Municipal House

Originally this was the site of the Royal Court. This palace was built around 1383 when King Wenceslas IV made it his residence. It continued to be the main residence of the city's rulers until 1483, when a popular uprising made Wladislaw Jagiello decide it was too dangerous to live at the center of the city and moved to the Prague Castle. The building became a seminary and later a military academy. It was eventually demolished in 1903.

The site of the demolished palace was quickly filled in with the construction of a large cultural center and concert hall. Architects Antonín Balšánek - responsible for the exterior - and Osvald Polívka - responsible for the interior - designed the building in Art Nouveau, at the time the new fashionable style. The building was completed in 1911 after 6 years of construction. It was worth the wait as the Municipal House is now Prague's most spectacular Art Nouveau building. It has even become one of the city's main tourist attractions.

The exterior is flamboyant and decorated with large sculptures. The main entrance is covered by a domed portal decorated with a semi-circular mosaic, 'Homage to Prague'.
At the center of the building, covered by a large glass dome, is the city's most important concert hall: the Smetana Hall, known for its lavish interior.
Besides the Smetana Hall, there are many smaller halls as well as restaurants and cafés which allow visitors to enter this magnificent building without an appointment.

The Municipal House lies at the edge of Old Town, at the Republic Square (Námestí Republiky), right next to the Powder Tower.