Obecní House
* * *The best known Art Nouveau building in Prague
Significant photo
Fotogalerie
Info text
The Obecní House is an emblematic building on the Republic Square that is one of Prague treasures. In the 14th and 15th century stood in this place one of the Czech king residence. The place being a royal residence, there were many buildings, but today only the monumental Powder Gate remains. Once upon a time, this place was the starting point of Czech kings coronation parades.
Between 1905 and 1912, following a proposal submitted by architects Balšánek and Polívka to build a concert hall, leading Czech artists such as Mikoláš Aleš, František Ženíšek, Josef Myslbek or Alfons
Mucha participated in the decoration of this Art Nouveau jewel. Inside there is the spacious Smetana's Hall, with a 1,200 people capacity.
The early days of the building saw two important events connected to the history of the Czech lands: the independence of Czechoslovakia was declared here on October 28th 1918, and Vaclav Havel with the members of the Civic Forum met here the ruling squad of Communists in late November 1989. That is why the Obecní House is not only a significant gem of Art Nouveau architecture, but also a place that witnessed important historical events.
