One of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen, Prague’s Municipal House is an Art Nouveau masterpiece that opened in 1912. It has played a key historical role twice, firstly as a venue to promote and celebration the then dying Czech language (as they were then part of the German speaking Habsburg Empire), and as the location of the 1918 Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence.
From the outside the building (next to the Powder Tower) is attractive, but it’s the interiors that really impressed me. I took one of the regular hour long tours which take you around the rooms on the first floor.
We started with the Smetana Hall, named after the celebrated Czech classical composer, home to a wonderful ceiling with a glass dome.
From there we headed around in an anti-clockwise fashion through nine discrete but connected rooms, each with it’s own style and references to Czech culture and history.
Even if you don’t go on a tour you can still appreciate the flash lobby, and a number of restaurants on the ground and basement floors.
My favourite free area though was the exquisite American Bar downstairs, the oldest in Prague, and probably the most attractive.
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