History of Old Town Square Prague

The square was a place for many bad or happy events

The Old Town Square Prague is often considered as the most beautiful square in Europe. Tourists come to this place especially to see the Astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall, but you can find here many other important sights, for example the Church of Our Lady of Týn.

The Old Town Square was a place for many bad or happy events

Old Town Square Prague

This large square is located on the right bank of the Vltava River and its history is really long. There used to be the greatest market place in Bohemia, since 1211 it has had its own keeper. Big transformation came in 1338 when the Old Town Prague granted a permission from the king John of Luxembourg to construct its town hall. The name Old Town Square itself has been used since 1895 and refers tothe Old Town, the district, where the square is situated.

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The square was a place for many bad or happy events. In 1422, the first execution came – Jan Želivský, a representative of the Hussite movement, was sentenced to death. Another important event took place on the 21st June 1621, when 27 Czech Lords, the leaders of the Protestant revolt who fought against the Habsburg reign in Bohemia, were executed.

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The Old Town Hall has its origins in the 12th century and is famous especially for the Astronomical Clock. The author was Master Mikuláš of Kadaň. The clock was located in the lower part of the Old Town Hall Tower in 15th century. When this century was about to end, Master Hanuš of Růže rebuilt it and in the second half of the 16th century J. Táborský enlarged it. The Procession of Apostles with its allegories (the Apostles represent f. e. greed, death, lust atc.) shows up every full hour.

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The Old Town Hall also has 69m high Old Town Hall Tower on the top. If you go up, you will undergo an amazing view of the whole Prague.

Another important sight, the Church of Our Lady of Týn, was built on a previous Romanesque church in the 14th century. The Gothic appearance was finished in the second half of 15th century on Jiří of Poděbrady request. Inside you can find 80m high twin bell towers (although they were built at different times), altars, Statue of Madonna, Gothic Madonna and Child, the Tomb of Tycho Brahe. The high altar was painted by Karel Škréta.

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Apart from the Old Town Hall and the Church there are monuments as the Church of St Nicholas. The building was erected in the first half of the 18th century by K. I. Dientzenhofer. It´s a typical example of Baroque architecture with two towers, the dome, chapels and frescoes inside, painted by K. D. Asam. The Statue of St Nicholas is the work of B. Šimonovský. It hadn´t always been here, it was created at the beginning of the 20th century.

Jan Hus Monument was ceremonially unveiled in 1915 on the occasion of the 5th centenary of Hus´s death. It´s the work of L. Šaloun and it also has an epigraph that says „Love and be truthful to each other“.

If you want to see its magic and mysterious atmosphere, visit the Old Town Square in the night. You will be enthusiastic about it.

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