A house that began as the bath of its neighbour, on land of the Knights of St John, and now holds the museum of the film-maker Karel Zeman a few steps from Charles Bridge.
At a glance
The house called V Lázni (“At the Bath”) stands at Saská 3 in Malá Strana, by the Malá Strana end of Charles Bridge. It was built after 1606 as a Renaissance bathhouse added to the neighbouring house no. 286, on ground belonging to or adjoining the commandery of the Order of St John around the church of Our Lady beneath the Chain. Baroque works after 1687 and rebuildings in 1831 and 1884 gave it its present late-classicist appearance. It is a protected cultural monument, and since 2012 it has been home to the Karel Zeman Museum.
Key facts
- Where: Saská 520/3, Malá Strana, Prague 1
- Origin: after 1606, as a Renaissance bathhouse attached to house no. 286
- Later phases: Baroque alterations after 1687 (courtyard part, sculpted portal); extensive rebuildings in 1831 and 1884
- Style: Renaissance and Baroque core, late-classicist facades
- Protection: cultural monument, ÚSKP no. 39573/1-891, protected since 3 May 1958
- Current use: Karel Zeman Museum, opened in 2012
- Coordinates: 50.086924, 14.407325 · open in Google Maps
History
Older sources, the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) records, mention the building as “the rear house with the bath”. It was originally part of the neighbouring house no. 286, on land of the Johannite commandery, the complex of buildings in Lázeňská street and around the church of Our Lady beneath the Chain. The present no. 520 appears to have been built as a new Renaissance bathhouse, attached to no. 286 after 1606, and that Renaissance building fixed the plan of the core of the house, above all its northern part towards the street.
After 1687 the house was altered in the Baroque manner, which added the courtyard part up to today’s plan; a portal with sculpted decoration survives from that phase. Its present late-classicist look comes from the large rebuildings of 1831 and 1884, which also produced the lower courtyard wings, one of them along the Čertovka stream. The cellar, with a brick barrel vault, is probably Renaissance.
In 2012 the house became home to the Karel Zeman Museum, created with the film-maker’s family, which presents the work of the Czech director of Journey to the Beginning of Time, The Fabulous World of Jules Verne and The Fabulous Baron Munchausen and the special effects he invented for them.
What you see
The photograph shows a house of a ground floor and three upper floors, in a plain pale render over a pink-toned base. The windows of the first floor carry triangular pediments and those of the second floor segmental ones, while the top-floor windows have only simple frames; this is the arrangement the heritage record describes, and it notes that the pediments may have had early Baroque predecessors. The facade turns the corner in more than one plane, which fits the NPÚ description of a front facing north towards Charles Bridge in three steps.
At street level there are small shopfronts, and a painted sign across the lane invites visitors into the courtyard shops. The museum’s entrance has wooden doors under striped awnings lettered Film Special Effects Museum.
Practical information
- The Karel Zeman Museum is open daily; Prague City Tourism gives opening hours of 10:00 to 19:00, with last admission at 18:00.
- The exhibition is interactive: visitors can try some of Zeman’s film tricks with their own cameras.
- The exterior and the courtyard can be seen during the day; the rest of the house is not open to visitors.
Getting there
Saská is a short lane in Malá Strana beside the Malá Strana end of Charles Bridge. From the Old Town it is a walk across the bridge; the Malostranské náměstí tram stop is a few minutes’ walk away.
Nearby
- Charles Bridge, a few steps north.
- Museum Kampa, on Kampa island across the Čertovka.
- Franz Kafka Museum, north of the bridge approach.
- The church of Our Lady beneath the Chain, whose Johannite commandery once owned this ground.
Sources
- Památkový katalog (NPÚ), dům V Lázni, ÚSKP 39573/1-891: origin as a bathhouse, building phases, description of facades and cellar.
- Prague City Tourism, Karel Zeman Museum: the exhibition, address and opening hours.
- Ludmila Zeman, Karel Zeman: the museum “came to life in 2012” through the family and its collaborators.
- Muzeum Karla Zemana, official website: address at Saská 3, by Charles Bridge.
- ČÚZK, RÚIAN address register: Saská 520/3, Malá Strana.
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