Charles Square ( cs, Karlovo náměstí) is a

city square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

in the New Town of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. At roughly 80,550 m² it is one of the largest squares in the world and was the largest town square of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Steane, John: The Archeology of Power (Google-book)
/ref> Founded in 1348 as the main square of the New Town by Charles IV, it was known as ''Dobytčí trh'' (Cattle Market) from the 15th century and finally named after its founder in 1848. The central portion of the square was turned into a park in the 1860s. The square is now one of the main transport hubs of the city centre with Karlovo náměstí metro station and numerous tram lines and busy roads crossing it in all directions.

History

Charles Square originated as a part of the New Town of Prague founded in 1348 by emperor Charles IV. With

Wenceslas Square Wenceslas Square ( Czech: , colloquially ''Václavák'' ) is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a tra ...

(Horse Market) and ''Senovážné náměstí'' (Hay Market) it became one of three main squares of the newly founded town. These squares were connected with one street (today streets Vodičkova and Jindřišská). Charles Square was supposed to be the most important square of the New Town of Prague and probably of the whole of Prague, therefore the Town Hall of the New Town was built there. Despite these plans the most important square later became

. In the late 14th century the Corpus Christi Chapel was built in the middle of the square. It was closed in 1784 and demolished a few years later. This chapel was a very important place of pilgrimage in the late 14th and early 15th century, because the holy relics and crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire were shown there to thousands of

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s. On 30 July 1419 the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

broke out in this square, when Hussites led by priest

Jan Želivský Jan Želivský (1380 in Humpolec – 9 March 1422 in Prague) was a prominent Czech priest during the Hussite Reformation. Life Želivský preached at Church of Saint Mary Major. He was one of a few Utraquist Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub ut ...

threw some Catholic councilors from windows of the New Town Hall. This event is called "the First Defenestration of Prague". In the 17th century the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

started to build their New Town residence on Charles Square. They also founded a new church dedicated to their patron saint and founder of the Jesuit Order, St. Ignatius of Loyola. This church was designed by

Carlo Lurago Carlo Lurago (also spelled Luraghi) (1615 – 22 October 1684) was an Italian architect, who was most active in Prague. He was born in Pellio Superiore in the Val d'Intelvi, near Como. At the age of 23, as an already an accomplished plasterer, ...

and built in 1655-1677 in the early Baroque style. On the south side of the square there is a gate to the Church of St. John of Nepomuk "on the Rock" which was built in the high Baroque style in 1730s by Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer.

Important buildings

New Town Hall (Prague) The New Town Hall ( cs, Novoměstská radnice, german: Neustädter Rathaus}) is the administrative centre of Prague's (medieval) New Town Quarter, or "Nové Město". In 1419 it was the site of the first of the three defenestrations of Prague Th ...

* Church of St. Ignatius *former Jesuit school *Church of St. John of Nepomuk "on the Rock" *neo-renaissance building of the Czech Technical University in Prague

References

Literature

* Rygl, Tomáš. Prague: Detailed Picture Guide. Prague: ATP publishing, 2007.

External links

Google Earth of Charles Square

Charles Square on Prague-wiki
{{Authority control Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Squares in Prague New Town, Prague

History

Important buildings

See also

References

Literature

External links