Prague's House Signs

Before Empress Maria Theresa introduced identifying numbers to Prague in 1770, houses were known and located by allegorical symbols. Many of them originally had alchemical significance.



The Two Suns

The Golden Key
Castle goldsmiths lived in this house in the 17th century
They paid fees to the city and thus were entitled to advertise their wares 

The Red Lamb 

The Three Fiddles
A family of violin makers lived in this house in the early 18th century




The Golden Wheel
This alchemic symbols represents a stage in the magnus opus, 
the process by which lead purportedly turned into gold

 The White Lion


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