Old Town Hall and Old Town Square by Karel Stolar - Prague, Czech Republic
Posted by: ToRo61
N 50° 05.207 E 014° 25.237
33U E 458552 N 5548440
Old Town Hall and Old Town Square
Waymark Code: WMTZT5
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 01/29/2017
Views: 45
Old Town Square is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague. The square features various architectural styles including the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn, which has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century; the church's towers are 80 m high. Prague Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock located on the Old Town Hall. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still in operation.
One of the most significant religious buildings in Prague is the gothic three-aisle church of the Virgin Mary outside Týn. With its two tall towers in the forefront it is considered to be one of the essential dominant features of the historical town centre.
Originally this Romanesque and later early Gothic style church was radically reconstructed in the last third of 14th century and at the beginning of 15th century. The upper part of the towers and the distinctive forefront gable between these towers are decorated with taper squares and crowned by a Gothic cross made of stone and were completed as late as the second half of 15th and the beginning of 16th century. The towers height, from which the south tower is obviously wider, is 80 m.Therefore the towers of Týnský Cathedral are the second tallest in Prague after the St. Nicholas church towers.
The author of this painting is Václav Jansa. You can find this painting in book 'Starou Prahou Václava Jansy' (
visit link) .
Vaclav Jansa (October 22, 1859 Slatinice - June 29, 1913 Cernošice) (
visit link) Czech landscape artist and illustrator, best known for these views, originally painted in water-colour.
Jansa was apprenticed to buyers, but later he devoted himself to his hobby of drawing and painting. Vaclav Jansa traveled a lot and took to painting landscapes. He painted mostly southern Bohemia and Giant Mountains. Since 1893 was redeveloped historic districts of Prague, Prague ghetto and parts of the Old and New Town. In this time Jansa painted cca 150 colored watercolors documenting disappearing part of the city.