Following the trail of horses

At the heart of Prague’s best-known square stands a monument to the Czech patron saints, dominated by an equestrian statue of St Wenceslas. The monument was unveiled in 1913 and has since become a key symbol of modern Czech history.

The equestrian statue depicting Jan Žižka of Trocnov is a notable Prague landmark. With its 9 meters in height, 9.6 meters length and 5 meters width, this is one of the largest equestrian sculptures in the world. Its location atop the Vítkov Hill is historically tied to the site of the famous victorious battle of a small Hussite army well outnumbered by the Crusaders that took place here on July 14, 1420. The sculpture was designed by Bohumil Kafka (1878-1942), a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. His model was a Noriker stallion named Theseus. As is evident from the breeding records, Theseus was raised in the provincial stud farm in Tlumačov. Bohumil Kafka worked on the sculpture from 1931, completed it during the early years of WWII and then unexpectedly died in 1942. After the war, work on the construction of the monument gradually restarted and the sculpture was ceremonially unveiled on July 14, 1950, upon the 530th anniversary of the battle.

For more than a century, Prague’s National Theatre has been crowned by two sculptural groups of trigae—three-horse chariots—driven by the winged goddess Victoria. The concept was created in the 1880s by Bohuslav Schnirch; after his death, the work was completed by other sculptors, including Ladislav Šaloun. The secession (Art Nouveau) influence is visible in the final 1911 execution.

Troja Château (1679–1685) was built by Count Václav Vojtěch of Šternberk as a summer residence, also intended to host the emperor during hunts. Designed by Giovanni Domenico Orsi and later Jean‑Baptiste Mathey, it introduced an Italian villa style that influenced Czech château architecture.

The was built around 1694 to designs by Jean‑Baptiste Mathay and served its original purpose for about a century. In the 1950s it was rebuilt by architect Pavel Janák as an exhibition hall, though it had hosted major cultural events even earlier.

The Gothic bronze equestrian statue of St George fighting the dragon (1373) is one of the key monuments of Prague Castle. Created by the brothers Martin and Jiří of Cluj, it has been damaged and repaired repeatedly over the centuries.