Page 76 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Prague

74  PR A GUE AREA B Y AREA

w Old Town Hall
Staroměstská Radnice
One of the most striking buildings in Prague is the Old
Town Hall, established in 1338 after King John of
Luxembourg agreed to set up a town council. Over the
centuries a number of old houses were knocked together as
the Old Town Hall expanded, and it now consists of a row of
colourful Gothic and Renaissance buildings, most of which
have been carefully restored after heavy damage inflicted
by the Nazis in the 1945 Prague Uprising. The tower is
69.5 m (228 ft) high and offers a spectacular view of the city.

Old Town Coat of Arms
Above the inscription, Gothic Door
“Prague, Head of the This late Gothic main entrance to the
Kingdom”, is the coat Town Hall and Tower was carved by
of arms of the Old Matthias Rejsek. The entrance hall is
Town, which was filled with wall mosaics after designs
adopted in 1784 for by the Czech painter Mikuláš Aleš.
the whole city.

KEY
1 Temporary art exhibitions
2 Tourist information and
entrance to Tower
Old Council Hall
3 Former house of Volflin This 19th-century
of Kamen engraving features
4 Entrance hall decorated the well-preserved
with mosaics 15th-century ceiling.
5 Viewing gallery
6 Steps to gallery
7 Calendar (see pp34–5).

074-075_EW_Prague.indd 74 20/03/17 11:28 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.2)
Date 23rd October 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm