New Town Hall

New Town Hall is one of Prague’s national cultural monuments dating back to the foundation of the New Town of Prague by Charles IV in 1384 and is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the area. The original idea of Charles IV was to make Charles Square (a cattle market at the time) a dignified counterpart to Old Town Square. The Town Hall has witnessed many events in the history of the city. In 1419 and 1483 the first and second defenestrations in Prague took place here and there was a large fire in 1559 with the reconstruction of the building lasting until 1561. The tower of the town hall is 70 meters high with more than 200 stairs. The Gothic entrance hall with a vault is one of the most preserved Gothic non-sacred spaces in Bohemia. Over time, the town hall became the seat of a court and a prison. Executions were also carried out in its courtyard (the last of which was under the Nazi occupation). Milada Horáková was the last prisoner. Nowadays, the New Town Hall serves as a multifunctional cultural facility or ganizing exhibitions, concerts, festivals and other cultural and social events.