Nove Mesto - The Rough Guide to Prague - page 156

Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square)
Metro Můstek/Muzeum
The natural pivot around which modern Prague revolves, Václavské náměstí (Václavák in
colloquial Czech) is more of a wide, gently sloping boulevard than a square as such. It's
scarcely a conventional - or even convenient - space in which to hold mass demonstrations,
yet for the last 160 years or more it has been the focus of political protest in Prague.
Despite the square's medieval origins, its oldest building dates only from the eighteenth
century, and the vast majority are much younger. As the city's money moved south of Staré
Město during the Industrial Revolution, so the square became the architectural showpiece
of the nation, and it is now lined with self-important six- or seven-storey buildings, repres-
enting every artistic trend of the past hundred years, from neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau
to Socialist Realism and hi-tech modernism. However, lying outside the UNESCO-protec-
ted Old Town, this is also where some of the worst excesses of post-Communist architecture
have been perpetrated, the most recent example the huge bulbous roof of the building oppos-
ite the National Museum on the left as you look up the square. What have remained virtually
untouched since the commercial boom of the First Republic are the Václavák's period-piece
arcades or pasáže .
If you've no interest in modern architecture, there's less reason to stroll up the square; the
shopsandrestaurantsareprettyblandincomparisontootherpartsofthecitycentreandmost
bona fide Czech businesses got out years ago. The square has also yet to shake off entirely
the seedy reputation it acquired during the 1990s: prostitution has waned and the discos have
mostly closed down, but the petty criminals, dodgy cab drivers and outlet stores remain. The
famous sausage stands that once dotted the square's length have recently disappeared, closed
downinpreparationforathoroughmakeoverthattheauthoritieshavebeenpromising/threat-
ening for at least a decade. The idea is ultimately to rid Wenceslas Square of cars altogether,
creating a large open pedestrianized space. However, work is not scheduled to start any time
soon.
ThemostbustlingpartofWenceslas Squareandapopularplace tomeet beforehitting town
is around Můstek , the city's most central metro station, at the northern (bottom) end of the
square. The name Můstek means “little bridge” - obviously a reference to the ditch that once
ran the length of na Příkopě along the end of what became Wenceslas Square.