„Zlata Praha”? Praskie „city” przebudowane w XIX i XX wieku
Zlata Praha”? The Prague “city” rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries

Summary/Abstract: Prague’s Old Town was thoroughly rebuilt and modernised over the two previous centuries. What one can see today is the shape the historic centre was given in the second half of the 19th c., during the Belle Époque, in the interwar period and, partly, after the World War II. The story of this metamorphosis is related in the monumental Město v bouři. Urbanismus a architektura historického centra Prahy 1830–1970 by Richard Biegel, a Czech historian of art from the Charles University in Prague (2022). The large-format, superbly illustrated book is a treasury of knowledge on the formation of Prague’s “city” and the disappearance of its prior picturesque architecture. It shows that, like in Vienna and Paris, demolition was massive in the centre of Prague, where streets were straightened, new traffic routes were laid out, and huge houses were erected alongside new department stores. The article discusses the content of Biegel’s study, offering numerous comments and research recommendations. With its precious, multifarious exploration of Prague’s “city”, the volume gives a fresh impulse to the comparative study of Central European towns.

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