N谩rodn铆 t艡铆da is central Prague鈥檚 鈥榟igh street鈥, a stately row of midrange shops and grand public buildings, notably the National Theatre at the Vltava River end.
Fronting Jungmannovo n谩m臎st铆, at the eastern end, is an imitation Venetian palace known as the Adria Palace. Its distinctive, chunky architectural style, dating from the 1920s, is known as 鈥榬ondocubism鈥. Note how the alternating angular and rounded window pediments echo similar features in neoclassical baroque buildings such as the 膶ern铆n Palace.
Beneath it is the Adria Theatre, birthplace of Laterna Magika and meeting place of the Civic Forum in the heady days of the Velvet Revolution. From here Dub膷ek and Havel walked to the Lucerna Palace and their 24 November 1989 appearance on the balcony of the Melantrich Building. Wander through the arcade for a look at the lovely marble, glass and brass decoration. The main atrium has a 24-hour clock from the 1920s, flanked by sculptures depicting the signs of the zodiac. It was once the entrance to the offices of the Adriatica insurance company (hence the building鈥檚 name).
West of Vor拧ilsk谩, the lemon-yellow walls of the Convent of St Ursula frame a pink church, which has a lush baroque interior that includes a battalion of Apostle statues. Out front is the figure of St John of Nepomuk, and in the facade鈥檚 lower-right niche is a statue of St Agatha holding her severed breasts 鈥 one of the more gruesome images in Catholic hagiography.
Across the road is the art-nouveau facade (by Osvald Pol铆vka) of the Viola Building, former home of the Prague Insurance Co, with the huge letters 鈥楶RAHA鈥 entwined around five circular windows, and mosaics spelling out 啪颈惫辞迟, 办补辫颈迟谩濒, 诲暖肠丑辞诲, 惫臎苍辞 and 辫辞箩颈拧钮耻箩别 (life, capital, income, dowry and insurance). The building next door, a former publishing house, is also a Pol铆vka design.
On the southern side, at No 4, looking like it has been built out of huge glass blocks, is the Nov谩 Sc茅na (1983), the 鈥楴ew National Theatre鈥 building, now home of Laterna Magika.
Finally, facing the Vltava near Smetanovo n谩b艡e啪铆 is the magnificent National Theatre. Across from the theatre is the Kav谩rna Slavia, known for its art-deco interior and river views, and once the place to be seen or to grab an after-theatre meal.
