Municipal House, Art Nouveau concert hall in Old Town, Prague, Czech Republic.
Municipal House is an Art Nouveau building in Old Town Prague with a large concert hall and several restaurants. The Smetana Hall inside displays a glass dome and murals by Czech artists from the construction period.
The Royal Court palace, built around 1380 for Wenceslas IV, stood on this site until its demolition in 1902–1903. The present house was designed by Antonín Balšánek and Osvald Polívka, begun in 1905 and opened on 16 December 1912. Czechoslovak independence was declared here on 28 October 1918.
The Smetana Hall takes its name from Czech composer Bedřich Smetana and serves as home to the Prague Symphony Orchestra. The stage hosts regular classical concerts and opens the Prague Spring festival each year.
The entrance sits near the Powder Tower on Náměstí Republiky street and is easy to reach on foot. Guided tours through the interior spaces run several times daily and last about an hour.
An American bar in the basement retains original furnishings from the construction period. Ceramic tiles and wood panelling throughout the rooms were crafted by different Bohemian workshops.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,139 contributors worldwide.
