The most elegant of Nové Město’s many shopping arcades runs through the art-nouveau Lucerna Palace (1920), between Štěpánská and Vodičkova streets. The complex was designed by Václav Havel (grandfather of the former president) and is still partially owned by the family. It includes theaters, a cinema, shops, a rock club and several cafes and restaurants.
In the marbled atrium hangs artist David Černý’s sculpture Kůň, a wryly amusing counterpart to the equestrian statue of St Wenceslas in Wenceslas Square. Here St Wenceslas sits astride a horse that is decidedly dead; it’s safe to assume this is a reference to the state of Czech politics.
The neighboring Novák Arcade, connected to the Lucerna and riddled with a maze of passages, has one of Prague’s finest art-nouveau facades (overlooking Vodičkova), complete with mosaics of country life.
