Who designed the House of the Black Madonna?

Architect Josef Gočár designed the building for merchant František Josef Herbst.

What architectural style defines the building?

The structure is an example of Czech Cubism, built with a reinforced-concrete skeleton inspired by the Chicago School.

What is located inside the building?

The building houses Grand Café Orient alongside the Museum of Czech Cubism, which features permanent collections, temporary exhibitions, and workshops.

Who manages the museum exhibitions inside?

The Museum of Czech Cubism is operated by the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts.

What features characterize Grand Café Orient?

The café features large interior spaces without interior pillars, a balcony overlooking the street, replica cubist furniture, and brass chandeliers.

Prague · Czech Republic

House of the Black Madonna: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Residents passing through Celetná street navigate dense tourist footpaths daily, finding quiet work tables tucked beneath Cubist chandeliers above the crowd.

House of the Black Madonna · CC BY-SA 4.0

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About the place

Josef Gočár built this department store on Celetná street by combining avant-garde Cubist geometry with the surrounding Baroque skyline.

Merchant František Josef Herbst commissioned architect Josef Gočár to build a modern department store in the historic urban core. The project faced opposition from heritage authorities, who required new construction to respect adjacent Baroque buildings. Gočár resolved the tension by shaping angular Cubist facades that harmonize with historical rooflines while introducing radical structural modernism to the old streetscape.

Read on

A reinforced concrete skeleton inspired by the Chicago School allowed open interiors without ceiling support pillars. The ground and lower levels originally held retail counters before later conversions turned them into bank offices and subdivided state workspaces. Subsequent restorations cleared internal partitions and installed the Museum of Czech Cubism, managed by the Prague Museum of Decorative Arts.

Grand Café Orient occupies the floor above the entrance with a balcony overlooking Celetná street. Because few original architectural plans survived political transitions, conservators reconstructed the interior using black-and-white archival photographs. Custom brass chandeliers and replica wooden furniture now furnish the unobstructed hall, maintaining everyday access to preserved avant-garde design.

Associations

Grand Café OrientReconstructed café with brass chandeliers and street balcony.
Czech CubismRare translation of Cubist painting principles into architecture.
Celetná Street CrowdsPedestrian congestion clogs the narrow lane outside the entrance.
Josef GočárProminent modernist architect who engineered the open concrete frame.

Facts

The building was designed by architect Josef Gočár for merchant František Josef Herbst.
A reinforced concrete skeleton allowed interior spaces to function without ceiling support pillars.
The Prague Museum of Decorative Arts operates the Museum of Czech Cubism across the upper levels.
Conservators restored Grand Café Orient using historical black-and-white photographs.

Updated September 10, 2026Source: Wikipedia

House of the Black Madonna: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

What is around42

Josef Gočár built this department store on Celetná street by combining avant-garde Cubist geometry with the surrounding Baroque skyline.

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