Charles Square (; ) is a

city square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rel ...

in the

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

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. At roughly 80,550 m² it is one of the largest squares in the world and was the largest town square of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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. Steane, John: The Archeology of Power (Google-book)
/ref> Founded in 1348 as the main square of the New Town by Charles IV, it was known as ''Dobytčí trh'' (Cattle Market) from the 15th century and finally named after its founder in 1848. The central portion of the square was turned into a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in the 1860s. The square is now one of the main transport hubs of the city centre with Karlovo náměstí metro station and numerous tram lines and busy roads crossing it in all directions.

History

Charles Square originated as a part of the New Town of Prague founded in 1348 by emperor Charles IV. With

Wenceslas Square Wenceslas Square (Czech language, Czech: , colloquially ''Václavák'' ; German language, German: ''Wenzelsplatz'') is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town, Prague, New Town of Pr ...

(Horse Market) and ''Senovážné náměstí'' (Hay Market) it became one of three main squares of the newly founded town. These squares were connected with one street (today streets Vodičkova and Jindřišská). Charles Square was supposed to be the most important square of the New Town of Prague and probably of the whole of Prague, therefore the Town Hall of the New Town was built there. Despite these plans the most important square later became

. In the late 14th century the Corpus Christi Chapel was built in the middle of the square. It was closed in 1784 and demolished a few years later. This chapel was a very important place of pilgrimage in the late 14th and early 15th century, because the holy relics and crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire were shown there to thousands of

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s. On 30 July 1419 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

broke out in this square, when Hussites led by priest

Jan Želivský Jan Želivský (1380 in Humpolec – 9 March 1422 in Prague) was a prominent Czech priest during the Hussite Bohemian Reformation, Reformation. Life Želivský preached at Church of Saint Mary Major. He was one of a few Utraquism, Utraquist prie ...

threw some Catholic councilors from windows of the New Town Hall. This event is called "the First Defenestration of Prague". In the 17th century the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

started to build their New Town residence on Charles Square. They also founded a new church dedicated to their patron saint and founder of the Jesuit Order, St. Ignatius of Loyola. This church was designed by Carlo Lurago and built in 1655-1677 in the early Baroque style. On the south side of the square there is a gate to the Church of St. John of Nepomuk "on the Rock" which was built in the high Baroque style in 1730s by Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer.

Important buildings

* New Town Hall (Prague) * Church of St. Ignatius *former

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

school *Church of St. John of Nepomuk "on the Rock" *neo-renaissance building of the

Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...

References

Literature

* Rygl, Tomáš. Prague: Detailed Picture Guide. Prague: ATP publishing, 2007.

External links

Google Earth of Charles Square

Charles Square on Prague-wiki
{{Authority control Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Squares in Prague New Town, Prague Prague 2

History

Important buildings

See also

References

Literature

External links