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Architecture and Design
People travel around the world to see good architecture and design. There are large cities such as Berlin that can boast a range of interesting buildings by world-famous architects and there are countries like Italy where many architectural features offer an interesting sight. We would like to show that despite the peculiarities of its history, Prague also offers and hopefully will continue to offer even more examples of how to incorporate ‘new’ often atypical, modern, unconventional architecture into what is ‘old’ and nostalgically close to us.
Prague’s Metamorphoses
Time flies so fast! Only a couple of years ago we speculated as to whether we would be admitted into the European Union, or whether we would be able to travel to Slovakia without a passport as it was before the break-up of Czechoslovakia. Suddenly it is here and we are hardly aware of it. Our city is changing before our eyes. We can barely notice all the changes which are sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Until you see a two or three year old photograph and you realize that everything has changed.
1968, Wonderful Year That Went Awry
Those who lived through the year 1968 will definitely agree that it was a wonderful year, even though it went awry. For those who did not live through or couldn’t experience the atmosphere, we have decided to outline what happened and give them an idea of what life was like forty years ago mainly in Prague, the centre of all the events. Right here, throughout the whole year, you will be able to go back and experience1968.
Friendly Prague
Every modern metropolis should offer its inhabitants and its visitors the widest possible spectrum of services not only as far as housing, work etc. are concerned, but also such services, towards which the majority of us has a very positive attitude: sport, relaxation and entertainment.
Light in the Streets
Long gone are the days when public lighting was just about the basics of night-time security. All cities, especially the major ones, are continually improving technical standards to make lights not only brighter but also more reliable and, last but not least, more aesthetically pleasing. There are more than 125 thousand electric lights in Prague, gas lanterns and lamp-posts are in a significant minority as there are only about three hundred of those. They provide a kind of magical gate to the past for city centre visitors and so they justifiably receive much more attention.