the site of a house destroyed by the American bombing of Prague in 1945.

Location on the map:   Interesting facts: » Lesser Town Bridge Tower is the complex of two towers on the western, Malá end of the Charles Bridge.
» Towers were built at different times. They differ from each other in height and architectural style, but are joined together by a double arch.
» The lower one is called the Judith Tower, as it once was part of the Judith Bridge, standing on the site of the current Charles Bridge. The tower was originally built in the Romanesque style, but later it was rebuilt in the spirit of Renaissance.
» The second tower owes its appearance to the King George Podebrady, who ordered the construction of the second, higher tower in 1464.
» A long time towers on both sides of the Charles bridge have been its main attractions, before sculptures appeared on the bridge.

» Loreta is the short name of Prague Kostel of Narozeni Pane.
» The church includes a monastery, the Holy Hut of Our Lady of Loreto and Loreto treasury.
» There is a legend telling that there was a hut in the Italian town of Loreto, in which the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she will soon become a mother. The hut was moved to Prague Loreta from Nazareth by angels to protect the baby from pagans.
» The Treasury of Loreta contains a variety of liturgical objects, monstrance and art works of 16-18th centuries, donated by the church.
» Prague Loreta surpasses Italian one, as it turned to be a complex of buildings around Holy Hut. The complex has being expanded, remodeled and repaired for two centuries.

» The National Museum was built in the early 19th century. To the date, the museum is the largest in Prague.
» National Museum is divided into several sections. The building on Wenceslas Square houses only the Museum of Natural Science and History and the Library.
» The historic room is located on the second floor of the building. It exhibits particularly valuable materials from archaeological sites, as well as coins and medals. The science department is situated on the third floor of the building.
» Collections of the Ethnographic Museum, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Naprstek Museum and the Museum of Physical Culture and Sports are placed in other showrooms.
» Vaclav Hanka, who served as the first librarian of the National Museum of Prague, is famous for faking historical texts, passing them off as originals, thereby distorting Czech history. However, even after disclosure of Hanka’s crimes his works were placed in the museum, though not as historical documents, but as examples of romantic literature emphasizing the increase in consciousness of the Czechs.

» National Theatre is the main theater of Czech Republic. It hosts opera, ballet and drama performances.
» National Theatre helps to maintain and develop the most important features of the country, the Czech language, the essence of the Czech music and dramatic way of thinking.
» On August 12, 1881 there was a fire at the National Theatre, which destroyed the copper dome, the auditory and the stage of the theater. This event was treated by people as a national tragedy.
» Thanks to donations from people for the restoration of the theater it became possible to collect more than a million zlotys just in 47 days. After the restoration the famous inscription on the scene: ‘A nation - itself’ appeared at the scene.
»  The National Theatre is one of the most beautiful buildings in Prague. The main facade is decorated with statues of Apollo and Muses; winged bronze statues of Victory managing frantic horses are seen at both sides.

» The Old Town Bridge Tower is the entrance gate to the Charles Bridge from the Old Town.
» The Old Town Bridge Tower is considered the most beautiful medieval tower in Europe.
» Facade towers are decorated with coats of arms of lands belonging to the Kingdom of Bohemia during the reign of Charles IV. Also, the tower is decorated with a statue of St. Vitus, the patron saint of the bridge.
» The Old Tower is a massive structure of defense type.
» Inside the tower there is a viewing platform, which you can visit from 10.00am to 6.00pm.

» The Petrin Lookout Tower is the observation tower in Prague that is 60 meters high. It’s located on the Petrin Hill.
» The Petrin Lookout Tower is the Czech prototype of the Eiffel Tower.
» Construction of the tower lasted only 4 months.
» Despite its 60-meter height, the Petrin Tower is yet higher than the Eiffel, as it’s built on a hill.
» There is a gift shop and a small cafe at the lower level of the Petrin Lookout Tower, and a small museum of the literary character of Jara Cimrman on the underground floor.

» The Rudolfinum is the concert and exhibition hall in the downtown of Prague, on the square bearing the name of Jan Palach.
» The Rudolfinum has being a venue for Czech Philharmonic Orchestra concerts since 1946; that’s one of the main venues of the International Music Festival, Prague Spring, which is held each year in May and June.
» The building was designed by architect Joseph Zítek and his student Josef Schulz. The Rudolfinum was opened February 7, 1885.
» The building was named in honor of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, who took part in the opening ceremony.
» Dvorak Hall in the Rudolfinum is one of the oldest concert halls in Europe. It’s known for its excellent acoustics.

» St. Nicholas Church is the temple on Old Town Square built in the first half of the 18th century by architect Dientzenhofer.
» It’s known that the building was reconstructed for several times; it stands on the site of the oldest religious building in Prague.
» St. Nicholas Church is famous for its large crystal crown-shaped chandelier given by Russian Tsar Nicholas II.
» On Orthodox Christmas and Easter a procession around the temple is held in Prague.
» The building is reasonably considered one of the most beautiful places in Prague because of its facade decorated with statues and stucco.

» St. Vitus Cathedral was the burial place for Czech kings and archbishops of Prague. The cathedral also houses medieval Czech Crown Jewels.
» The main tower of St. Vitus Cathedral is 96.5 meters high, so it can be seen from anywhere in Prague.
» That’s the largest church in Prague. It is so large that it can accommodate thousands of visitors.
» The largest in the Czech Republic Sigismund bell is kept in the tower of the cathedral.
» The most valuable among chapels of the temple is Vitus Chapel. It was erected on the site, where once stood the rotunda with the relics of St. Vitus, after whom the temple was named.

» The Basilica of Santa Croce is located in the center of Florence and is one of the most popular monument of the city.
»  About 300 famous objects of culture, science and politicians are buried in the church. Among them are Galileo, Dante, Machiavelli, Michelangelo and many others. The construction of the tombs in the church is a marble bed with the figure of the deceased over the sarcophagus.
»  The basilica is famous for its frescoes made by Giotto. Initially, all the walls of the church were decorated with frescoes, but during the plague in the 16th century, when the church was used as a hospital, the walls were whitewashed. During the restoration, frescoes were re-discovered, including the works of Giotto.
»  The basilica is famous for its 16 chapels.
»  In this temple Leonardo da Vinci was baptized in 1452.

» Tyn Church is one of the most famous symbols of the Czech capital. It’s called the Church of Our Lady of Tyn.
» Tyn Church can boast the oldest organ in Prague made by master Mundt in 1673.
» The temple is notable, as about 60 remains of great and unknown people lie there.
» Some gravestones in the church are damaged because many residents believe that they can get rid of toothache by stepping on the gravestone.
» At the beginning of the 15th century the main statue Tyn Cathedral lose its golden cup; one legend is associated with that. They say that once storks made a nest in this bowl. Birds need to be fed, so the storks took frogs into the nest; and sometimes amphibias fell out of the beak. Once a frog fell on some important person, and the latter was ridiculed by people. After this incident, the storks were evicted, and the cup was removed.