The house in which writer Franz Kafka was born stood on the periphery of what was then the Prague Jewish ghetto. The house was built in the first half of the 18th century according to plans by architect František Maximilián Kaňka on the foundations of earlier Romanesque buildings. It was originally intended to serve the local Benedictine monks who were administering the neighbouring Church of Saint Nicholas. When Emperor Joseph II had the monastery dissolved, the building was bought by the city and was used over the years as an archive and storehouse, a theatre, and residence apartments. Franz Kafka was born in the house in 1883, although only two years later his family moved to Wenceslas Square. Several years later, in 1897, the house was damaged by fire and demolished – the only remaining element was the entrance portal, which was incorporated into the new Neo-Baroque apartment block. The building is currently administered by the city, which had several offices here and uses it for various exhibition, cultural and social projects.