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Houses on the Southwest Side of Old Town Square

Four houses on Old Town Square west from Železná Street, and closed off to the south by the narrow Kožná Street, burnt down during the May Uprising. House no. 483–484/I, where the houses At the Golden Camel and At the Golden Unicorn used to stand, is now a late Neo-Classical building from 1858 after plans by Jan Bělský.PV [Pavel Vlček], čp. 483/I a čp. 484/I, in: Pavel Vlček a kol., Umělecké památky Prahy. Staré Město, Josefov, Academia, Praha, 1996, p. 335. On the right stands house no. 482/I, which was also originally formed of two houses (At the Golden Crown and At the Golden Horse), connected in the late 18th century in a late Baroque reconstruction.PV [Pavel Vlček], čp. 482/I, in: Pavel Vlček a kol., Umělecké památky Prahy. Staré Město, Josefov, Academia, Praha, 1996, p. 334. After the fire in 1949–1952 the house was connected with the neighbouring houses on the right – no. 481/I called At the Čáp's or At the White AngelPV [Pavel Vlček], čp. 481/I, in: Pavel Vlček a kol., Umělecké památky Prahy. Staré Město, Josefov, Academia, Praha, 1996, pp. 333–334. and no. 480/I called At the Red Fox (At the Srp's, At the Golden Wolf).PV (VV) [Pavel Vlček (Václav Vančura)], čp. 480/I, in: Pavel Vlček a kol., Umělecké památky Prahy. Staré Město, Josefov, Academia, Praha, 1996, pp. 332–333. Only houses no. 482/I and no. 481/I have a unified facade today. The latter was last modified in the late 18th century.

Of the entire row, the house At the Red Fox, on the far right in the picture, is the most valuable in terms of its architecture – it was probably rebuilt in 1694 by Jean Baptist Mathey, the French architect, who also designed St Francis Church at the foot of Charles Bridge, the Archbishop Palace, the Tuscany Palace and Troja chateau.

Just like on the more southeastern side of the square, Sudek was taking pictures of the houses during the peak of the day. The pictures show Sudek's effort to document the extent of the damage throughout the square.