Prague: Cobblestones and Mosaic Patterns

Prague’s mosaic pavements glow gold late afternoon. They glisten like shed tears on rainy days. Prague’s pavements and streets are exquisite works of art. Look down and discover the different geometrical figures.

Staroměstské náměstí, Old Town Square is a carpet of cobblestones. The cobbles are quite hard on the feet. That is why it is sensible to wear shoes with thick rubber soles. The square is Prague’s main tourist hub. The church in the background is St Nicolas Church, or Kostel sv. Mikulas.  (Don’t let names confuse you as there is another St Nicolas Church in Malá Straná, across the river.)

Marble-mosaic pavements fan out from the city centre to the residential neighbourhoods. The grey-white pattern emphasises the largeness of the Staroměstské náměstí. In the background is the Church of Our Lady before Tyn (map) which used to be the main church of the Protestant Hussites in Prague.

This is a true Prague-pavement masterpiece and is in front of the Spanish Synagogue in Josefov. (map)The main pattern in this street is rectangular and the colour scheme is white and grey. In front of the synagogue the colours change and is now coral red and steel grey. The rectangular pattern changes into a star pattern. It is very clear to see that the marble cobbles are the size of toy building blocks. It must takes ages and craftmanship to arrange the cobblestones in the right patterns.

The drainage of the cobblestone streets is a problem in rainy weather. In this photo the larger puddles have already disappeared but the smaller ones seem to be quite determined to stay
This is 28. Října Street in Staré Město, the Old Town. It is a pedestrian-only street and leads to Wenceslas Square and then on to Na Prikopé, another shopping street. On 28 Října, 28 October 1918, the first independent Czechoslovak state was founded from territories that were previously part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, 28 October is a public holiday.

This little man is my favourite. I thought he was hurrying home after a long day. But when I looked at the building bordering this part of the pavement I realised that he represented the letter K. The K of Kovosluže, the name of the company. If you want to look him up personally, you can find him in Tynska in front of #21. This street runs along Tyn Church on Staroměstské náměstí into NE direction.

The mosaic pavement in front of this shop is a true eye catcher. In general, never more than two colours are used for the mosaic patterns; grey and white or coral and white. But in this pavement all colours are combined. Probably because it is in front of an exclusive shop that sells only four brands of Swiss watches; Rolex, Bucherer, Longines and Tissot. The shop is in Štĕpanská near Wenceslas Square.

photo credits: personal collection