Old Town Square in Prague

The Old Town Square – the oldest and the most important square of historic Prague – formed as early as from the 10th century as a marketplace at the crossroads of European trade routes. There was a customs house nearby (Ungelt), where goods brought by foreign merchants were declared. In the 14th century a town hall was built in the square and a little bit later also the Church of Our Lady Before Týn, the main church of the Old Town. Those buildings highlighted the significance of the area, which thus became the economic and political centre of the life of the Old Town of Prague. It was a moment of glory when royal coronation parades went across the square to Prague Castle. The first Czech king who went across the square was John of Bohemia with Elisabeth of Bohemia. Tragic events took place there, too, for example executions, but also various celebrations, festivals and people’s gatherings. The area of the square is over 9,000 m2. For its significance, the Old Town Square was declared a national cultural monument in 1962.
At Christmas and Easter there are stalls in the square that are to resemble a medieval marketplace. The Christmas market in the Old Town Square is the largest one in the Czech Republic and is visited by many thousands of visitors from the Czech Republic and abroad. Ever year there is a tall, lavishly decorated Christmas tree and a music stage in the square.