Hradčany - Through the history of the town

Right upto the beginning of the 14th century a forest stretched as far as the present west gate of the Castle, and was frequently used for hunting. Through the forest a path passed around Strahovský Klášter (The Strahov Monastery) leading in the direction of north western Bohemia. In 1310 this site became a battle-field where the armies of Jindřich of Lipá, Jan of Stráž and Vítek of Landštejn compelled the army of the weak King Henry of Carinthia to retreat.

Not long afterwards in 1321 during the reign of John of Luxembourg, a feudal town was founded here on the initiation of the Castle Burgrave Hynek Berka of Dubá. It stretched along the length of the Hradčany ridge, bordered on one side by the steep slopes above the Small Quarter and on the other by the Stag Moat and the Brusnice stream, approximately around the present day Hradčanské Square. Charles IV enlarged the area of Hradčany Town by encorporating Pohořelec, Loretánské náměstí (Loretto Square) and Nový Svět (“New World”). Also included in the new fortifications were the Strahov Monastery and a part of Petřín, despite which however Hradčany remained the smallest Prague borough. On top of everything in 1420 the whole town was set on fire during the seige by the Hussites and then during the fire of 1541, it was burnt down completely apart from the Town Hall and six houses.

From the 1560s the Czech aristocracy started building a number of Renaissance palaces here and the importance of the borough increased after Emperor Rudolf II elevated it to the status of a Royal Town in 1598. Following the Battle on the White Mountain in 1620, the townspeople and craftsmen gradually moved out of the main square into the side streets and all the most prestigious sites were taken by people who had enriched themselves in the Thirty Years War and by the church.

Between 1653 and 1720 the Hradčany town was enclosed by new Baroque fortifications encompassing the whole of Prague. After the Baroque building activity and apart from occasional embellishments in the Rococo period and the 19th century, the architecture of the town has hardly changed at all.

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