Prague 07-2016 View from Old Town Hall Tower img3

Old Town Square ( cs, Staroměstské náměstí or colloquially ) is a historic square in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

quarter of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is located between

Wenceslas Square Wenceslas Square (Czech: , colloquially ''Václavák'' ) is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a tradi ...

and Charles Bridge.

Buildings

The square features buildings belonging to various architectural styles, including the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Church of Our Lady before Týn The Church of Mother of God before Týn (in Czech ''Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem'', also ''Týnský chrám'' (''Týn Church'') or just ''Týn''), often translated as Church of Our Lady before Týn, is a Gothic church and a dominant feature ...

, which has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. Its characteristic towers are 80 m high. The Baroque St. Nicholas Church is another church located in the square. Prague Orloj is a medieval

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

mounted on the

Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still in operation. The tower of the Old Town Hall is open to the public and offers panoramic views of the Old Town. An

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...

of the Czech National Gallery is located in the Kinský Palace.

Statues and memorials

The square's centre is home to a statue of religious reformer Jan Hus, who was

burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

in Konstanz for his beliefs. This led to the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Ca ...

. The statue known as the

Jan Hus Memorial The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square, Prague in the Czech Republic. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus in the wake of the lost Battle of the ...

was erected on 6 July 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of his death. In front of the

, there is also a memorial to the "martyrs" (including Jan Jesenius and

Maxmilián Hošťálek Maxmilián Hošťálek of Javořice (1564 – 21 June 1621 in Prague) was a Czech burgher, mayor of Žatec, beheaded for his role during the Bohemian Revolt (1618–1620) in the Thirty Years' War.''Technické památky v Čechách, na Moravě a ve ...

) beheaded on that spot during the

Old Town Square execution Old Town Square execution ( cs, Staroměstská exekuce) was the execution of 27 Bohemian leaders (three noblemen, seven knights and 17 burghers) of the Bohemian Revolt by the Austrian House of Habsburg that took place on 21 June 1621 at the Old ...

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

, after the

Battle of White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...

. Twenty-seven crosses mark the pavement in their honour. The crosses were installed during the repairs of the Old Town Hall after the Second World War, while a nearby plaque which lists the names of all 27 victims dates from 1911. Orthodox Czechs do not trample these crosses out of respect. On 3 November 1918, a Marian Column that had been erected in the square shortly after the Thirty Years' War was demolished in celebration of

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...

from the

Habsburg empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. The column was re-erected in 2020.

Markets

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

and Easter, markets are held on the square; they resemble medieval markets. A tall decorated tree and a musical stage are set up. The Christmas Markets in Old Town Square are the largest Christmas markets in the Czech Republic and are visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors from the Czech Republic and abroad, primarily Germans, Russians, Italians and Britons. In 2016,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...

ranked Prague's Christmas Markets among the 10 best ones worldwide.

References

External links

Photos of Old Town Square and Background Information

Old Town Square Live WebCam
{{Authority control Execution sites National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic Squares in Prague

Buildings

Statues and memorials

Markets

See also

References

External links