Municipal House, Prague, Czech Republic

Municipal House (Obecní dům) is a civic building that houses Smetana Hall, a celebrated concert venue, in Prague. The Royal Court palace used to be located on the site of the Municipal House. From 1383 until 1485 the King of Bohemia lived in the property. After 1485, it was abandoned. It was demolished in the early 20th century. Construction of the current building started in 1905 and it opened in 1912. The building was designed by Osvald Polívka and Antonín Balšánek. The Municipal House was the location of the Czechoslovak declaration of independence.

The building is of the Art Nouveau architecture style. The building exterior has allegorical art and stucco. There is a mosaic called Homage to Prague by Karel Špillar over the entrance. On either side are allegorical sculpture groups representing The Degradation of the People and The Resurrection of the People by Ladislav Šaloun. Smetana Hall serves as a concert hall and ballroom. It has a glass dome. There is artwork by Alfons Mucha, Jan Preisler and Max Švabinský, too.

Today, the building is used as concert hall, ballroom, civic building, and as the location of cafes and restaurants. Many of the rooms in the building are closed to the public and open only for guided tours.

References:

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User Reviews

Niki Culkin (21 months ago)
Definitely one to visit while in Prague! What an absolutely beautiful building, both inside and outside. We visited the cafe side and it was such a luxury at a very reasonable price. The atmosphere is lovely, and had we had more time we would have loved to return to the restaurant also. Very helpful and attentive staff in the cafe - definitely not one to be missed!

Cem Şeyda (22 months ago)
Alright, the place and concerts are super impressive. However, if they have a very small audience, maybe they could have sold the tickets from a lower price or at least inform people about if they have student discount or not. Also there was no one to escort you to your seat, which means some people could easily “upgrade” their seats during the concert. Other than that the building is stunning, happy to be there.

L. ALM (22 months ago)
Beautiful architecture and design, even if you don’t visit here to go to a concert it’s a must! We were her for the new year’s eve concert as well as the dvorak concert the day before and both times it was just great! something that bother me though was that some people didn’t respect the „rules“ of such events: being on their phones, rushing in late and being loud… well, it was still great. the café is also good.

Yousef Genedy (2 years ago)
The Municipal House was awesome. The hall is quite big. The concert today was still really good even from the basic seats (cheapest and furthest seats). The musicians were also really talented and I'd recommend visiting it?

Chris E (2 years ago)
Stunning Art Deco building. Well preserved. We booked a ticket for a small classic concert and as a bonus you get to view all of the beautiful rooms around the concert hal at no extra. A well spent evening. Highly recommended.

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