Spotlight | All stories

In this week’s Spotlight we take you to an independent culture centre decorated with an abstract array of industrial machine part artistry.

The functionalist Mánes Exhibition Hall, located on the right bank of the Vltava river between the bridges Jiraskův most and Most Legií, is one of only two buildings in Prague that were expressly designed to house art – the other one being the famous Rudolfinum gallery. Martin Pavala, the chairman of the supervisory board of the Czech Art Foundation, which owns it, explains that the art gallery’s history started in 1930.

Prague’s leafy central suburb of Karlín may best be known outside of the Czech Republic for the devastating floods that laid ruin to it in 2002, but much of the world has been using the machines and products born of Karlín factories for more than a hundred years and aside from that it is also Prague’s oldest suburb – a point recalled by an exhibition being held this year at the City Museum in Prague that was created by historian Dr. Zdeněk Míka:

Nestled between busy Wenceslas Square and Prague’s number one tourist destination, Old Town Square, the House of the Black Madonna houses a small museum of Cubism as well as the only surviving Cubist café in the world – the Grand Café Orient, which was renovated between 2002 and 2005.

The Habsburg Emperor Rudolf II left a deep mark in Czech history. Various legends and myths surround the 16th century ruler who made Prague his imperial seat and whose diverse interests made the city a centre of Renaissance arts and sciences. One monument from his time is hidden beneath the surface of the earth – a water tunnel carved deep into the rock of one of Prague’s hills.

Lovers of Czech applied arts and design will find a veritable treasure trove of interesting items, ranging from glass wares to clocks and metal works, in Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts. Located right across the street from the well-known Rudolfinum palace, the museum is housed in a stunning Neo-Renaissance building. It was one of the last in Prague to be designed in that style. The architect was Josef Schulz, who also was behind the Czech National Museum.

It is early on a Friday morning, the air is freezing and there is no sign of the sun in the sky. Yet, the creaky old Karosa bus heading towards Krkonoše or Giant Mountains is almost full when I arrive at the bus station. Many people from Prague have taken their day off in order to enjoy some snow. Unlike most of my fellow travellers, I am not heading towards the ski slopes and racing tracks. My destination is the little town of Jilemnice, crouching at the foothills of the Giant Mountains in north Bohemia. Jilemnice was one of the very first skiing

The Lucerna Palace, long considered a beacon of Czech national pride has been celebrating its centenary this year without too much of the fanfare usually reserved for such occasions. Situated off Wenceslas Square in the very heart of Prague, and established by civil engineer, designer and builder Václav M. Havel in 1907, it was the first multi-purpose arcade of its kind ever to be built in this country.

The North Bohemian town of Litoměřice has long enjoyed the reputation of being one of the Czech Republic's most beautiful towns. Founded roughly 1,000 years ago, Litoměřice lies in one of the Czech Republic's hilliest ranges on the confluence of the Elbe and Ohře Rivers. The town's beginnings was originally a Slavonic fort overseeing a number of small municipalities, later replaced by a castle and emerging town in the 11th century.

In today’s Spotlight we travel to South Moravia, to the town of Strážnice, the heart of the ethnographic region of Slovácko. The town is a traditional centre of regional ethnographic festivities. Today we take you to the Strážnice open-air folk museum featuring local village architecture and showing glimpses of life in the past centuries.