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#Modern Prague Architecture
August 14, 2017
The Dancing House is the nickname given to the building on the Rašín Embankment in Prague. It was designed by the Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in cooperation with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time. The house stands out among the Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous. In the opinion of some it does not accord well with these architectural styles. Václav Havel (former Czech President), who lived for decades close to the site, had avidly supported this project. Havel hoped that the building would become a centre of cultural activity. Gehry originally named the house Fred and Ginger, after the famous dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. As Dancing house resembles a pair of dancers. But this nickname is now rarely used. Glass Bar An exclusive bar located on the top floor […]
September 17, 2016
Perhaps the finest aspect of the National Bank building is the statue that remains at its crown, called the “Genius with the Lion”. The metal statue perched on the attic gable of the bank at Na príkope 28 was created in 1898. In 1938, it was transferred to the new, present-day bank building. The statue is a symbol of progress and liberalisation of trade. It comprises a figure of a striding genius in a fluttering robe. In Roman mythology, a genius was a tutelary deity or guardian spirit sometimes depicted as a winged or haloed being. The figure is holding aloft a flaming torch. At his side is a lion holding a ball under its front right paw. The ball is marked with the date of the statue. The statue (measuring 4.7 m x 2.9 m x 4.5 m and […]