Prague 3: Culture, History and Green Spaces

The places featured here range from neo-Gothic church architecture and Jewish cemetery history to a cultural center, a national monument and hilly green spaces. This gives you a sense of whether you would prefer to focus on architectural and commemorative history, art and music, or urban landscapes.

Church architecture and Jewish cemetery history

The parish church “Kostel sv. Prokopa” stands on Sladkovského náměstí and is neo-Gothic. Its tower is 73 meters high. It contains a total of nine bells, dating from the late 19th century to the 1990s. Neo-Gothic refers to the later revival of Gothic architectural forms and identifies the church’s style. The tower’s height and bells add specific architectural features and fittings from different periods to this description.

Two Jewish cemeteries in Žižkov can be distinguished by their histories. The New Jewish Cemetery was established in 1890 and is a listed historic site. It is the burial place of the writer Franz Kafka and his parents. The Old Jewish Cemetery was established in 1680 as a plague cemetery for Prague’s Jewish community and is an important art-historical monument. Their founding dates and original functions provide different historical points of reference: for the older cemetery, its origins as a plague cemetery; for the New Cemetery, among other things, the graves of Kafka and his parents.

Commemoration, culture and views

The “Národní památník na Vítkově” monument was built from 1928 to 1938 in honor of the Czechoslovak Legionnaires. In 1962, it was declared a national cultural monument. Its construction period and subsequent designation mark two different historical dates. Vítkov is also crisscrossed by a dense network of walking paths; from there, you can enjoy views of almost the entire city. Vítkov thus combines a specific commemorative purpose with a landscape feature, which can be considered separately when planning your trip.

Atrium Žižkov is a cultural center in the heart of Prague’s Žižkov district, focusing on music, art and community events. It houses a concert and exhibition hall in a listed former Baroque church building dating from the 18th century. A clearly defined cultural focus and a historic setting come together here: music and art describe the center’s purpose, while the former church building places its architectural history in context.

Parks and walking paths

Olšanské hřbitovy covers 50.17 hectares, making it the largest cemetery in the Czech Republic. For a different perspective on the landscape, consider Parukářka Park: it is spacious, varied in layout and situated on a hill. At Vítkov, by contrast, the features described are its dense network of walking paths and views of almost the entire city. These differences help you assess the places according to their respective highlights: Parukářka’s size and terrain, or Vítkov’s paths and city views.

Taken together, these attractions offer a varied picture to help you choose your destination: church and cemetery history, a monument associated with the Czechoslovak Legionnaires, a cultural center and a range of landscape features. Consider which of these themes matter most to you during your stay and use them as a guide when looking for a hotel in Prague 3.

Discover more destinations: Prague 2, Zbraslav, Prague 5, Hloubětín, Prague 10, Lipence, Prague 4, Čimice

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