The Prague Acropolis

Jože Plečnik came to Prague at the invitation of Jan Kotěra and taught at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design. At that time he was regarded as the most important Slavic architect, so it little wonder that President Masaryk chose him to renovate Prague Castle. Plečnik’s task was to turn a symbol of feudal power into a symbol of the new Czechoslovak state. In this way he became an architect of Czech (Czechoslovak) statehood, incorporating in his modifications to the castle’s courtyards and President Masaryk’s private quarters not only numerous humanist elements proclaimed as the values of the new republic, but also elements of Czech and Slovak folk heritage. He later made use of the experience he acquired in Prague in the changes he made to the Slovenian city of Ljubljana.