Prague New Town
The New Town in Czech - Nove mesto is one of the five main city areas. The New Town is the youngest and largest of the four independent cities that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague.
What to see in Prague New Town
Wenceslas Square - not one of my favorite places, a bit seedy.
Prague New Town was founded in 1348 by Charles IV just outside the city walls to the south of the Old Town and encompassed an area of 7.5 km²; about three times the size of the Old Town. The population of Prague in 1378 was well over 40,000, perhaps as much as twice that, making it the fourth most populated city north of the Alps and by area, the third largest city in Europe. Although New Town can trace its current layout to its construction in the 14th century, few churches and administrative buildings from this time survive. There are many secular and educational buildings in New Town, but also especially magnificent gothic and baroque churches. These nevertheless are not the main drawing points for tourists. New Town’s most famous landmark is Wenceslas Square, which was originally built as a horse market and now functions as a center of commerce and tourism. In the 15th century, the Novom?stská radnice, or New Town Hall, was the site of the first of the three defenestrations of Prague.
The Fortification of the New Town
With the solemn laying of the cornerstone for the New Town wall on March 26, 1348 by Charles IV, the building of the New Town was officially begun following its legal establishment. The city wall provided not only security for the new planned city, but also separated it definitively from the surrounding lands. The importance which was attached to the fortification is evident in the fact that it took only two years to complete; an accomplishment aided by its relatively low height in comparison with the walls of older Bohemian cities.
The city wall of the New Town began on Vyšehrad (its fortification was renewed at the same time) and ran from there along the steep waste of the upper Vltava terrace by the Boti? brook to the highest point of the area on which the Na Karlov? church was later erected. Here the wall turned and continued almost directly north. After an easy turn to the east between the city gate at Je?ná Street and the horse market (now Wenceslas Square (Václavské nám?stí)), the wall then ran along the Veitsberg brook; its deeply cut valley going almost all the way to the Old Town until it reached the Vltava where the wall turned again, this time to the west.
Along the Vltava, opposite the Old Town, no wall was erected, since free access to the river had to be ensured. In total, the wall was about 3.5 km long, 6-10 meters tall, 3-5 meters thick and topped with battlements. While towers were placed along the eastern side every 100 m, just one sufficed in the south; a tower which was situated in the valley with the steep rising plain before it. Stronger towers were situated at the ends of the wall in the southeast and in the northeast at the Veitsberg brook, as well as at the north end by the Vltava. The entire wall was breached by only by four gates and one small fort. The wall was fronted by a moat, into which flowed the water from the various brook beds, but it was dry in some places because of the differences in altitude. A moat containing animals did not exist.
Prague City Street
This is one of the great pleasures in Prague, I can wander in the city and still find streets that are completely empty, even when you would think that every street is jammed with eager tourists snapping away. I tell friend not to stop at the main tourist area for coffee or a [...]