by Martin Stich

Created on: February 23, 2011

Prague Lesser Town Highlights

The Lesser Town was founded in 1257 on the slopes bellow the Prague castle and it is the part of Prague least affected by resent history.

Nerudova Street (Nerudova ulice)
Named after the poet and journalist Jan Neruda, who lived at No 47 in the House of Two Suns, it is the picturesque narrow street that leads up to Prague castle as a part of Royal Way. There is a splendid selection of heraldic beasts and emblems on the houses, for example the Red Eagle, the Three Fiddles, the Golden Horseshoe, the Green lobster and the White Swan. There are also a number of grand Baroque buildings, such as the Thun-Hohenstain Palace, the Morzin Palace, the Church of Our Lady of Unceasing Succour.

Lesser Town Square (Malostranske namesti)
Started as a market place it has always been the centre of life in the Lesser Town. Today, there are official buildings and restaurants. The important buildings include the St Nicholas Church, the Town Hall, the Sternberg Palace, the Smioický Palace. On the facade of the Baroque Kaiserstain Palace there is a bust of the great Czech soprano Emma Destinn who lived there between 1908 and 1914.

St Nicholas Church (Kostel sv. Mikulase)
It is the dominant of the Lesser Town Square and one of central Europe's finest baroque buildings begun by Kristof Dientzenhofer, continued by his son Kilian and finished by Anselmo Lurago. The statues, frescoes and paintings inside the church are by leading artists of the day, such as Karel Škréta and Johann Kracker.

Wallenstein Palace (Valdstejnsky palac)
Built between 1624 and 1630 by Albrecht von Wallenstein, generalissimo of the Habsburg armies, it was meant to overshadow even the Prague Castle. It is so large that 23 houses, three gardens and the municipal brick kiln had to be razed to make way for the palace and its grounds. There are also splendid gardens laid out as they were in those days. Now it houses the Senate of the Czech Republic.

Church of st Thomas (Kostel sv. Tomase)
This original Gothic church was founded for the Order of Augustinian Hermits by Wenceslas II in 1285 and completed in 1379, along with an Augustinian Monastery and St Thomas' Brewery. In the richly decorated interior are paintings and statues by Czech artists including Karel Škréta and Václav Vavrinec Reiner. 

Vrtba Garden (Vrtbovska zahrada)
This beautiful Baroque garden was designed by Frantisek Maxmilian Kanka in about 1720. Statues and vases are by Mathias Brown.

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