Cubist architecture in Prague: a unique style

Cubism, the angular style of Picasso and Braque, is a painter's movement. Prague is one of the few places where it was applied to whole buildings. The results have façades like folded paper, and they're hard to forget once you know what you're looking at.

What Czech Cubism was

In the years just before the First World War, a group of Czech architects and designers took the faceted forms of Cubist painting and applied them to buildings, furniture, ceramics and even street lamps. The movement was short, roughly 1910 to 1914, and the war ended it. The buildings survived.

The names to know are Josef Gočár, Josef Chochol, Pavel Janák and Emil Králíček. Gočár designed the House of the Black Madonna, Chochol built apartment blocks and villas, Janák worked in architecture and design, and Králíček produced a Cubist lamp-post you can still see.

The House of the Black Madonna

On Celetná street in the Old Town, the House of the Black Madonna (Dům U Černé Matky Boží), completed by Gočár in 1912, is the flagship. The façade has angular bays and prismatic ornament, and a Baroque statue of the Madonna sits in the corner. Inside is the Czech Museum of Cubism, run by the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, with furniture and objects of the period. The staircase is a fine example of faceted interior design. Check the museum's official site for hours.

The lamp-post

At Jungmannovo náměstí, near Wenceslas Square, a Cubist lamp-post by Králíček from 1913 stands at the corner of a building. It is easy to walk past. Look for the angular base and the faceted column.

The river and Vyšehrad

The most rewarding stretch is along the river below Vyšehrad. Chochol's apartment house on Rašínovo nábřeží, built around 1913, has a faceted façade with sharp corners, and nearby, perched under the hill, is the Kovařovic Villa, also by Chochol. Neklanova street holds a Cubist apartment block that shows how the style worked on an ordinary street. The setting, river below and fortress above, makes the angular forms stand out.

Combine the walk with Vyšehrad itself, which has parks and views over the river. For the wider story, see Prague's architecture styles explained.

A route

Start at the House of the Black Madonna, walk to Jungmannovo náměstí for the lamp-post, then take the tram or metro to the Vyšehrad area for the river houses. Allow half a day with a coffee stop. Our guide to Prague's metro, trams and buses explains the ticket.

Cubism and Art Nouveau

Cubism comes right after the Art Nouveau period, and our Art Nouveau walking guide covers the earlier style. Compare them: curves and flowers against crystals and angles. The shift took only a few years.

What to expect

Some Cubist buildings are private homes or businesses, so you see them from the street. Don't go into residential buildings without permission. Photography from the pavement is fine.

Do this today

Go to Celetná street, find the House of the Black Madonna and look at the façade for ten minutes. Then decide whether to go inside or head for the river houses below Vyšehrad.