Malá Strana (
Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or historically Menší Město pražské () is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of the city of
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods.
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, it was a dominant center of the
ethnic German (and since 16th century also
Italian) citizens of Prague. It also housed many noble palaces while the right-bank towns were comparatively more bourgeois and more
Bohemian Czech.
Name
The name Malá Strana literally means "Little Side", though it is frequently referred to as "Lesser Town", "Lesser Quarter", or "Lesser Side". It is on the left (west) bank of the river
Vltava
The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...
, on the slopes just below
Prague Castle. The name distinguishes it from the larger districts of Prague on the right bank, with which it is linked by the
Charles Bridge.
Originally, when it was founded in 1257, the district was called the ''New Town beneath Prague Castle'' (). When Charles IV founded the
New Town of Prague in 1348, Malá Strana was renamed the ''Lesser Town of Prague'' (). In the 17th century, the unofficial name ''Little Quarter'' () was used.
History

Malá Strana was founded by the King
Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1257.
As a royal town (a town founded by the king) it got many privileges. It was created by amalgamating a number of settlements beneath the
Prague Castle into a single administrative unit. The original residents were expelled and mostly German craftsmen and merchants were invited by the king. Even though the city was royal, the king did not master the city as a whole.
In the second half of the 14th century the Lesser Town of Prague was extended by the
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
and
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
Charles IV who built a new defensive wall called
Hunger Wall.
In 1419–1420 the Lesser Town was burnt down by
Hussites. In 1541 the town was strongly damaged again by a fire which killed fifty people. After this fire the town was rebuilt in the
Renaissance style and many palaces of nobility were built there.
The market place, now known as ''Malostranské náměstí'' (Lesser Town Square),
was the center of the town. This square is divided into the upper and lower parts with the
St. Nicholas Church in the middle.
Demographics
Architecture
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
architecture predominates in Malá Strana, but the history of the district dates back to far before the
Baroque era. Baroque architecture eventually dominated when the style was implanted on Malá Strana after the destructive fires in 1541.
Points of interest
*The most extensive building of the Baroque Era on Malá Strana is the
Wallenstein Palace.
Albrecht von Wallenstein was a military general-in-chief of Emperor
Ferdinand II. Under his order 26 new houses and old gates were built on the freed place. The extensive palace complex with five courtyards and the garden, which is set as a French Park.
*The churches are the most frequent and interesting developments on Malá Strana. The finest one and the most prominent is the
St. Nicholas Church. This is a masterpiece of
Christoph and
Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer
Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer (; 1 September 1689 – 18 December 1751) was a German Bohemians, German Bohemian architect of the Baroque architecture, Baroque era. He is among the most prolific and renowned architects of his era in Bohemia. He was bo ...
, father and son. The finest painting in the church is an apotheosis of
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
, the defender of children, seamen, and wayfollowers. This painting is set in the dome. It depicts an apotheosis of Saint Trinity.
* The famous statue of the Holy
Infant Jesus of Prague
The Infant Jesus of Prague (: ) is a 16th-century wax-coated wooden statue of the Child Jesus holding a ''globus cruciger'' of Spanish origin, now located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories in Malá Strana, Prague, C ...
is in the
Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana. The devotion and the church drew millions of
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
faithful to Malá Strana throughout the years.
* In 1989, the
Prague Embassy of
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, in the Palais Lobkowicz, was the site of a drama involving thousands of
East German refugees. Their cars were left behind in the quarter.
* The famous Czech novelist
Jan Neruda was born, lived in and wrote about Malá Strana; Nerudova Street is named after him.
* The
Petřín lookout tower is located in Malá Strana.
* The Czech composer
Bohuslav Martinu lived in an apartment near Kampa Island in the Malá Strana while a conservatory student, and a plaque now commemorates his stay.
References
Bibliography
*Prague, the wayguide. By ARTFOTO printing house, Russian Language Edition.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mala Strana
Districts of Prague
Cadastral territories in Prague