258 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp288–91 and pp292–5

The lavishly decorated staircase in

the National Museum

Church of Our Lady

of the Snows c
Kostel Panny Marie
Sněžné

Jungmannovo náměstí 18. Map E4.
Tel 224 490 350. X Můstek.

9am–7pm daily. 75

Founded in 1347 by Charles
IV to mark his coronation,
this remarkable church
was once regarded as one
of the great landmarks of
Wenceslas Square (see p257).
According to legend, the
church owes its name to
a 4th-century miracle in
Rome, when the Virgin
Mary appeared to the pope
in a dream telling him to
build a church on the spot
where snow fell in August.
Charles IV envisaged the
church to be over 100 m
(330 ft) long, but it was
never completed. The
building that exists today
was the pres by tery of the
projected church.
The church had a
checkered history. It suffered
damage in the Hussite Wars
(see p228) and was left to
decay until 1603, when it
was restored by the
Franciscans. The intricate net
vaulting of the ceiling dates
from this period. Most of
the interior dec ora tion is in
Baroque style, including the

The towering Church of Our Lady of the Snows

Mucha Museum b

Muchovo muzeum

Panská 7. Map F4. Tel 224 216

415. v 3, 5, 9, 14, 24, 26.
     X Můstek, Náměstí Republiky.

     10am–6pm daily. 8 -

     
     

     http://www.mucha.cz

     
     

The 18th-century Kaunicky

Palace is home to the Mucha

Museum, dedicated to Alfons

Mucha (1860–1939), the Czech

master of Art Nouveau. The

exhibits include personal mem-

orabilia, paintings, drawings,

photographs – some taken

by Mucha – and also a docu-

mentary film. The artist’s time

spent in Paris is well docu-

mented. During summer, the

museum’s central courtyard

is converted into a café.

intellectual and artistic life.

The vast room, with windows

overlooking Wenceslas

Square, has four huge paint-

ings by Czech artists Václav

Brožík and František Ženíšek.

The exquisite gilt-framed

glass cupola over head fills

the space with light.

While the rich marbled

decoration is impressive, it

overwhelms the museum’s

displays, which are devoted

mainly to mineralogy –

including one of Europe’s

largest collections of rocks –

archaeology, anthro pology,

numismatics and natural

history. Temporary exhibi-

tions are sometimes held on

the ground floor. However,

the museum is due to close

in 2011 for renovation.

splendid three-tiered gold-

and-black altar, crowded with

statues of saints.

National Museum v

Národní muzeum

Václavské náměstí 68. Map F5.

Tel 224 497 111. X Muzeum.

# 10am–6pm daily, 10am–8pm

Sat. ¢ first Tue of month. &

http://www.nm.cz

The vast and magnificent

Neo-Renaissance building at

one end of Wenceslas Square

houses the National Museum.

Designed by Bohemian archi-

tect Josef Schulz as a trium-

phal affirma tion of the Czech

National Revival, the museum

was completed in 1890. On

closer inspection of the

façade, there are visible pock-

marks left by shells from

Warsaw Pact tanks used dur-

ing the invasion of Prague in

1968. The entrance is reached
      by a ramp flanked by alle gor-
      ical statues; seated by the door
      are the figures of History and
      Nature. In front there is a foun-
      tain symbolizing the Czech
      nation and the Czech rivers.
      Inside, a monumental
      staircase lit by grand brass
      candelabras leads to the
      Pantheon, a dome-topped
      hall. This contains statues and
      busts of the most promi nent
      figures in Czech political,