Charles Square

When Charles IV founded the New City of Prague, he wanted the square, called the Cattle market at that time, to become the center of the new settlement. Today we call this Charles square. The king ordered to build a tower in its center, where coronation jewels, relics of saints, priceless relics from Karlstejn Castle were exhibited each year. This tower does not exist anymore. But we can still see the Town Hall of the New City though. The king's idea was not accomplished. Wenceslas square became the center of the city. Nevertheless, Charles Square is still the largest one. Its length is about 500 meters, and its width is about 150 meters. Just think about it! This square did not change its size since the 14th century.

New Town Hall in the Charles Square, Prague

The first mention of the New Town Hall dates back to 1377. So this building is not much younger than the more famous Old Town Hall. Besides, we still can see two objects rare for Prague. Firstly, on the eastern wing of the New Town Hall, do not miss a part of the chain. In the old days, such chains were used for closing streets at night. Secondly, here, as on the Hradcany Town Hall, the standard of measure of length - the Prague elbow ("loket" in Czech) - has been preserved. It's not possible to examine it from a close distance, though. The mayors ordered the elbow to be placed at the height of two meters from the road so that no vandal could spoil it. And only at the market time, wooden steps were placed on the wall of the Town Hall, and anyone could check if the sellers of textile were honest.

After the unification of Prague cities, there was a court and a prison in the New Town Hall building. Today it is used for exhibitions, concerts, weddings. In the summer months, you can climb up to the 65-meter-high tower and enjoy views of the square and the New Town.

Another famous building here is the Faust House. Of course, no Faust has ever lived here, but people have been using this name for centuries, and they always tried to bypass the house. It is not surprising. In the 14th century, Duke of Opava lived here. His main hobby was the natural sciences, and he set up various experiments at home. During the time of Rudolph II, the building belonged to the English alchemist (and most likely, the spy) Edward Kelly. Later on, Mladota of Solopysk, who was again an avid chemist, lived in the house. Around the same time, the building received its baroque facade from the architect M.F. Kanka.

Faust House in the Charles Square, Prague

The house was empty for a while. The townspeople showed visitors a hole in the ceiling and said that it was through this very hole that the devil took Dr. Faust. In the 19th century, there was a school for the deaf in the building. And from 1903 to the present day, it has been used as a pharmacy.

Church of St. Ignatius in the Charles Square, Prague

On the corner of Jecna Street and Charles Square is the church of St. Ignatius and the former jesuit residence. This complex was built in the 17th century by the architect Carlo Lurago. Today the building serves as a hospital.

The Neo-Renaissance building on the corner of Resslova street and Karlovo square is one of the premises of the Czech Technical University. It was built in the 19th century by the architect Ignaz Ulman. The sculptures of Labor and Science by Antonin Pop decorate the facade.

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