Old Town Hall (Staromestska Radnice)

The Old Town Hall which is situated on the southwest corner of the Square, is actually a fusion of buildings, each with a slightly different architectural style. The earliest dates from the 14th century when blind King John of Luxembourg agreed to a modest dwelling for the town clerk.

The town hall's southern face ends at the Renaissance house At the Minute (Dum U minuty), which was built in 1610 and has a facade decorated with ornamental sgraffito. Franz Kafka lived on the second floor of this building from 1889 to 1896!!

As Prague developed into a wealthy trading city the Town Hall gradually expanded, incorporating Gothic and Renaissance elements over later centuries. Probably the most interesting feature of the building (and the one most mentioned by tourist books on Prague) is the astronomical clock, which was incorporated into the structure in 1490.