This town hall, built under Charles IV., and a subsequent building in
the Renaissance style that was afterwards erected here have long
disappeared. The last-named building was demolished in 1806 by order of
the Emperor Francis I., and the present uninteresting structure was
erected. Of the old building a tower, formerly, probably, a campanile
similar to that of the town hall of the old town, remains. It contains a
chapel dedicated to St. Wenceslas, which is still in the same condition
as it was in the fifteenth century.
From the Karlovo Námesti, following the Vysehrad
[Illustration: CHAPEL OF ST. MARTIN]
Street, and passing near the Emaus Monastery, that has already been
mentioned, we arrive at the Vysehrad. The Vysehrad, formerly an
independent community, but now one of the districts of Prague, has at
the present day little interest for the mere sightseer. But its mythical
and historical associations render it very precious to those who have
some knowledge of Bohemia's past. The traditions connected with the spot
have been the subject of many Bohemian poems. Recently Zeyer published
his _Vysehrad_, which will interest those who wish to penetrate somewhat
deeper into the past of Prague.[51] Of the old semi-mythical residence
of Libussa no trace remains, and the mediæval citadel that played so
important a part in the Hussite Wars has also disappeared. The existent
fortifications are of modern date. Of the many former churches on the
Vysehrad two only now require notice. One is the Romanesque Chapel of
St. Martin, said to have been founded by St. Adalbert on the site of a
Pagan temple. It is one of the three round chapels that are the oldest
religious edifices in Prague. It is, as Monsignor Lehner writes, 'the
only remaining relic of the splendour of the Vysehrad during the period
of Romanesque architecture.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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