Malá Strana (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of the city of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, it was a dominant center of the

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

(and since 16th century also

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) citizens of Prague. It also housed many noble palaces while the right-bank towns were comparatively more bourgeois and more Bohemian Czech.

Name

The name Malá Strana literally means "Little Side", though it is frequently referred to as "Lesser Town", "Lesser Quarter", or "Lesser Side". It is on the left (west) bank of the river

Vltava Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at ...

, on the slopes just below

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...

. The name distinguishes it from the larger districts of Prague on the right bank, with which it is linked by the

Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( cs, Karlův most ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The ...

. Originally, when it was founded in 1257, the district was called the ''New Town beneath Prague Castle'' (). When Charles IV founded the New Town of Prague in 1348, Malá Strana was renamed the ''Lesser Town of Prague'' (). In the 17th century, the unofficial name ''Little Quarter'' () was used.

History

Malá Strana was founded by the King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his dea ...

in 1257. As a royal town (a town founded by the king) it got many privileges. It was created by amalgamating a number of settlements beneath the

into a single administrative unit. The original residents were expelled and mostly German craftsmen and merchants were invited by the king. Even though the city was royal, the king did not master the city as a whole. In the second half of the 14th century the Lesser Town of Prague was extended by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV who built a new defensive wall called Hunger Wall. In 1419-1420 the Lesser Town was burnt down by

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

. In 1541 the town was strongly damaged again by a fire which killed fifty people. After this fire the town was rebuilt in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought a ...

and many palaces of nobility were built there. The market place, now known as ''Malostranské náměstí'' (Lesser Town Square), was the center of the town. This square is divided into the upper and lower parts with the St. Nicholas Church in the middle.

Architecture

Baroque architecture predominates in Malá Strana, but the history of the district dates back to far before the

Baroque era The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...

. Baroque architecture eventually dominated when the style was implanted on Malá Strana after the destructive fires in 1541.

Points of interest

*The most extensive building of the Baroque Era on Malá Strana is the Wallenstein Palace.

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

was a military general-in-chief of Emperor Ferdinand II. Under his order 26 new houses and old gates were built on the freed place. The extensive palace complex with five courtyards and the garden, which is set as a French Park. *The churches are the most frequent and interesting developments on Malá Strana. The finest one and the most prominent is the St. Nicholas Church. This is a masterpiece of Christoph and

Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer) (1 September 1689, Prague – 18 December 1751) was a Bohemian architect of the Baroque era. He was the fifth son of the German architect Christoph Dientzenhofer and the Bohemian-Ge ...

, father and son. The finest painting in the church is an apotheosis of

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

, the defender of children, seamen, and wayfollowers. This painting is set in the dome. It depicts an apotheosis of Saint Trinity. * The famous statue of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague is in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana. The devotion and the church drew millions of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

faithful to Malá Strana throughout the years. * In 1989, the Prague Embassy of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, in the Palais Lobkowicz, was the site of a drama involving thousands of

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

refugees. Their cars were left behind in the quarter. * The famous Czech novelist

Jan Neruda Jan Nepomuk Neruda (Czech: �jan ˈnɛpomuk ˈnɛruda 9 July 1834 – 22 August 1891) was a Czech journalist, writer, poet and art critic; one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of the " May School". Early lif ...

was born, lived in and wrote about Malá Strana; Nerudova Street is named after him. * The Petřín lookout tower is located in Malá Strana. * The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu lived in an apartment near Kampa Island in the Malá Strana while a conservatory student, and a plaque now commemorates his stay.

References

Bibliography

*Prague, the wayguide. By ARTFOTO printing house, Russian Language Edition. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mala Strana Districts of Prague