The art nouveau facade of this former home of the Prague Insurance Co was designed by Osvald Polívka, with the huge letters ‘PRAHA’ entwined around five circular windows, and mosaics spelling out život, kapitál, důchod, věno and pojišťuje (life, capital, income, dowry and insurance). The building next door, a former publishing house, is also a Polívka design.
Viola Building
Staré Město
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.91 MILES
Built over a time span of almost 600 years, St Vitus is one of the most richly endowed cathedrals in central Europe. It is pivotal to the religious and…
0.42 MILES
Strolling across Charles Bridge is everybody’s favourite Prague activity. However, by 9am it’s a 500m-long fairground, with an army of tourists squeezing…
0.89 MILES
Prague’s most popular attraction. Looming above the Vltava's left bank, its serried ranks of spires, towers and palaces dominate the city centre like a…
0.59 MILES
This museum consists of six Jewish monuments clustered together in Josefov: the Maisel Synagogue; the Pinkas Synagogue; the Spanish Synagogue; the Klaus…
1.22 MILES
Strahov Library is the largest monastic library in the country, with two magnificent baroque halls dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. You can peek…
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0.71 MILES
Prague’s most exuberantly art-nouveau building is a labour of love, with every detail of its design and decoration carefully considered, and every…
1.63 MILES
While this monument's massive functionalist structure has all the elegance of a nuclear power station, the interior is a spectacular extravaganza of…
0.55 MILES
More a broad boulevard than a typical European city square, Wenceslas Square has witnessed a great deal of Czech history – a giant Mass was held here…
Nearby Staré Město attractions
0.05 MILES
The lemon-yellow walls of the Convent of St Ursula frame a pink church, which has a lush baroque interior that includes a battalion of Apostle statues…
0.07 MILES
The recently renovated National Theatre is the neo-Renaissance architectural flagship of the Czech National Revival, and one of Prague’s most impressive…
0.1 MILES
Národní třída is central Prague’s ‘high street’, a stately row of midrange shops and grand public buildings, notably the National Theatre at the Vltava…
0.11 MILES
This small exhibition and library, supported by the foundation that protects the legacy of the late playwright-president, houses a permanent exhibition on…
0.13 MILES
The Goethe Institute, an elegant art nouveau building, was formerly the East German embassy. Nearby, at No 26, is a beautiful art nouveau apartment…
0.13 MILES
This simple monument (eight hands giving the 'V' for victory sign and the date 17.11.1989) commemorates the Velvet Revolution, which began on Národní…
0.19 MILES
Part of the National Museum, the small Náprstek Museum houses an ethnographical collection of Asian, African and American cultures, founded by Vojta…
0.2 MILES
This island is a sleepy, dog-eared sandbank with pleasant gardens, river views and several jetties where you can hire rowing boats. In the middle stands…