Grand Hotel Evropa

The Grand Hotel Evropa is an architectural wonder that has attracted authors, protesters, filmmakers, and intrepid travelers to its elaborate entryway. Located in Prague’s famed Wenceslas Square, it is renowned for its distinctive build, for its sophistication, and for having served as a firsthand witness to formative watershed moments throughout Prague’s history—including the Velvet Revolution protests, which played a significant role in toppling communism in Czechoslovakia.

Originally built in 1872, the hotel was given the curious name of U Arcivévody Štěpána (by Archduke Stephen). In its first few decades, it underwent several rounds of reconstruction until finally finding its ideal uniform in the fashionable geometric art-nouveau style of the early twentieth century.

In the ’20s, it became Hotel Šroubek, after the restaurateur who bought it. It developed a reputation throughout Czechoslovakia and beyond as being as prestigious as it appears. Its reputation was solidified in 1951, when the hotel became nationalized and was renamed the Grand Hotel Evropa. Unfortunately, decades of neglect and disrepair led to it being denationalized in 1989.

Even in that state, its striking facade has remained a point of pride, topped by a golden lamp sculpture in the shape of a globe, symbolizing Europe. Since 2016, Evropa has been revived again. But, as with each round of renovations since its first, special care has been given to preserving its original defining features. The ground floor has remained virtually intact, including original mirrors and chandeliers.

To visit it today gives you a glimpse not quite as far back as its Archduke Stephen era, but certainly into its heyday of welcoming counterculturists and grand, consequential characters into a place perfectly aligned with Prague, a city that continues to change while always keeping lit the lamps and legacy of its past.

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