★★★★★ 5.0
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New Town Hall
Did you know that RIGHT where you're standing, people used to buy FISH and bread 700 years ago? That's like... your whole life times SEVENTY! This isn't actually new at all - it's from 1374, which makes it older than your great-great-great-great... *deep breath*... GREAT grandparents times a hundred! Look up at that tower - it's 70 meters tall, that's like stacking SEVEN school buses on top of each other! Can you spot the secret? There are exactly 198 steps inside, and here's the gross part... medieval guards used to PEE in special corners up there because bathrooms hadn't been invented yet! Ewwww! Before this fancy building, there was a tiny wooden market hall that burned down THREE times because people kept forgetting to blow out their candles. The stone you're touching right now came from quarries 200 kilometers away - that's like walking to school and back 400 times! Quick challenge: can you count how many windows you see? There are 92, but most people only spot about 60!
Did You Know?
- On July 30, 1419, the New Town Hall was the dramatic site of the First Defenestration of Prague, when radical Hussites stormed the building and threw Catholic town councillors out of the windows—an act that sparked the Hussite Wars and is one of the most infamous events in Czech history.
- The New Town Hall boasts a rare Gothic Hall of Justice, which is the largest preserved non-religious High Gothic hall in Bohemia, featuring massive Gothic archways and a grand entrance staircase; its tower, built in the 14th century, stands 42 meters tall and offers a panoramic view of Prague, but requires climbing 221 steps since there was no elevator in medieval times.
- The building is a unique architectural blend, originally Gothic, then remodeled with Renaissance gables and portal by royal architect Benedikt Ried in the 16th century, and later restored to its Gothic-Renaissance appearance in the early 20th century by Kamil Hilbert, who also worked on St. Vitus Cathedral—today, it houses a trendy café and hosts cultural events, making it a lively spot where history meets modern Prague life.