The Prague New City Hall / Nová radnice - Magistrát hlavního mesta Prahy
N 50° 05.242 E 014° 25.044
33U E 458322 N 5548507
The Prague New City Hall building, located in Mariánské Square, is the seat of the Prague Municipal Authority and the highest body of the municipal legislature - the Prague City Assembly headed by the Mayor and the City Council.
Waymark Code: WM6966
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 04/26/2009
Views: 227
The Prague New City Hall (In Czech: Nová radnice - Magistrát hlavního mesta Prahy) was built from plans drafted by Osvald Polívka in the late Art Nouveau style in 1912 on an area formerly occupied by several older buildings. Due to the fact that the front of the City Hall had to correspond with such important surrounding architectural monuments as Clementinum, Clam-Gallas Palace and Trauttmansdorf Palace, close attention was paid to decorations.
The exterior artistic decoration consists of sculptures by academic sculptors Stanislav Sucharda, Josef Maratka and Ladislav Šaloun. The work of Stanislav Sucharda graces especially the main entrance with large relieves on both sides of the portal. The left side relief shows The Public Jointly Carrying Burden and the sculpture on the right depicts The Common Benefit to the Public Ensuing Therefrom. The relief above the main entrance represents Protection of the City Treasure. Both ends of the balcony balustrade are decorated with figural sculptures by Josef Maratka inspired by strength and endurance. Above the balustrade entrance is a work of Stanislav Sucharda which shows g semi-torso of a girl ho/ding a stone emblem of the City of Prague. The left side of the building's attic is decorated by allegories Strength and Endurance by Stanislav Sucharda.
Best known are the sculptures of the legendary rabbi Loew and the Iron Knight. These large size stone sculptures standing on high supports on the building’s corners were created by Ladislav Šaloun (1870-1946), one of the most important representatives of Czech Art Nouveau sculpture. Both these carvings are accompanied by an interesting tale from old Prague. The schooled rabbi Loew ben Besalel who created Golem to serve and obey him also had the ability to defy Death. But Death deceived him nevertheless after lading in a beautifully smelling rose brought to the rabbi by his gorgeous daughter. Rabbi Loew could not resist, smelled the rose and at that moment Death gave him a deadly kiss. The fateful rose lies on the pedestal near rabbi’s feet. The kneeling daughter is begging father's pardon, also for having fallen in love with a Christian - the Iron Knight. The knights sculpture is said to depict emperor Rudolf II who used this disguise to come to the Jewish quarter to visit the rabbi's beautiful daughter.
Overall, the design of the New City Hall was conceived in the style of a bank building with large windows in a central courtyard (today's Assembly Hall). Originally the building was occupied by the city accounting and technical departments, the municipal treasury, and municipal revenue offices. Only after after at the Old Town city Hall in 1945 the building began to be used for current purposes.