Neighbourhoods at a Glance - Prague and Czech Republic - page 274

( Můstek) Na Příkopě (On the Moat), along with Revoluční (Revolution), 28.října
(28 October 1918; Czechoslovak Independence Day) and Národní třída (National
Ave), follows the line of the moat that once ran along the foot of Staré Město's city
walls (the moat was filled in at the end of the 18th century).
Na Příkopě meets Wenceslas Square at Na Můstku (On the Little Bridge). A small
stone bridge once crossed the moat here - you can still see a remaining arch in the un-
derground entrance to Můstek metro station, on the left just past the ticket machines.
In the 19th century this fashionable street was the haunt of Prague's German cafe
society. Today it is (along with Wenceslas Square and Pařížská) the city's main up-
market shopping precinct, lined with banks, shopping malls and tourist cafes.
NÁRODNÍ TŘÍDA
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP
Národní třída (National Ave) is central Prague's 'high street', a stately row of
midrange shops and grand public buildings, notably the National Theatre at the Vltava
River end.
Fronting Jungmannovo náměstí, at the eastern end, is an imitation Venetian palace
known as the Adria Palace OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ( Národní třída 36, Nové
Město) . Its distinctive, chunky architectural style, dating from the 1920s, is known as
'rondocubism'. Note how the alternating angular and rounded window pediments
echo similar features in neoclassical baroque buildings such as the Černín Palace.
Beneath it is the Adria Theatre , birthplace of Laterna Magika and meeting place
of Civic Forum in the heady days of the Velvet Revolution. From here, Dubček and
Havel walked to the Lucerna Palace and their 24 November 1989 appearance on the
balcony of the Melantrich Building. Wander through the arcade for a look at the
lovely marble, glass and brass decoration; the main atrium has a 24-hour clock from
the 1920s, flanked by sculptures depicting the signs of the zodiac. It was once the en-
trance to the offices of the Adriatica insurance company (hence the building's name).
Along the street, inside the arcade near No 16, is a bronze plaque on the wall with a
cluster of hands making the peace sign and the date '17.11.89', in memory of students
beaten up by police on that date.
West of Voršilská, the lemon-yellow walls of the Convent of St Ursula OFFLINE
MAP GOOGLE MAP (klášter sv Voršila; Národní třída 10) frame a pink church, which has
a lush baroque interior that includes a battalion of Apostle statues. Out the front is a
figure of St John of Nepomuk, and in the facade's lower-right niche is a statue of St