The Doors of Prague
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic with a long history as the central city of the region and the first capitol city of Bohemia. Bohemia dates back to 870 where by 1198 the Kingdom of Bohemia was established as part of the Holy Roman Empire. Prague has served as the center of life for the region through trade technology language and culture where much of the art and architecture over the centuries has been thoughtfully preserved. Prague suffered no major damage during the great wars except that many synagogues were robbed and their Jewish community targeted for deportation and execution by the Nazis during World War II.
On a recent visit to Prague my wife and I toured Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, Malá Strana, Prague Castle, and Wenceslas Square in New Town primarily on foot and with some assistance from the public tram system. One of the interesting and amazing discoveries on this visit were the Doors of Prague which I am sharing in this article.
Our room for the week was at the Grand Hotel Praha where we had this wonderful view of the Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock. The Old Town Hall building is primarily Gothic in design with some elements of Romanesque and other styles.
In addition to the main entrance there were these doors with a pointed arch of Gothic design a round arch of Romanesque design and a rectangular door with elaborate metalwork similar to that of the Romanesque door.
The interior featured many historical meeting rooms reflecting early forms of developing democracies, including the meeting hall for the people, a governing suite, and Senate chambers.
A unique feature of the Old City Hall and the Old Town area are the underground tunnels that connect the basements of many buildings in the area. The city was raised about 2 to 4 meters beginning in the 13th century to protect the city from flooding and to accommodate the construction of dams and locks on the Vitava River. So the original first floor of many buildings are now underground forming a network of connected basements.
Our first full day in Prague was spent exploring the Old Town Square and some of the surrounding streets to the North and East of the square. Old Town Square has a wide variety of beautiful entrance doors. These feature Romanesque designs with transom lights above the doors providing daylighting to the interior even when the doors are closed. Note the center door below featuring a door within a door.
These entrance doors with Baroque design influences feature bars and gates over the windows and doors with intricate design.
Saint Nicholas Church at Old Town Square features a Baroque architectural style with elaborate doors and this elegant window in the center below with intricate metalwork over the glass.
Art Nouveau influences were found too in these Romanesque entrance near Old Town Square with transom lights that have more free-form patterns integrated into the door designs.
Another elaborate gated entrance on Parízská street, and the blend of Gothic and Romanesque features in the Church of Our Lady at Tyn on Tynská street. These were found on our venture up to the Jewish Quarter and back where we toured the Spanish Synagogue completed in 1868 and its Museum on Jewish history and the holocaust.
Dozens of Jewish Synagogues were destroyed in Czechia and tens of thousands of its citizens were deported and murdered by the Nazis during World War II. Fortunately most of the Synagogues in Prague including the Spanish Synagogue we visited were not destroyed. An example of the architectural loss in other parts of the Czech Republic is this beautiful Baroque Synagogue at Holesov with Moorish design elements.
Holesov was designed by the architect Jakob Gartner and completed in 1893 with elaborate Baroque decorative features on the facade and in its doors and windows. It was burned down and demolished by the Nazis in 1941. An excellent display of the facts can be found at the Spanish Synagogue and Museum just minutes north of Old Town Square.
On our second day we ventured across the Vitava River to Petrin Tower, down to Malá Strana, and back across the Charles Bridge. We took a tram from Old Town to the base of Petrin Hill Park and then another tram up the hill to Petrin Tower. I highly recommend this route as the hill would have been quite a climb and the trams are free for seniors.
Along the way back we found this collection of entrance doors including Baroque style double doors with Moorish influences at the Strahov Monastery and Romanesque style facades at Mostecká street and near the Charles Bridge.
Crossing the Charles Bridge was special because you could see the many statues on the bridge and the spires all around in Old Town, Malá Strana, and the Prague Castle. Here is an interpretation of that experience from my wife Ana Mari.
As we wandered back to Old Town on Mariánské Námestí you can find these new glass doors with transom and side lights, the Art Nouveau facade of the New City Hall which is not that new since it was built in 1911, and around the corner on Linhartská street this gated entrance to the courtyard of a residential complex that can open wide for vehicular traffic or for pedestrians through the door within a door. It actually looked 21st century new.
In the rooms above many of these beautiful buildings are residential quarters. I noticed this early in the mornings when the locals were coming out and leaving for work, some slipping through their door within doors.
Venturing on, these entrances have Romanesque influences found on the doors at Lingartská and Karlova streets. Note again the door within a door in the center image below.
Continuing on Karlova street are more entrances with Baroque and Moorish influences. Note the doors on the right with the large stone bumpers at the base. These were common on many entrances and designed to protect the doors from carts moving in and out from the interior courtyards to the street. Many are still in place and some have been cut or chiseled back as the building use has changed over the years.
Our third day was spent at Prague Castle where we took another tram from Old Town to the top of the hill entering the castle complex from the North. You can walk west from Old Town to the east Castle entrance but it turns into quite a climb by the time you get to Saint Vitus Cathedral.
Saint Vitus Cathedral has Gothic style features as noted by the pointed arches on all of these doors. The front entrance doors have elaborate facades, an interior side door features a door within a door, and one of the back service doors features beautiful stone and metal work.
To the east of the cathedral is St. George’s Basilica which displays many Romanesque features with its doors sunk deep into the thick stone walls.
Our fourth day included an outing south to Wenceslas Square which led to these finds along the way. A Romanesque style door within a door, a Baroque style entrance with some Moorish influences, and an Art Nouveau styled entrance.
Approaching Wenceslas Square there is a transition from Old Town to New Town where here Romanesque influences can be seen in the entrances on Rytírská street and Wenceslas Square.
Our last day was a free day for wandering which included a round about route to the southeast to see the Franz Kafka Head by sculptor David Cerny. Along the way we made these discoveries on Jalovcová and Husova streets. Note the elaborate designs and textures and another door within a door.
At this entrance on Husova street below, note the door within a door to what looks like private residences on the two floors above. Most of the buildings in Old Town have been limited to about three floors in height except for those churches and public buildings with spires and towers.
In New Town and the Wenceslas Square area there is a change to building heights in the five to seven story range. New Town is what the Wenceslas Square area is called which is not that new given that many of the buildings date back to the early 1900s.
Along the way back we found these Baroque style influences on Národní and Michalská streets. Note here another door within a door leading to an interior courtyard.
In Closing I’ll share that we found time to relax on a few evenings, me with a good book, and my wife painting. We spent five full days in Prague walking several miles a day to tour Old Town and the surrounding areas. With a redeye flight on the way over we found that the jet-lag is real when it finally hit requiring about 10 hours sleep the first night and making up the rest with an extra hour or two a night through the week.
Prague is a beautiful and historic city and well worth exploring in person. If you have not been there then be sure to put it on your list of future adventures.
Notes and References:
Story, photographs, and slides, by David Smitherman with site visits made in March 2023.
Historical data collected from brochures, onsite inscriptions, Wikipedia, Google Maps, and I-Maps.
Ana Mari Cadilla’s art can be seen on Instagram at @arte_anita11.
“Architecture of Prague, Czech Republic” at https://architectureofcities.com/prague#elements
Images from the Spanish Synagogue Museum displays, www.judalco.cz and Mestske muzeum a galerie Holesov.
Architectural Style designations are the authors visual interpretation and do not necessarily represent the official designation or time period of construction.