Nový Svět, Prague

Nový Svět is a small historic quarter gathered around a winding lane near Prague Castle. Its charm comes from intimate streets and modest dwellings, set apart from the city’s busiest visitor routes. The area developed outside Hradčany’s fortifications as a ravine and the Brusnice stream valley were gradually filled, creating a settlement beside an old road toward Střešovice.

In 1360, the territory became part of Hradčany and was enclosed by newly built defenses. Castle workers and servants lived here, but the quarter endured major fires in 1420 and 1541. The houses you see today largely emerged after the later fire, and the street has borne its present name since the turn of the seventeenth century.

Look along the irregular façades for the old house signs: several homes carry names referring to precious objects, animals, or plants. Their written evidence begins only in 1796, when poorer residents may have hoped such names would lend their neighbourhood greater prestige. The lane also has an extraordinary literary and artistic memory.

Tycho Brahe stayed at the house called U zlatého noha, while writers Arnošt Lustig and Ota Pavel lived at U raka. Since the 1960s, artists have been especially associated with Nový Svět, which remains a pedestrian zone and one of Hradčany’s quietest corners.