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Art Lover's Guide für Prag

Art lovers are in luck: Prague serves up centuries of artistic and architectural innovation in a pretty package.

One of Prague's historic streets
Hi, I'm Elen!

Elen is a writer and editor based in the small city of Nelson, on New Zealand's South Island. Her work focuses on travel, arts, culture, and the humanities. When not working, she likes to explore one of the three national parks on her doorstep.

With a history dating back to around the 9th century, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Prague is chock-full of beautiful and fascinating art attractions. Think of a significant Western artistic movement or aesthetic style from the last millennia (give or take a century), and you’re likely to find it here in Prague, either out in the open for all to see or tucked away in a gallery or museum, which are themselves often housed in architectural masterpieces. From grand palaces to bronze crawling babies and a blimp on a roof, here are some of Prague's best places to see art.

1. The National Gallery Prague

Kinský Palace, National Gallery Prague
Kinský Palace is just one building of the several that comprise the National Gallery Prague.Bildquelle: Maran Garai / Shutterstock

Van Goghs, Picassos, and more in a functionalist palace.

The National Gallery in Prague is an institution rather than a single museum: the Schwarzenberg Palace, Kinský Palace, and the Convent of St. Agnes all fall under its umbrella and are all worth visiting, especially if you’re looking for under-the-radar things to do in Prague. But it’s the Veletržní Palác (Trade Fair Palace) that most people know as the National Gallery. The 1920s functionalist building may not be Prague’s most beautiful work of architecture (it has stiff competition), but inside its expansive, light-filled galleries lives the most extensive art collection in the Czech Republic. Admire work by 19th and 20th-century big-hitters, including Van Gogh, Picasso, Schiele, and Klimt, as well as plenty of Czech art.

2. Lobkowicz Palace Museum

gallery in the Lobkowicz Palace Museum, Prague
This museums houses the private collections of the Lobkowicz family.Bildquelle: Yuchie / Tripadvisor

A peek into the lives and times of Central European nobility.

Part of the Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) complex atop Hradcany Hill, the Lobkowicz Palace Museum presents the private collections of the noble Bohemian Lobkowicz family. It’s a vast collection of 22 galleries reflecting Central Europe's cultural, social, political, and economic life over the centuries. You won’t find much contemporary work here among the royal portraits and sober collection of Bruegel, Rubens, Dürer, Veronese, and other “masters.” Still, the Lobkowicz is an essential stop on your Prague art history tour. Classical music concerts are also held in the palace’s baroque concert hall.

3. The Mucha Museum

Mucha Museum, Prague
The Mucha Museum is the only institution in the world dedicated to its eponymous artist.Bildquelle: hydra viridis / Shutterstock

Celebrating the Bohemian son of French Art Nouveau.

One of the Art Nouveau movement’s most recognizable artists, Alfons Mucha, was Czech. Although he lived in Paris for much of his career, Mucha drew upon Czech folk art and stories in some of his work. Many Prague art tours drop in on Mucha points of interest, including the murals in the Municipal House (Obecní Dům) and the gorgeous stained-glass window by Mucha in St. Vitus’ Cathedral (Katedrála sv. Víta). But a one-stop-Mucha-shop is the Mucha Museum on Panská near Wenceslas Square (Václavské Náměstí). It’s the only museum in the world dedicated to Mucha and provides in-depth information on his background and inspirations, as well as many posters, prints, original paintings, and sketches.

4. Museum Kampa

Museum Kampa, Prague
Discover the work of Czech cubists František Kupka and Otto Gutfreund at Museum Kampa.Bildquelle: Michaela Jilkova / Shutterstock

Vltava views and Czech Cubist art on Kampa Island.

Museum Kampa is a strong contender for the title of Prague’s loveliest art museum, thanks to its location on Kampa Island in the Vltava River as well as its permanent displays of the work of two influential 20th-century Czech artists, František Kupka and Otto Gutfreund, both pioneers of Czech cubism. Temporary exhibits focus on contemporary and modern artists and movements, and the grounds outside are home to some cute, curious, and weird sculptures.

5. Žižkov Television Tower

Žižkov Television Tower in Prague
Žižkov Television Tower is both a transmission tower and an art piece.Bildquelle: 4H4 PH / Shutterstock

See Czech sculptor David Černý’s futuristic babies up close.

Speaking of those weird sculptures at Museum Kampa: it’s worth taking the metro or a tram out to Žižkov to check out the Television Tower. While the 1980s transmission tower sticks out like a futuristic sore thumb on Prague’s eastern horizon, get up close, and you can appreciate Czech sculptor David Černý’s ten giant babies crawling up the outside. It’s undoubtedly one of the quirkier examples of public art in Prague. Originally installed temporarily in 2000, the babies were so popular that they became permanent tower residents. (Bronze versions can be found “crawling” outside Museum Kampa). The observation deck at 305 feet (93 meters) also provides excellent views across Prague.

6. The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague

Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
The work at the Museum of Decorative Arts is both practical and beautiful.Bildquelle: Anamaria Mejia / Shutterstock

Central European decorative arts: Known to be useful, believed to be beautiful.

Prague’s answer to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum but on a more manageable scale, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague showcases a wide range of beautiful Czech and European crafts and objects of design. With exhibits on Czech folk art, Czech ceramics art, and other decorative pieces from late antiquity to the present day, this is a must-visit for art and design students or anyone who appreciates a well-designed chair, a beautiful bit of embroidery, or a decorative tankard. The museum overlooks the Old Jewish Cemetery in Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter, which is also a must-visit neighborhood. Travelers interested in making their own decorative crafts during a Prague art class can try glass blowing nearby, too.

7. Marionette workshops in Malá Strana

Marionette workshops in Malá Strana, Prague
Learn about the Czech puppetry craft in Malá Strana.Bildquelle: Brookgardener / Shutterstock

Shop for puppets in the Lesser Quarter.

Spend any time wandering around Prague’s Old Town, and you’ll see signs advertising puppet shows. Puppetry has played an essential part in Czech folk art for a long time, and although many of the shows put on around the Old Town these days are rather touristy, you can find authentic marionette makers in small shops around Malá Strana, especially in the area beneath the western end of Charles Bridge (Karlův Most). Shops in this area tend to utilize traditional techniques to handcraft puppets based on folk and modern characters, and you can often see the craftspeople at work.

8. The Wallenstein Palace Gardens

Wallenstein Palace Gardens, Prague
Look for mannerist bronze sculptures at the Wallenstein Palace Gardens.Bildquelle: Sergey Kohl / Shutterstock

Formal gardens, peacocks, and an eerie wall.

At the foot of Prague Castle, behind a wall separating it from the cobbled lanes of the Mala Strana, is the peaceful Italian-inspired Wallenstein Palace Gardens (Valdštejnská Zahrada). A must-visit for fans of a good formal garden as well as anyone who needs a quiet respite from the city, the 17th-century gardens contain neatly trimmed hedges in geometric designs, mannerist bronze statues, ornamental ponds and fountains, and an arched pavilion, where concerts are held in summer. Look out for the creepy dripstone wall with grotesque faces hidden within it.

9. DOX Centre for Contemporary Art

DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague
At the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, artists open dialogues about topical issues.Bildquelle: Radiokafka / Shutterstock

Popular contemporary art space in happening Holešovice.

The DOX Centre for Contemporary Art is evidence that Prague’s creative juices didn’t run dry with the rise of the Iron Curtain in 1945. The multi-function space in an old factory in the increasingly hip Holešovice neighborhood displays the work of international and Czech contemporary artists and aims to encourage dialogue on topical issues. It’s one of the most forward-looking art galleries in Prague. And don’t forget to look up: the Gulliver Airship, a sizeable wooden zeppelin, is perched on top of the building. You can even go inside the zeppelin to learn more about airship technology. Why not?

10. The Museum of Communism

The Museum of Communism, Prague
Learn about the impact of communism on 20th-century Prague, including the arts scene.Bildquelle: Photo Oz / Shutterstock

Take a peek behind the Iron Curtain with Socialist Realist art and propaganda.

While beautiful Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, and neoclassical arts and architecture dominate much of central Prague, you don’t need to scratch far beneath the surface to find evidence of the Czech Republic’s recent communist past. Learn more about life in 20th-century Prague at the Museum of Communism. The museum displays a range of artifacts and multimedia exhibits, but art enthusiasts will probably be most interested in the Socialist Realist artworks and propaganda posters.

11. Illusion Art Museum

Illusion Art Museum, Prague
The Illusion Art Museum opened in 2018.Bildquelle: Cineberg / Shutterstock

Trick art with a Czech twist (now say that quickly).

Trick art museums have become a mainstay of tourist circuits in many destinations worldwide, and Prague got its own in 2018: the Illusion Art Museum. More than just a top rainy-day thing to do in Prague, the Illusion Art Museum includes detailed and innovative trick art from Czech and international artists and puts a specific Czech twist on the popular genre. “Meet” figures from Czech history, including King Charles IV and Franz Kafka, and be immersed in critical historical events, such as the Defenestrations of Prague and the 17th-century Swedish siege of the city—all in realistic three-dimensional detail.

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