House of the Black Madonna, Prague, Czech Republic

The House of the Black Madonna is a cubist building designed by Josef Gočár. It is currently in use as the Czech Museum of Cubism and includes the Grand Café Orient restaurant on the first floor.

The House of the Black Mother, sometimes referred to as Black Mother of the Lord, was designed and built between 1911 and 1912 on the corner of Celetná Street and Ovocný trh. Josef Gočár built the house as the first example of cubist architecture in Prague, and it remains probably the most celebrated. Even without historical details of the baroque building surrounding it, the House at the Black Madonna maintains the atmosphere of the neighborhood. The house was given its name by the stone sculpture that originally adorned one of the two Baroque buildings on the same lot. After many years altered use in the interwar period and under communist rule, the house was closed in January 2002 and re-opened after extensive restoration in November 2003.

References:

Wikipedia

National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic

User Reviews

Dan P (21 months ago)
Loved the cubism exhibit and the delicious breakfast at the cafe upstairs. Short and sweet. Really something special worth taking a look at :)

Danijela Radivojević (2 years ago)
Fantastic building, in the city center. High prices.

randy naquin (2 years ago)
Small cafe at the ground floor. The food and service are the worst I have seen anywhere in the world. This is not representative what Prague has to offer!

Vargas Herrera Daniel (2 years ago)
Historic building where I found three highlights: 1. The building itself, which is a historical centre of culture in Prague, characterized for the statue of the black Madonna on the outside, the art nouveau on the balcony, and the very peculiar stairs. 2. Museum of Cubism. This offers a small but very interesting set of interior decorative arts plus some paintings that belonged to the Cubism movement. The furniture is fun and interesting to appreciate. 3. Café orient. (You get 10% off if you visited the exposition) it has a cubistic decoration, very original, and a trendy menu. One can have a very tasty lunch, although the prices are a little bit higher than Prague's average prices.

覃羿彬 (2 years ago)
Way too pricey for the tiny permanent (and temporary) exhibitions, do not think it makes sense. The curators at each floor are nice and try to show you more, but they speaks very limited English. I think you could get more by googling Cubism.

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The town hall was developed over a period of about 250 years, from the end of 13th century to the middle of 16th century. The structure and floor plan changed over this extended period in response to the changing needs of the city. The exact date of the initial construction is not known. However, between 1299 and 1301 a single-storey structure with cellars and a tower called the consistory was built. The oldest parts of the current building, the Burghers’ Hall and the lower floors of the tower, may date to this time. In these early days the primary purpose of the building was trade rather than civic administration activities.

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During the 19th century there were two major changes. The courts moved to a separate building, and the Rates became the site of the city council and supporting functions. There was also a major program of renovation because the building had been neglected and was covered with creeping vines. The town hall now has several en-Gothic features including some sculptural decoration from this period.

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