Astounding Architecture in Prague

After our trip to Berlin last week, my friends and I visited Prague for the long travel weekend. Immediately after leaving the train station, I was amazed by the style of architecture that the city had; an older style that seemed like it had been untouched for centuries, unlike many of the cities in Germany. Transportation in Prague was relatively cheap and effective, with trams that ran 24 hours being the main way to traverse the city. Unfortunately, much like Germany, both trams and trains in Prague from my experience had trouble arriving on time, which was especially detrimental for me on our departure.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. The buildings of Prague represented the changing styles of architecture that Europe saw over the middle ages through the 1800s. Some smaller buildings had a Romanesque style that would have been popularized during the rule of the Roman empire and the Middle ages. Prague had some of these buildings, but their number was relatively small. The next major style that came after this was Gothic architecture, which could be found everywhere in Prague. Many cathedrals had

this style, including the cathedral within the Prague castle, which was built in 1344 and resembles the Cologne cathedral. Another famous example is the Charles bridge, built in 1357 with this gothic architecture, having many black statues with gold crosses. Much of the rest of Prague had Baroque and Renaissance styles

(which seem similar in my eyes) which are very ornate and with gold decorations. This style was popular in the 1600-1800s, which seemed like when many of the buildings on the street seemed to be built. And of course there were also modern buildings within the city, and oftentimes they would stick out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of the buildings, like the picture I took below. When walking around Prague I was amazed by all these different styles. It felt like no other city I’ve seen in Germany and I wished I could’ve stayed in Prague for longer.

-Seamus B.

Cloud, S. (n.d.). Prague Architecture. Prague Stay. https://www.prague-stay.com/lifestyle/category/36-prague-architecture