Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rotunda of sv Martin
V pevnosti • Only open for services Mon, Wed & Fri 6pm, Sat 8am • Metro Vyšehrad
The over-renovated
Rotunda of sv Martin
- one of a number of Romanesque rotundas
scattered across Prague - is the sole survivor of the medieval fortress built by Vratislav II in
the eleventh century. The cannon ball embedded in the wall above the portal is a reminder of
the Prussian siege of 1757.
Myslbek statues
Metro Vyšehrad
If the weather's good there are few better places in the Czech capital for a picnic than the
patchofgrasstothesouthofthebasilicaofsvPetrandPavel,wherethereareregularoutdoor
concerts on summer Sundays. Dotted about the grass are the gargantuan
Myslbek statues
that used to adorn the nearby bridge, Palackého most. Four couples are dotted across the
green, all taken from Prague legends:
Přemysl and Libuše
, the husband-and-wife team who
founded Prague and started Bohemia's first royal dynasty, the Přemyslids;
Lumír and Píseň
,
the legendary Czech singer and his muse, Song;
Záboj and Slavoj
, two mythical Czech war-
riors; and
Ctirad and Šárka
.
Cubist villas
Tram #3, #7 or #17 to Výtoň
The most impressive example of Czech Cubist architecture, brilliantly exploiting its angular
location, is Chochol's
nájemnýobytnýdům
, an apartment block at Neklanova 30, begun in
1913 for František Hodek and now housing a restaurant on its ground floor. Further along
Neklanova, at no. 2, there's Antonín Belada's
nájemnýobytnýdům
, with its Cubist facade,
and around the corner is the most ambitious project of the lot - Chochol's
Kovařovicova
vila
, which backs onto Libušina. From the front, on Rašínovo nábřeží, you can appreciate
the clever, slightly askew layout of the garden, designed right down to its zigzag garden rail-
ings.FurtheralongtheembankmentisChochol'slargestcommission,the
Rodinnýtrojdům
,
a large building complex with a heavy mansard roof, a central “Baroque” gable with a pedi-
mental frieze and room enough for three families.
