Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The New
TOwN
Nové Město
Enough of pretty, medieval Prague—let's leap into the modern era.
The New Town, with Wenceslas Square as its focal point, is today's
urban Prague. This part of the city offers bustling boulevards and
interesting neighborhoods. The New Town is the best place to view
Prague's remarkable Art Nouveau art and architecture and to learn
more about its recent communist past.
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Wenceslas Square Self-Guided Walk
More a broad boulevard than a square (until recently, trams rat-
tled up and down its park-like median strip), this city landmark
is named for King Wenceslas—featured both on the 20-Kč coin
and the equestrian statue that stands at the top of the boulevard.
Wenceslas Square (Václavské Náměstí) functions as a stage for
modern Czech history: The creation of the Czechoslovak state was
celebrated here in 1918; in 1968, the Soviets suppressed huge popu-
lar demonstrations here; and, in 1989, more than 300,000 Czechs
and Slovaks converged here to claim their freedom.
• Starting near the Wenceslas statue at the top (Metro: Muzeum), look
to the building crowning the top of the square...
National Museum (Národní Muzeum)
he museum
stands grandly at the top. While its collection is dull,
the building offers a powerful view, and the interior is richly deco-
rated in the Czech Revival Neo-Renaissance style that heralded
the 19th-century rebirth of the Czech nation. The light-colored
patches in the museum's columns fill holes where Soviet bullets
hit during the crackdown against the 1968 Prague Spring uprising.
Masons—defying their communist bosses, who wanted the dam-
age to be forgotten—showed their Czech spirit by intentionally
mismatching their patches (80 Kč, daily May-Sept 10:00-18:00,
