New Town Photos

New Town is the youngest of the independent towns that became Prague. It was founded in 1348 by Charles IV just outside the Old Town city walls, in order to deal with the lack of available housing. From the beginning, New Town was carefully planned, with the designers determining the road layout and the locations where goods were to be sold. The city was planned around three large markets: the hay market (Senovazne Square), the horse market (Wenceslas Square) and the cattle market (Charles Square).

The addition of New Town tripled the size of Prague. It was primarily inhabited by tradesmen and craftsmen. Charles IV also ordered that noisy and dirty trades be moved there from Old Town. During the 19th century, much of New Town was demolished and rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style, which remains to this day.

Today New Town is centered around Wenceslas Square, which is the main commercial and business area of Prague with many large hotels, retail shops, and restaurants. Much of the rest of New Town is dedicated to residential buildings.