Koruna Shopping Arcade

Shopping in Koruna shopping arcade is shopping in one of the most beautiful arcades in Prague. Right in the middle is Peony Asian Fusion which combines Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese cuisines. Crown Palace attic apartments are perfect if you want to stay the night right in the centre of Prague. Koruna is not a large shopping mall and only has a handful of shops. The entrance to the passage is concealed. If you don’t know there is a shopping arcade here, you can easily walk past it. There are two entrances one on Wenceslas Square and the other on Na Prikope..

Shops in Koruna Shopping Arcade

*Desigual is a ready-to-wear fashion for men, women and children and is known for its bold and colourful style. Four times a year, new collections appear in all branches. It doesn’t really matter in which country or in which branch you go shopping as the collection is the same all over the world

* Bijouterie: a colourful shop full of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pendants, rings and much more.

* Office Shoes: shoes from all well-known brands Birkenstock, Blink, Bronx, Converse, Geox, Helly Hansen, Hunter, Inuovo, Lacoste, Lauren, Lumberjack, Polo Ralph Lauren, Rider, Skechers, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, UGG.

*Exchange Koruna: buys and sells foreign currencies without charges. This is too good to be true! The reality is that you will get a rather poor rate of exchange. The editor of Prague-Now recommends Mango Exchange in Vodickova 41 (in Svetozor Passage)

*iWant Apple Premium Partner: Apple products and Apple Services, new product are on show

*N Hair Studio: One of the few hairdressers in the centre of Prague. Only by appointment (773051053)

Restaurant Burrito Loco: Mexican fast food chain with meat and vegetarian dishes. The meat, vegetables and herbs come from local farmers. You create your own combination and add Mexican salsas and guacamole.

Koruna Was Ahead of its Time

1924: A steam bath was opened. Today, we would calll it a spa. Men and women came on separate days. There was also a beauty salon. The spa rooms were aired at least five times an hour as part of the building’s air conditioning system. The spa was closed in 1975.

1930: An audio system was installed in the Koruna Palace cinema. The cinema shows that the Koruna Palac was also a cultural centre and not just an administrative and commercial building. The cinema opened in 1914 and had 470 seats. In 1950, the curtain fell for Kino Koruna.

1931: Automat Koruna was opened. Customers placed a coin into a slot to get a sandwich or pour themselves a lemonade. It was the first self-service vending machine in Prague. Almost every Praguer visited the automat at least once. In the early 1990s, just before it closed, Automat Koruna had 240 employees.

Every day, around 10,000 people came to get their food from the vending machines, 13 types of 5,000 canapés were sold, five types of salads, 4,000 cakes and the same number of pastries. There were 23 types of main courses along with hot and cold smoked snacks, such as sausages, salami and grilled chicken.

Koruna Shopping Arcade: the Building

Koruna Palac stands at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Na Prikope Street. This opulent building is adorned with Babylonian motifs which show how the nineteenth-century fascination with the Orient was reflected in art. The excavations of ancient Babylon in 1899 received much attention and inspired many artists. Be sure to look up at the impressive glass dome in the middle of the passage.

Once back outside, cross Wenceslas Square to admire the tower of the Koruna building. The exterior is also worth a closer look; a robust square tower adorned with a round crown. Just below this crown, three Art Nouveau figures grace the facade. Note their Babylonian hairstyle and clothing. The middle figure wraps his arms around the two others, each holding a sword.

Location

Koruna Shopping Passage connects Wenceslas Square to Prikope, the busiest shopping street in Prague.

Address: Koruna, Wenceslas Square 1, Prague

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Photos Marianne Crone