The Old Town (Staré Město)
The Old Town, or Staré Město, is the oldest and richest Prague quarter. Its international market, operating here since the 9th century, earned the admiration of the Jewish merchant and chronicler, Ibrahim Ibn Jakob, in 965. At that time, the centre was most likely located near the river on the site of an old ford, on the edge of the Jewish quarter, where Palackého náměstí (square) is today and by the Mánes Bridge ford. In the 11th century, the centre moved south and it has remained there to this day - on the Old Town Square. Medieval Prague used to be very cosmopolitan. German traders settled to the north and north-east of the square, merchants from Romance countries to the south andsouth-east, Czechs to the east of the square and Jews to the north-west.
More than seventy of the oldest preserved Romanesque stone houses lie along the streets of the Old Town, a unique feat in central Europe. The Palace of the Lords of Kunštát ranks among the most well-known. The foundations have survided to the present thanks to the artifically-raised ground of around 7 m, which were required in the 13th century after the construction of weirs on the Vltava. Rafts transported wood along these waterways from as far away as the Šumava Forest.
Mary's Column, Mariánský sloup, was built on the Old Town Square on the site of the Prague Meridian in 1680. This column also served as a sundial, and suffered damage during the Proclamation of the Czechoslovakian Rebublic in 1918. The Jan Hus Memorial, created in Art Nouveau style in 1915, depicts the founder of the Czech Reformation.
Just around the corner we'll find the Kinský Palace, one of the most beautiful Prague Rococo buildings built in 1765; it now houses the graphic collections of the National Gallery.
The picturesque Týn School with arcades from the 13th century, and the main Church of our Lady in front of Týn looming behind it stands beside the Romanesque House of the Stone Bell, converted during the Gotic period. Many medieval rulers resided in the Bell House, and in the 14th century, Petr Parléř built the main part of the Church of our Lady. This church became a centre of Bohemian Utraquism, whose doctrine decreed that Man, in order to be saved, must receive Holy Communion when and where he wishes. The church houses perfectly preserved medieval sculptural decorations and the tomb stone of famous astronomer Tycho Brahe.
Standing behind Týn Church, the Ungelt building served as Bohemia's customs house and business centre in the 11th century. Later, in the 16th century, Ferdinand I gave it to the burgher Jakub Granovský, who had the Ungelt converted into a Renaissance municipal palace around 1560.
The remains of the Town Hall with Chapel and Tower date from the 14th century and stand on the western side of Old Town Square. Crosses in the pavement of Old Town Square commemorate the
execution of twenty seven leaders during the Rising of the Estates from 1618. The actual building of the Old Town hall comprises several burgher houses that were eventually connected together to build a town hall in 1338.
The still functional Astronomical clock decorates the southern facade of the town hall. Mikuláš o Kadaň built it in 1410, but Master Hanuš later improved it in 1490. The Astronomical clock has been repaired many times since then. In 1864, Josef Mánes, the most famous artist of Czech National Revival, created calendar panel for the astronomical clock.
The German army destroyed the Neo-Gothic part of the city hall during the Prague Uprising in May 1945. This reopened a view onto the St. Nicholas Church built by K.I. Dienzenhofer in 1735.
