Baroque Prague Architecture – Style with a Twirl Even though Prague is most associated with the modern era of Art Nouveau, it’s greatest influence by far is Baroque. You don’t just see Baroque Prague, you feel it, you touch it, you hear it. Baroque was certainly a reaction to the fairly plain functional nature of … Read More
Renaissance Prague Architecture The Prague Renaissance period saw a lot of social and technological change but it did not come with groundbreaking architectural design ideas as had been noted in the Romanesque and Gothic periods. It was more about artistic ideas and decorative styles to aesthetically improve the appearance of a building and not the … Read More
Prague Brutalism and Functionalist Architecture Prague Brutalism can also be called post-Modernism. Pretty much everything after 1897 could be grouped under the term “Modernism” even though we have different and specific names for it in many European countries. It just marks the separation of the “historic/religious” work from everything since. Brutalism is not just about … Read More
Prague Art Deco Architecture – The French Connection It should come as no surprise that “Arts Decoratifs” should become popular first in Paris but to be fair to Belgium the origin was in Brussels and as an individual art form it was simply known as “Art Deco” by 1925. Of course the style of Decorative … Read More
Prague Cubism Architecture – Not Just Cubes In chronological order, Cubism should directly follow Art Nouveau but in reality they ran side by side for 10 years or so. Prague Cubism was a very short lived era starting in 1911 and finishing in Prague in 1925 but wow it left some really original exteriors and … Read More
The Friends of Czech Heritage – People Working Hard to Restore Our Culture During the Communist controlled era, many of the Czech Republic’s finest palaces, castles, chateaus, gardens and parks were either destroyed or simply left to decay. Previous owners stripped of their rights of ownership, new owners with no money and no intention of … Read More
Havel’s Place A Unique Piece of Street Furniture Havel’s Place was not supposed to be but has become a memorial dedicated to Václav Havel, the last Czechoslovak President and First President of the Czech Republic. It’s not just in Prague. A “Havel’s Place” can currently be found in nearly 20 Czech Towns and International locations … Read More
David Cerny Man on a Mission In English you say it like David Cherny. I was never a great fan of what might be considered modern art and on my rounds of the “modern” museums of Prague I never found anything to really get excited about. Then one day I had just left the Kampa … Read More
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague DOX is a little way out of the centre in Holešovice. Opened in 2008, it’s in a converted factory giving it 3000 square metres of internal and external space for hosting a variety of exhibitions. DOX does not carry a permanent exhibition so you’ll normally find two or … Read More
The Prague National Gallery The Prague National Gallery is not a single location. You’ll need to explore the various parts of the collection at it’s different homes. I do warn you now that apart from the Kinsky Palace and the Trade Fair Palace that you are going to want to like art made before the … Read More