Classicism

Passion was replaced by the rationality of the enlightenment, illusion by pragmatism, and monumental splendor by intentional simplicity. In the European context, the principle of Classicism (or alternatively Neo-Classicism, as such style is usually called in Western Europe) is an almost frenzied effort to come closer to Ancient and especially Classical Greece ideals which were understood as representing the ideal society through its art and culture. However, efforts to implement the purely rational approach was, from the beginning, influenced by the romantic view artists and architects had, and this led to simple Neo-classic exteriors concealing richly decorated interiors which could almost remind us of the exquisiteness of antique Rome structures (in Bohemia particularly the Kačina Manor).
In Prague, Classicism is particularly connected to the architecture of residential houses. some were built in the centre of town (Platýz, Smetana Waterfront), as well as for instance in the newly built suburbia of Karlín whose regular chessboard layout is directly influenced by the examples of Ancient cities. Even aristocratic palaces are now subordinated to the Town layout, hence becoming an integral part of the town streets,