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Prague : Architecture

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  • Architect Francesco Caratti modelled this palace on Versailles. Today it’s home to the Museum of Physical Culture and Sport.

  • Two giant Moors (hence Morzin) bearing up the Romanian Embassy’s façade are said to wander about Malá Strana streets at night.

  • Have a look at the recent restoration work at this 17th-century palace while taking in a chamber music concert. The Nostitz family lent their name to the playhouse now known as the Estates Theatre.

  • Prague’s Orthdox Jewish community still holds services in this 700-year-old synagogue – the oldest in Europe. The building’s curious name may come from the Hebrew Al-Tenai , meaning “with reservation”. Legend has it that its stones will eventually have to be returned to Jerusalem, from whence they came (see Features in the Old-New Synagogue).

  • The names of approximately 80,000 Czech victims of the Holocaust cover the walls of this house adjacent to the Old Jewish Cemetery, as an emotive memorial (see The Jews in Prague). The women’s gallery was added in the 18th century.

  • Czechoslovakia’s first ambassador to the United States sold the palace to the US government in 1925. Count Colloredo-Mansfeld owned the palace in the 17th century: having lost a leg in the Thirty Years’ War, he had the stairs reconstructed so he could ride his horse into the building.

  • The present Moorish building with its opulent interior replaced Prague’s oldest synagogue after the latter was razed in 1867. The Conservative Jewish community holds services here. It also houses Jewish Museum exhibits, offices and reference center.

  • The current building, looming over the castle complex with majesty, is a combination of architectural styles and took more than 500 years to complete. In days of old the cathedral was the setting of spectacular Bohemian coronations by Prague’s archbishops. It’s also the final resting place of the saints Wenceslas, John of Nepomuk and scores of other Czech worthies.

  • The Kolowrat family’s heraldic eagles support the portal of this palace. Built by Giovanni Santini-Aichel in 1726, the building is now the Italian Embassy.

  • General Wallenstein pulled out all the stops creating what is essentially a monument to himself. On the palace’s frescoes, the Thirty Years’ War commander had himself depicted as both Achilles and Mars.

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