Municipal House Prague

Prague's Obecní dům went up between 1905 and 1912 on the site of the old royal court, to designs by Osvald Polívka and Antonín Balšánek, and it remains the most complete statement of Czech Art Nouveau anywhere. Alfons Mucha, Jan Preisler and Max Švabinský all worked on its decoration. At its centre is Smetana Hall, a concert room and ballroom under a glass dome, with the restaurants, café and civic rooms of the building wrapped around it.

Its greatest day was political rather than musical: Czechoslovak independence was declared here in 1918. Musically it has served as the home of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, and each May the Prague Spring festival opens in Smetana Hall with Smetana's "Má vlast" on the anniversary of the composer's death — a ritual the city has kept through every change of regime since the festival began.