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

Werk Saal (3 months ago)
Great architecture, cake and drinks

Semi Ennafaa (13 months ago)
Worst but most expensive coffee in Prague. Cappuccino from automatic machine for 75 CZK. Unfortunately such a nice place and such a bad service.

t r (14 months ago)
We love this place, the staff so nice. Classy and entertaining.

Fionn Ferreira (14 months ago)
Found the Orient Cafe in the Honest Guide of Prauge. Best Place EVER! Great views too.

David Thomas (2 years ago)
This cafe is great (the upstairs one, not to be confused with the downstairs one). It’s interior is apparently preserved from the cubist era (which I don’t know at all, but liked the look of based on this one example). Certainly had style ; bronze and marble tables, quirky lamp fittings. Even the coat hooks were apparently cubist. Famous kidney shaped stair well. Food and service was excellent as were the views down from the small balcony. Downstairs there is a cubist shop ; expensive (for my income level) but lovely items of glass ceramics etc. Recommend.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright jl.cernadas

Historic Site of the week

Roman Walls of Lugo

Roman Walls of Lugo are an exceptional architectural, archaeological and constructive legacy of Roman engineering, dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The Walls are built of internal and external stone facings of slate with some granite, with a core filling of a conglomerate of slate slabs and worked stone pieces from Roman buildings, interlocked with lime mortar.

Their total length of 2117 m in the shape of an oblong rectangle occupies an area of 1.68 ha. Their height varies between 8 and 10 m, with a width of 4.2 m, reaching 7 m in some specific points. The walls still contain 85 external towers, 10 gates (five of which are original and five that were opened in modern times), four staircases and two ramps providing access to the walkway along the top of the walls, one of which is internal and the other external. Each tower contained access stairs leading from the intervallum to the wall walk of town wall, of which a total of 21 have been discovered to date.

The defences of Lugo are the most complete and best preserved example of Roman military architecture in the Western Roman Empire.

Despite the renovation work carried out, the walls conserve their original layout and the construction features associated with their defensive purpose, with walls, battlements, towers, fortifications, both modern and original gates and stairways, and a moat.

Since they were built, the walls have defined the layout and growth of the city, which was declared a Historical-Artistic Ensemble in 1973, forming a part of it and becoming an emblematic structure that can be freely accessed to walk along. The local inhabitants and visitors alike have used them as an area for enjoyment and as a part of urban life for centuries.

The fortifications were added to UNESCO"s World Heritage List in late 2000 and are a popular tourist attraction.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

House of the Black Madonna

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Historic Site of the week

Roman Walls of Lugo

Looks like you are a history fan!