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Walk No.1
Walk No.4
Walk No.7
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
(Walk has its own map)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Wenceslas Square Statue of St. Wenceslas National Museum Radio Free Europe State Opera Estates Theatre Charles University House of the Black
Madonna 9. Municipal House 10. Powder Tower 11. Celetná Street 12. Crosses 13. Astronomical Clock
1. Old-New Synagogue 2. Old Jewish Cemetery 3. Pinkas Synagogue 4. Klaus Synagogue 5. Burial Society Hall 6. Jewish Town Hall 7. High Synagogue 8. Spanish Synagogue 9. Franz Kafka Memorial 10. House of the Unicorn 11. Goltz-Kinsky Palace 12. House of the Minute 13. Celetná 3
Church of St. Francis Old Town Bridge Tower Calvary St. John of Nepomuk Brunswick Kampa Square
7. Vojanovy Sady 8. Wallenstein Palace 9. Wallenstein Gardens 10. Kampa Island 11. Devil's Creek Millwheel 12. Church of Virgin Mary Under the Chain 13. Infant Jesus of Prague 14. Entrance to St. Nicholas
Walk No.2
Walk No.5
1. Congress Centre 2. Tábor Gate 3. Leopold Gate
(Walk has its own map)
1. Ungelt Courtyard 2. T˘n Church
1. Malostranská kavárna 2. Lesser Quarter Town Hall
4. 5. 6. 7.
3. 4. 5. 6.
3. Smifiick˘-Montág Palace
Rotunda of St. Martin Vy‰ehrad Cemetery Karlach Park Devil's Pillar
8. Libu‰e's Baths 9. Brick Gate 10. Neklanova 30 11. Neklanova 2 12. Cubist House and Garden 13. Chochol Villa 14. Vy‰ehradská Street 15. Botanical Gardens 16. Emmaus Monastery 17. Faust's House 18. Dvofiák Museum 19. New Town Hall 20. Church of St. Cyril and St. Methodius
Walk No.3 1. Café Slavia 2. National Theatre 3. 4. 5. 6.
Marksmen's Island Goethe Institute Slavonic Island BoÏena Nûmcová
Memorial 7. Îofín 8. Masaryk Embankment 26 9. Masaryk Embankment 16 10. Mánes 11. Fred and Ginger Building
House of the Stone Bell Goltz-Kinsky Palace Pauline Convent Jan Hus Monument
7. St. Nicholas Church 8. Old Town Hall 9. House of the Blue Star 10. House of the Golden Unicorn 11. House of the Stone Table
Walk No.6 (Walk has its own map)
1. 2. 3. 4.
Small Square Rott House The Golden Tiger Montmartre Café
5. Theatre on the Ballustrade 6. Clam-Gallas Palace 7. House of the Golden Well 8. House of the Blue Pike 9. House of the Golden Serpent 10. Italian Chapel 11. Church of St. Clement 12. Church of the Saviour 13. Clementinum 14. Memorial of Swedish Invasion 15. Chapel of Mirrors 16. Entrance to Clementinum 17. Charles's Baths 18. Smetana Museum
Walk No.8
4. House of the Three Little Fiddles 5. Bretfeld Palace 6. House of the Two Suns 7. Departure Point for Walk No. 9 8. Castle Information Centre 9. St. Vitus Cathedral 10. Old Royal Palace 11. Basilica of St. George 12. Golden Lane 13. Powder Tower
Walk No.9 1. 2. 3. 4.
Funicular Paradise Gardens Archbishop's Palace Loreto Chapel
5. 'New World' 6. Strahov Monastery 7. Petfiín Observatory Tower 8. The Hunger Wall 9. Mozart Museum 10. Church of the Sacred Heart 11. Vinohrady 12. Giant Metronome 13. Technical Museum 14. Convent of St. Agnes 15. Church of St. Castullus
Shopping Areas
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Get toPrague know Some of these people have been waiting to meet you for ten centuries! Nonetheless, your guide to Prague – compliments of Visa – has been designed for your busy schedule, and it covers everything from postmodern architecture to medieval legends. But use caution: Going on just one of these short walks may inspire you to extend your stay! The world’s best way to travel
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CONTENTS Walk No.1 – Going Back in Time See where Václav Havel first spoke to the people during the Velvet Revolution. This introductory excursion starts in the present and takes you into Prague’s metaphysical past. Walk No.2 – Stepping Into the Legend The Premyslids. Explore an ancient keep shrouded in myth that formed the Czech national identity. Later, the walk will take you into the New Town. Chochol and unique Cubist architecture. Walk No.3 – Strolling by the Riverside Find out how Janáãek and Dvofiák got their start and why Smetana became a national hero even though Czech was not his strong language. Czech Surrealists. How does Frank Gehry fit into all this? Walk No.4 – Exploring Jewish Prague Rabbi Loew and the Kabbala. Kafka, Freud and Einstein under the same roof. Did you know that Albert Einstein was also an excellent violin player? Walk No.5 – Entering the Old Town Imagine the town as it was a thousand years ago. Then, at a leisurely pace, look around the Old Town Square and uncover the secrets of time. Walk No.6 – Following the King’s Road Trace the steps of Bohemian monarchs. Hear the tale of King Wenceslas’s daring escape from rebelling burghers and look into the theatre where Václav Havel drew inspiration for his plays. Walk No.7 – Crossing the Bridge The most beautiful medieval bridge in Europe? You be the judge. Then, visit the secluded side streets and gardens of the Lesser Quarter. Learn how General Wallenstein’s power-mongering caused his demise. Walk No.8 – Taking the Castle Cafe windows give a view of the palace where Thirty Years’ War began. The royal citadel. Alchemists and the Golden Lane where Kafka wrote The Castle. Walk No.9 – Visiting the Outskirts The best views of the magical city. Josip Pleãnik, the president’s architect, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Stalin all on one tour. Impossible? Not in Prague. Shopping for Czech Arts & Crafts A finely-cut Bohemian crystal vase, Franz Kafka marionette, replica of a medieval ceramic chalice, gilded Easter egg and other unique gift ideas. What to get and where to get it. Your guide to Prague's finest restaurants from Gourmet
Photographs by Miroslav Krob Jr., Guide text by Jan Jonak © Visa - All information was correct at the time of going to press. Visa can take no responsibility for accurancy of that infor mation.
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Walk No.1 Going back in time Take the A or C metro line to Muzeum. When you exit the station you will find yourself at the top
adjoining streets offer a number of night-
of Wenceslas Square,
clubs, cinemas and other venues.
1 the commercial
If you look uphill, you will see
centre of town and
the domed National Museum 3 looming
historically an
above you. Unfortunately, centralised urban
important assembly
planning under the communist regime
point for the Czechs.
devised a highway that effectively cuts off the
Here Václav Havel, the
3
At night, retail makes way for entertainment. Wenceslas Square and the
landmark from the square. On the far side of the road is
dissident who
the former National Assembly, currently the
became President,
headquarters of Radio Free Europe. 4
spoke to the people
Further down along the highway is the ornate
massed on the
yellow State Opera, 5 which occupies a
square during the Velvet Revolution eleven
theatre originally built in 1888 to entertain
years ago. The square and the statue of St.
Prague's German community.
Wenceslas on horseback 2 also witnessed
The 'city of a thousand spires' –
less fondly remembered events: The arrival of
not as you might know it from postcards but
Soviet tanks in 1968 as well as the
the real thing – awaits when you walk down
triumphant march of invading German troops
the sloping square towards the Old Town.
shortly before the outset of World War II. Today, the square is regularly invaded by mobs of shoppers looking for value at its department stores, small shops, boutiques and bookshops.
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9
Going back in time When you enter the pedestrian zone at the bottom of Wenceslas Square
its spacious cafe or explore its elegant interior. On your way to the Municipal House
make certain you follow your map to the
you will pass by the Powder Tower, 10 one
Estates Theatre. 6 Mozart's Don Giovanni
of the former gates to the Old Town.
premiered here in 1787, only six years after
However, you have two other
the theatre opened. Two centuries later the
alternate routes to choose from when leaving
building was a shooting location for Milo‰
the Black Madonna. One takes you across
Forman's Oscar-winning film Amadeus.
Celetná and through the Templova passage
Across the street from the
deeper into Old Town to explore the quiet side
Estates Theatre is an administration building
streets. Your other option is to go down
of Charles University. 7 Founded in 1348 by
Celetná, 11 a major commercial
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of
thoroughfare for centuries, to the Old Town
Bohemia, it is one of the oldest universities
Square, the heart of the historical town centre.
north of the Alps; although at first glance this particular hall would tempt one to believe otherwise. The present-day university is spread throughout the town centre. If you choose to walk down Ovocn˘ trh you will find the House of the Black Madonna, home to the museum of Czech Cubism. 8 At this point in the walk you have several options. If twentieth century architecture is what you enjoy, you shouldn't miss the Municipal House, 9 one of Prague's foremost Art Nouveau buildings. Recently restored to its original splendour, the gorgeously decorated building is just a few steps away. You can take a breather inside
6
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Going back in time the city, stop to see the mechanical wonder
Old Town Square and the adjoining streets have so much to offer it is
of late medieval engineering: The
best to look through your guide so you can
Astronomical Clock. 13 Along with the main
choose the places you want to visit and set
dial that shows Central European time,
your priorities. In the Old Town quarter your
a wheel with signs of the zodiac turns inside
every footstep is a leap into history.
the display revealing the position of the stars.
On your way across the square
The outer ring of the clock, marked with
you will pass a group of 27 white crosses
Arabic numerals, calculates the time from the
embedded in the pavement next to the Old
precise moment of sundown. If you come on
Town Hall. 12
the hour, you will see the twelve apostles
On this spot,
take turns peeking out from two small doors
27 Czech
above the clock. At the same time, figures
Protestant
symbolising Death, Vanity, Greed, and an
noblemen were
Ottoman invader placed around the clock
beheaded in
move with the sound of the bells. The Grim
1621 by
Reaper tolls a bell and turns an hourglass
a Habsburg
signifying that the time has come for the
decree – an
remaining figures
13
who shake their
event that ended the first phase of the Thirty Years' War and began the return of Bohemia to Catholicism. Unique paving-stone patterns are something to look out for when strolling through the city: Designs and symbols on the pavement commemorate historical events and speak of legends. Before you go inside the Old Town Hall and climb its tower to overlook
12
heads in denial.
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Walk No.2 Stepping Into the Legend When you leave the back tract of
1140 onwards, when the seat of Czech kings
the Congress Centre 1 by Na Buãance Street
was permanently moved to the Prague
and then turn right at Na Pankráci you will
Castle, Vy‰ehrad played second fiddle.
soon encounter Vy‰ehrad (High Castle),
A century after Charles IV's reconstruction of
a keep full of old Slavonic myths, which played
the citadel it was razed by Hussite forces.
an important role in the defence of the city.
Entering through the Tábor Gate 2 past the outer fortifications you will soon pass through the more ornate Leopold Gate, 3 built by Italian architects in 1678, which guarded the interior of the fortress. Further along in V pevnosti Street is the Romanesque Rotunda of St. Martin (11th century), 4 the oldest standing building at Vy‰ehrad. Take note of a Prussian cannonball lodged in the stonework near the upper window of the rotunda.
4
Myths and legends surrounding the fortress were an inspiration for a number Much of the mystery
of artists during the national revival era:
surrounding Vy‰ehrad that particularly
Bedfiich Smetana in music, Alois Jirásek in
appeals to Czech national pride sprang up
literature and MikolበAle‰ in painting.
during the reign of Charles IV (1346 – 78).
Further down this road is the neo-Gothic
This Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor
church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which
heavily fortified the castle and also quite
adjoins the Vy‰ehrad cemetery, 5 a gallery
probably had court historians set the legend
of who's who in Czech arts.
of Libuse's prophecy about the greatness of Prague, at the site of his Premyslid ancestors' fabled birthplace. Several early Premyslid kings did indeed rule from Vy‰ehrad and also had a mint there. From
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1
5
Stepping Into the Legend Smetana and Dvofiák are two of
Trastevere (one of the pillars is missing to this
the many music composers, musicians and
day). For this trespass St. Peter repeatedly
operatic divas buried here. The painter Alfons
struck him down into the sea near Venice on
Mucha and the sculptor J.V. Myslbek
his way back to Prague. So when the Devil
represent the visual arts, and literary figures
got back to Vy‰ehrad, the mass had just
include the poet Mácha, Jan Neruda and
finished. Enraged, he threw the pillar through
Karel âapek (the inventor of the word robot).
the roof into the nave of the St. Peter and St.
The Slavin monument (Pantheon), a common
Paul Church and it broke into three pieces.
tomb inside the cemetery designed and
As you stroll along the
completed by Antonin Wiehl in the 1890s,
battlements, drinking in the view of the Vltava
honours prominent Czech artists and thinkers.
and Prague suburbs, take note of the rocky
Remnants of a Romanesque
outcrop at the most westerly point of the
bridge across the road from the Peter
fortification and the ruined stone building
and Paul Church point the way into Karlach
known as Libu‰e's Baths. 8 Another
Park, 6 the display ground for statues of
Vy‰ehrad legend has it that in time of most
mythical Czech ancestors by Myslbek.
dire need, knights who are trapped inside the
Around the corner in another part of the quiet
cliff will come out – at Libu‰e's command – to
green park is the 'Devil's Pillar,' 7 a structure
the rescue of the Bohemian kingdom.
consisting of three broken stone columns that lean against each other and which might have been used as a sundial by the Premyslids. One of the many tales about the origin of the pillar involves, naturally enough, the Devil: A priest accrued heavy debts in gambling and to pay for them he bet Satan that he could serve a mass faster than the Horned One could bring a pillar from St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. In order to get the priest's soul as fast as possible, the Devil cheated and took a pillar from Santa Maria in
6
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10
the Botanical Gardens 15 in the university quarter or continue towards Karlovo námûstí (Charles Square). On your way up the hill towards the square, you will pass the Emmaus Monastery 16 on your left. Two sky-bound spires of a church near the building which is currently the home to the Czech Academy of Sciences dominate this part of the city skyline. Once on Charles Square, the largest square in Prague, the first noteworthy building you will come across is the pink, Baroque Faust's House, 17 where the alchemist Edward Kelly stayed during his employ by Rudolf II. Since the New Town is the most spread-out area for sightseeing in the city, there are several choices to be
Stepping Into the Legend
made. You can visit the Dvofiák Museum inside the Villa Amerika 18 in Ke Karlovu Street or cross Charles Square lengthwise to
Descending from Vy‰ehrad down the winding Vratislavova Street from
see where a mob led by the reformer priest
the Brick Gate 9 on the north battlement,
Jan Îelivsk˘ threw the mayor of the New
visit Neklanova Street, which branches off
Town and his councillors out a window of the
from Vratislavova further down the hill.
New Town Hall, 19 thus starting off the
Neklanova 30 is the address of a Cubist
Hussite revolution in 1419. Another option is to go down
apartment building 10 designed and completed by Josef Chochol in 1912 – 13.
Resslova Street to pay homage to Czech
The facade of house No. 2 on the same
agents sent by the government-in-exile in
street is another Cubist project from the
London, who, in 1942, assassinated
same period. 11 Nearby there is an
Reinhard Heydrich, the head Nazi in the
impressive Cubist house and garden 12 at
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and
the corner of Ra‰ínovo nábfieÏí and
after several weeks in hiding were cornered
Vnislavova where Chochol managed to make
at the Orthodox Church of St. Cyril and St.
the best possible use of an oddly-shaped
Methodius 20 by the Gestapo. The
property. Last, but not least, an additional
assassination brought a brutal retaliation by
Chochol villa on Ra‰ínovo nábfieÏí
the occupying forces and the Nazis
underneath the Vy‰ehrad rock tops off this
massacred, deported and levelled a whole
reservation of Cubist landmarks. 13
village outside of Prague (Lidice), among other severe reprisals.
From here, your best bet to continue the walk is to go back along the waterfront and up Vy‰ehradská 14 for two blocks into the New Town. When you reach Na Slupi, you can visit
18
19
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1 1
Walk No.3 Strolling Along the Waterfront
The Absinthe Drinker looks
Across Národní tfiída (National
through the misty embodiment of his muse
Avenue) is the neo-Renaissance National
– some call the green figure in the painting
Theatre, built with private donations from
'the bad mood' – at the Cafe Slavia, 1 one
those in sympathy with the emerging Czech
of the former meeting places for dissidents
nationalism. Foundation stones for the building were brought in from important
2
historical sites in Bohemia and Moravia in 1868. However, a fire destroyed much of the new building just a few weeks after it opened to the public in 1881, and the theatre had to be completed two years later under the supervision of Josef Schulz, who also designed the National Museum and the Museum of Decorative Arts. Opening night premiere was Bedfiich Smetana's Libu‰e, an opera based on a tale about the grand future of Prague
and students during the Velvet Revolution.
predicted by the Premyslid soothsayer
The riverside windows of the cafe offer
Libu‰e. Paradoxically, Smetana, who grew
a dramatic view of the Prague Castle and
up speaking German, never fully mastered
Petfiín Hill and the Národní tfiída side looks
the Czech language. More than thirty years
onto the National Theatre. 2 Národní was
later, in 1916, Leo‰ Janáãek finally received
where security police cordoned off and
critical acclaim with JenÛfa, an opera he
battered demonstrating students in
had written in 1903. In fact, even Antonín
November, 1989, effectively launching more
Dvofiák got an early start with the
unrest. Theatres in Prague went on strike to
provisional National Theatre Orchestra
express solidarity with the students, the
before the building was completed. He
protests escalated and within a week nearly
played the viola under the baton of Smetana
a million Czechs gathered at Letná Plain,
in the 1860s.
toppling the government.
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7
Strolling Along the Waterfront Looking down the Most Legií
Across the road from the
(Bridge of the Legions) from the National
Institute is a small bridge that leads to the
Theatre you will see Marksmen's Island, 3
Slavonic Island, 5 the former centre of
first used as a firing range in 1476. The
numerous social and Nationalist festivities
island is now a peaceful city park with an
in the mid-1800s. A Pan-Slavic Congress
outdoor cinema. Masarykovo nábfieÏí
chaired by the prominent Czech thinker
(Masaryk Embankment), named after the first
Franti‰ek Palack˘ was held on the island in
Czech president, offers an impressive
June 1848. The Congress was cut short
selection of early 20th century architecture
when an uprising in the city was
ranging from Art Nouveau to neo-
suppressed by the Austrian army.
Renaissance, and is also one of the most
One end of the island displays
pleasant parts of Prague to walk in.
a bronze memorial to BoÏena Nûmcová, 6
Masarykovo nábfieÏí No. 32 is a Secession
the most prominent woman writer of the
building from 1905 initially built for a bank; it
Czech ‘national awakening.’ Descend the
housed the East German Embassy until
steps to the river and you will find row boats
1990, and is now home to the Goethe
for rent here as at other accessible parts of
Institute. 4
the Vltava. Another set of stairs from this wooded island park leads you to a wellhidden outdoor cafe on a moored river raft. The Îofín concert and dance hall 7 is situated on the opposite side of the island. The hall was built in 1886, but with the opening of the Rudolfinum, a spacious Italian neo-Renaissance concert hall and gallery down river, home to the Czech Philharmonic and also the main venue for Prague Spring Music Festival, the Slavonic island lost some of its social prominence, but Îofín is still the place for a number of regular
10
societal balls, concerts and fashion shows.
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1
4
Strolling Along the Waterfront Walking up river from the
functionalist Mánes building. 10 The art
Slavonic Island you will come across the
centre, named after the landscape painter
eclectic architectural styles Prague is
Josef Mánes, was built in the 1920s and was
known for. Not only the facades, but also
closely linked with progressive Czech art
the grand interiors are worth getting a peek
movements. The Mánes Association of
at. Masarykovo nábfieÏí No. 26 has a finely
Artists was founded in opposition to the Czech Academy of Arts at the end of the 19th century. Its members included Emil Filla,
11
Otto Gutfreund and Bohumil Kubi‰ta. The Association brought cosmopolitan elements into the Czech arts scene and the first major exhibition organised by the independents was that of Auguste Rodin in 1902. Edvard Munch followed in 1905. The first surrealist exhibition, titled Poetry 1932, included the works of Dali, Klee and Giacometti. The 'local' art scene was represented by ·t˘rsk˘ and Toyen among others. Avant-garde intellectuals Karel Teige and Vítûzslav Nezval held meetings at Mánes in the 1930s and the Association also hosted the likes of Paul Eluard and Andre Breton. Last stop on the walk is the Tanãící dum (Fred and Ginger Building). 11 The much-debated office building was
crafted Art Nouveau facade with plastic
completed in 1994, under the auspices of
motifs of owls and monkeys. 8 A colourful
President Václav Havel who owned the
mosaic near the roof and ornamentation
property. Vlado Miluniç's design was co-
surrounding the doorway of House No. 16
authored by Frank Gehry and the building
repays a closer look. 9
was erected on a lot that had been levelled
A Gothic water tower that was redesigned with Renaissance motifs and topped with a Baroque roof rises above the
during a bombing raid by the US Air Force in February 1945.
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2
Walk No.4 Exploring Jewish Prague ‘A town built of stone and mortar
the Old-New Synagogue, 1 where Rabbi
where things are extraordinarily cheap, where
Loew (Jehuda Loew ben Bezalel, 1512-
poultry and grain can be purchased for next to
1609), the creator of the legendary Golem,
nothing and where man and beast can easily
held services during that era of cultural and
find enough to live on,’ said the Jewish
economic flowering which Prague
merchant Ibrahim Ibn Jacob of Prague in 965
remembers as the 'Golden Age.'
in the earliest written record of the town. Jews have lived in Prague for
Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor and patron of arts and alchemy,
at least 900 years and survived dozens of
who admired all forms of occult knowledge,
persecutions that usually took place when
recognised Rabbi Loew's erudition and
local rulers were needy of funds. The Jewish
scholarship and granted the Chief Rabbi
community was confined to the ghetto, much
audience to discuss the Kabbala, an
of which was levelled to make way for
unprecedented gesture extended from
statuesque apartment buildings at the turn of the
1
a king towards the Jews. Rabbi Loew's magical powers
20th century [1893-1917].
reached even beyond his death, and the
Only half a dozen
legend goes that he enlarged his grave at the
synagogues survived the
Old Jewish Cemetery 2 to make room for
massive rebuilding of the
his grandson to be buried beside him.
ghetto's ten hectares, one
Between approximately 1400 and 1787, well
of them being the oldest
over 12,000 people (there are 12,000
standing in Europe,
tombstones, but far more people were buried there) were laid to rest at the cemetery and graves are stacked up to twelve layers deep. The gravestones bring testimony of the Jews' history and they are marked with symbols and encoded with inscriptions describing the deeds and professions of the deceased. Scissors, naturally enough, denote the tomb of a tailor, while a fish indicates the family name Karpeles, which sounds like 'carp.'
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Exploring Jewish Prague Next to the cemetery in ·iroká
and traditions. Rare illustrated manuscripts
Street is the Pinkas Synagogue, 3 which
document the history of Prague's Jewish
serves as a memorial to Czech and
community since the 10th century. Part of the
Moravian Jews murdered in Nazi camps.
synagogue originally housed a School of
Their 77,297 names are written on the walls
Talmud – founded by Rabbi Loew – in the
inside the synagogue. Nearly half of the
1500s. Near the Klaus Synagogue is the
victims were from Prague. Also displayed
Burial Society Ceremonial Hall. 5 The Burial
here is an exhibition of children's artwork
Society was codified by, who else, Rabbi
from the Theresienstadt concentration
Loew. Here you can see artefacts and
camp. Of the 140,000 people, including
paintings illustrating the importance of the
15,000 children, who were sent to the camp,
Burial Society in the community, and an
17,000 survived the Holocaust.
exhibition of medical instruments.
On the other side of the
Across the street from the Old-
cemetery, in U starého hfibitova Street, is the
New Synagogue is the Jewish Town Hall, 6
Klaus Synagogue, 4 which houses
which was commissioned by Mordechai
a collection of manuscripts and books as well
Maisel (1528-1601), mayor of the Jewish
as an exhibition of items from Jewish festivals
town, after whom Maiselova Street is named. The clock hands with Hebraic numerals placed on a roof gable of the Town Hall turn 'counter-clockwise.' Maisel also founded the High Synagogue 7 next door to the Town Hall; until 1883 the two buildings were interconnected. Fire was a constant danger in the congested ghetto. A terrible conflagration swept the quarter in 1689, burning the Town Hall to the ground while the High Synagogue and just a few other structures remained standing.
6
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8
Development plans of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph for the Prague centre reached far beyond Josefov, and one version included the extension of PafiíÏská Avenue to meet up with the bottom of Wenceslas Square doing away with the Astronomical Clock tower in the process. Prague intellectuals, including Kafka, strongly opposed the proposals. The novelist frequented cafes where the thinkers gathered, including his good friend and publisher Max Brod, who refused to obey
Exploring Jewish Prague
Kafka's dying wish to burn his manuscripts. Brod is also credited with discovering and promoting Leo‰ Janáãek and also put Ha‰ek's The Good Soldier ·vejk to music.
The Spanish Synagogue, 8
One night, the Fanta Literary
which is located outside the ghetto in Du‰ní
Salon at Old Town Square No. 17, the
Street, was built on the site of the Old
House of the Unicorn, 10 saw Brod playing
9
School, allegedly the
piano, accompanying Albert Einstein who
oldest synagogue in
played a violin sonata by Mozart. Einstein
Prague, built in the
taught at Charles University in 1911. Kafka
1100s. Du‰ní, in
and the illustrious journalist Egon Kisch
fact, was the location
looked on. Reputedly the company also
of one of the oldest
included the pacifist Bertha von Suttner, the
Jewish districts in
first woman to receive the Nobel Peace
Prague. The present
Prize. Other people who visited the Fanta
synagogue was built
Literary Salon were Rilke, Meyrink (author of
in the 19th century
The Golem), and even Sigmund Freud!
and was designed to minister to
Across the square at the GoltzKinsky Palace, 11 Kafka confronted his
descendants of Sephardic Jews who settled
angst at the German-Language Imperial
in Prague after escaping the Inquisition in
school. His anxieties were also spurred on
Spain in the 16th century. With social reforms
by his nanny who used to walk him to
in the 1800s many residents left the ghetto,
school. Every single day she would warn
especially Reform Jews.
him: 'Today is when I will finally tell on you to
Franz Kafka's family also left the ghetto, and memorials dedicated to the writer are found all over the inner city (he
your teacher.' This early experience found its way into Kafka’s novels. Kafka's family lived in the
lived at more than 30 Prague addresses!), so
House of the Minute 12 which is now part of
it is advisable to visit the Kafka Museum if
the Old Town Hall. Back along Celetná
you want to follow his footsteps. The
Street, the house at No. 3 has a window that
museum facade carries a bust 9
leads directly into the T˘n Church; this is
commemorating Kafka's birthplace, although
another place the young Kafka lived and
the original building was torn down during the
eventually wrote about in The Trial. 13
redevelopment of the ghetto.
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1 1
Walk No.5 Entering
the Old Town As you exit the T˘n courtyard
It takes an active imagination to visualise the Ungelt serving as a customs
through its western portal, you will come
house for traders in the dark ages. Some
across the Church of the Virgin Mary
historians believe that this was an early town
of T˘n. 2 The first church, which in its time
centre and one of the cross-roads of
was part of the T˘n hospice, stood on this
European trade. Merchants from Burgundy,
site as early as 1135, but the foundations of
Flanders and other parts of Europe unloaded
the present-day church were laid two hundred
their carts and paid taxes here (Geld means
years later. The T˘n church was completed in
money in German) and then sought
1457 under the reign of George of Podûbrady,
accommodations at the hospice inside the
the only Hussite king in history. However, as early as the late
T˘n (the Celtic word t˘n is akin to the English town) where they were under the full
1300s, the T˘n heard the first sermons of
protection of the king. The city within a city
reformist clergy and a few decades later the
was larger than today's Ungelt courtyard. 1
church became one of the religious centres
At night-time, townsfolk came
of the Hussite movement; the reformers
for news and to partake in festivities at the
believed that the chalice as well as the bread
Ungelt – the only rule was to leave all
should be received by the laity in the
weapons with the gatekeeper. Today you
Eucharist. After the defeat of the Protestants
can do your shopping here without fearing
at the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620,
for your life.
the T˘n came back under the control of the Roman Catholic Church. The great fire of 1689 led to a major reconstruction of the church and its Baroque interior is one of the finest Prague has to offer.
2
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4 1
3
Entering the Old Town As you walk through the narrow
turn of the century, replacing the squalor on
T˘nská alley next to the towering church, the
the south boundary of the former Jewish
first building you will come to when you enter
ghetto. The only exception to the rule is
the Old Town Square is the House of the
a former convent of the Pauline order; it is
Stone Bell, 3 a building with the best
the three-storey Baroque building. 5
preserved Gothic facade in Prague. The Stone Bell now houses an art gallery. Next to the Stone Bell is the late
Across from the Goltz-Kinsky Palace is a monument dedicated to Jan Hus by the sculptor Ladislav ·aloun. 6 The
Baroque Goltz-Kinsky Palace. 4
religious dissenter Jan Hus (John Huss) was
A significant moment in modern Czech history
burned at the stake for his views in 1415. Past the God's Warriors and the other Utraquists lounging around the upright Hus
7
on the large pedestal in the middle of the square is the Church of St. Nicholas, 7 the patron of merchants, that was erected in 1735 by Killian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, an architect from a family of renowned Bavarian builders who settled in Prague. Dientzenhofer also designed the Church of St. Nicholas in the Lesser Quarter. The Old Town St. Nicholas changed hands several times and the present bare interior can be
took place at the Palace when Klement
attributed to its owners, the Czechoslovak
Gottwald announced the communist coup
Hussite Church.
from the palace balcony to a crowded square in February, 1948. In the 1800s, the same claim could be made of Alfred Nobel's stay at the palace. Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, was allegedly convinced by the Baroness Bertha von Suttner, a pacifist, to found the Nobel Peace Prize. Houses on the north side of the square across the palace were built at the
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Entering the Old Town Directly across from St.
space and over the course of centuries all
Nicholas, the open area with benches is the
the buildings on the block were bought up
site of the former neo-Gothic north wing of
and reconstructed for the expanding
the Old Town Hall that was burned down by
municipal administration. First to be added
the Nazis as retribution for the Prague
was the KfiíÏ House in 1369. Mike‰ the
uprising that took place a week before the
Furrier's house followed in 1458 and several
war ended. To understand the eclectic
other buildings were eventually incorporated
structure of the Old Town Hall, 8 we have to
into the complex. The last acquisition was
trace the history of the Czech estates,
the House of the Minute, purchased in 1896.
especially of the Prague burghers who
Reconstruction of its Baroque facade
gradually gained power alongside Church,
revealed a previously undocumented
King and gentry.
Renaissance sgraffito of spectacular quality. Do not leave the Old Town Square without exploring its southern arcades. Many houses, Baroque and older, have house signs and this is something to keep a lookout for when sightseeing in the Old Town and the Lesser Quarter. In the past, the signs served to identify houses. For 8
example, House No. 25, across the
Prominent families from the
square from the
town provided loans to their sovereigns.
Astronomical Clock,
Hence, John of Luxembourg, needy of
is the House of the
war funds, allowed the Old Town to
Blue Star. 9 Further
found a hall for municipal purposes in
down the arcades,
1338. A tax on wine paid for the
No. 20 is the House
purchase and development of the Wolflin
of the Golden
House on the corner and the adjoining
Unicorn 10 where
tower that was completed in 1364. The
Bedfiich Smetana opened his first school of
astronomical clock was added in 1410 and
music in 1848. Some houses have less
perfected in 1490 and 1560.
abstract names such as No. 18, House of the
As the town grew and prospered, Old Town Hall claimed more
Stone Table, 11 where, a long time ago, the weary traveller could get a square meal.
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Walk No.6 Following
the King's Road
Charles IV put on his shoes
Old Town Square was an
made of straw and began his walk from the
important stop, and from there the royal
Prague castle to Vy‰ehrad, the Crown of the
party continued to Malé námûstí (Small
Bohemian Kingdom resting firmly
Square), into Karlova (Charles Street) and
on his head. He was the first and the last
over the Charles Bridge. In the Lesser
monarch whose coronation exhibited such
Quarter the route went through Mostecká
a sign of humility before his subjects.
(Bridge Street) over Malostranské námûstí
Regardless of the theatrics, or maybe also
(Lesser Quarter Square) and up the hill by
because of them, Charles IV had an
what is now Nerudova (named after a poet)
immensely successful reign.
and Ke Hradu (To the Castle Street, literally)
He founded the New Town and the Prague (Charles) University, laid the
towards the front gate. In the middle ages, Malé
foundations of the St. Vitus Cathedral and the
námûstí 1 was a fruit and vegetable
Stone (Charles) Bridge and carried out many
market and the triangular square now
other civic improvements. The kingdom also
surrounds a well dating to 1560 that is
made territorial gains. Charles's name was
decorated with superb ironwork and topped
added to the bridge, different streets and
by a gilded Lion of Bohemia.
buildings, and institutions during the Czech national revival in the late 1800s. We will probably never know
Many houses in the area still have Romanesque cellars, but the gradual redevelopment of this part of Old Town,
whether his future subjects were put on
formerly inhabited by merchants and
a special cleaning detail the day before the
artisans, led to the more recent above-
procession (sewage used to be more than
ground structures you see today.
ankle deep in places); nevertheless, this walk and the next will follow Charles's and his successors' steps on the King's Road.
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1
7
Following the King's Road in the 14th century. In 1907, the building The Rott House, 2 which now
housed Prague's first cinema. The House of
sports a neo-Renaissance facade and served
the Golden Serpent, 9 where, in 1714, the
as an ironmongers shop until recently, was
Armenian merchant Deodatus Damajanus
once owned by the printer Jan Pytlík, who, in
opened Prague's first coffee house, is right
1488, published the first Bible in Czech.
across the street. The Renaissance House of the
Continuing along the coronation route in the narrow Karlova, the street soon meets
Crown of France, Karlova 4, is where
Husova. A few short steps off the route to the
Johannes Kepler lived and researched the
left is the Golden Tiger, 3 a pub where the
physical laws that he later published in The
Czech novelist Bohumil Hrabal had a beer
New Astronomy. Starting in the late 1500s,
with the American President Bill Clinton. The
this area was also
Golden Tiger was also frequented by Czech
home to Italian
dissidents in the 1970s and 1980s. Around
craftspeople
the corner in ¤etûzova is the recently re-
invited by the
opened Café Montmartre, 4 haunt of artists
Emperor Rudolf II
and writers before the First World War. If you
to produce the
continue to the river from here you will soon
aesthetically-
come across the Theatre on the Balustrade,
pleasing artefacts
5 where Václav Havel worked as
he was fond of.
a playwright in the 1960s.
The Italian Chapel 10 on the other side of
However, back along Husova is the Clam-Gallas Palace. 6 Designed by the
6
Karlova is where these artists attended mass. The Church of Saint Clement,
Viennese architect Fischer von Erlach about
11 next door to the chapel, was taken over
1700, the building is one of his most
by the Jesuits from the Dominican order when
important contributions to Prague. On the
they first arrived in Prague. Saint Clement
corner of Karlova and Semináfiská is the
was rebuilt to plans by Dientzenhofer in the
House of the Golden Well; 7 saints were
early 1700s. The Church of the Saviour, 12
placed on its Baroque facade after the
on the other side of the chapel, was founded
outbreak of the plague in the early 1700s.
by the Jesuits in the late 1500s and was
Further down, on the corner of Liliova, is the
designed by two leading Baroque architects
House of the Blue Pike 8 – King Wenceslas
of the time, Anselmo Lurago and Francesco
IV, his court sorcerer and the king's favourite
Caratti. Clerics from this church went on
dog used to visit a pub located in this house
missions to the New World.
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13
18
sites inside the complex. Entrance to the Clementinum, 16 where the Jesuits operated until the order was disbanded in 1773, is next door to Saint Clement. Hidden away behind high walls, the Clementinum is larger in land area than Old Town Square and quite a contrast to the busy winding streets of the Old Town. Upriver, on a pier just past
Following the King's Road In 1556, the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand called in the newlyformed Jesuit order to Prague to strengthen
the bridge, are Charles's Baths. 17 At the end of the pier is a museum dedicated to BedďŹ ich Smetana, 18 in a neo-Renaissance building that used to be the Old Town Waterworks. When the old baths were the
the Catholic faith in Bohemia and bring the
furthest building on the pier, the story goes
Czechs the counter-reformation principles
that Wenceslas IV, who was held captive at
that would dampen their ongoing Hussite
the Old Town Hall stockade for several
inclinations. The Jesuits were given a large
weeks by rebelling burghers and gentry who
area in the Old Town to build a university,
united against him, asked to be released for
libraries and other educational facilities to
a bath on a hot day. The king, dressed in
compete with the University of Prague (now
townsman's clothes, was escorted to the
Charles University), at that time under the
baths, and once inside the steam of the
influence of moderate Hussite Utraquists.
baths managed to slip away from his
The Clementinum 13 now
captors. He cajoled a washerwoman to tie
houses the National Library, comprising
sheets together and lower him into
several million books, including rare
a rowboat on the river. She obliged and also
medieval manuscripts. A statue 14
rowed him across to the Lesser Quarter,
commemorating the defence of the Old Town
which was loyal to the king, and for this
against a Swedish onslaught in 1648, and
service Wenceslas gave her a small keep as
the Chapel of Mirrors, 15 now used as
well as building her a new bath house.
a concert hall, are just two of the noteworthy
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1
Walk No.7 Crossing
the Bridge Thirty sculptures of saints line
KfiiÏovnické námûstí (Square of the Knights of the Red Cross) is named after
the Charles Bridge; a Calvary 3 near the
a hospice brotherhood – the Church of St.
Old Town side carries gold lettering in
Francis 1 is where their monastery used to
Hebrew: Holy, Holy, Holy God. It was placed
stand – who collected tolls on the Judith
there after a Jew allegedly debased the
Bridge. This bridge ran parallel to the course
Christian faith and had to atone for his
of the present Charles Bridge until high water
trespass by paying for the sign. Nearer the Lesser Quarter
swept it away and flooded the Old Town in 1342. Foundations of the Charles Bridge were
stands St. John of Nepomuk; 4 touching
laid fifteen years later, but this new sandstone
the statue is said to fulfil one's wishes. St.
bridge wasn't completed until 1402.
Nepomuk, confessor to the queen, refused to violate his vow of silence and the
The riverside facade of the
enraged king had the priest tortured and
bridge tower 2 on the Old Town side was severely damaged during Swedish shelling at the end of the
4
thrown off the Charles Bridge into the Vltava, where he drowned. On the left, off the bridge on
Thirty Years' War, but the
the Lesser Quarter side, is a statue of
eastern side of the tower
Brunswick. 5 Legends surrounding
has copies of the original
the knight with a gilded sword are akin to
decorations: The patron
the ones where the Vy‰ehrad warriors will come out to save
saints of Bohemia, Adalbert and Procopius, on
5
the kingdom. Only
top; St. Vitus, the patron of the bridge, in the
he does not have to
centre; Charles IV, seated on the bottom
do much, a flash of
right, and Wenceslas IV on the bottom left.
fancy swordplay in
This Gothic masterpiece was built by Peter
the air – and the
Parléfi, who also supervised the construction
enemies' heads roll.
of the new bridge. Heads of twelve Hussite leaders were hung from the tower for ten years until the invading Protestant Saxons removed them in 1631.
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Crossing the Bridge Instead of going past the
land area is surpassed only by the Prague
Lesser Quarter bridge towers, avoid the
Castle. Access to the Wallenstein Gardens
busy Mostecká and walk down the staircase
is from Letenská. 9
past Brunswick on your left. The charm of
Albrecht von Wallenstein
the Lesser Quarter awaits those who linger
climbed the ladder of power far too quickly
in its side streets and parks. Once you are
and at the bitter end, Wallenstein and his
standing na Kampû (Kampa Square) 6
compatriots, who had been conspiring with
you have two options. You can go
the Swedes to capture the crown of
underneath the bridge or venture onto the
Bohemia, were assassinated by order of
small square in front of you. Both routes
Emperor Ferdinand II. The megalomaniac
join up with the King's Road and the latter
Duke, through a combination of
route you will find on the next page.
Macchiavellian tactics, shrewd business
Most tour groups rush by
dealings and downright treachery,
Vojanovy Sady 7 en route to the bridge or
accumulated a quarter of all the land in
to the castle. The spacious park isn't in
Bohemia. Many of the estates belonged
most guidebooks and you can find some
to aristocrats who were defeated at the
solitude here before negotiating your way up to the castle. In Cihelná Street you will also find a clearing that slopes down to the Vltava. When feeding the swans, watch out for their hungry beaks. After entering Vald‰tejnská Street from Klárov, take note of the early Baroque Wallenstein Palace (Vald‰tejnsk˘ palác) on your left, the most distinguished of the five palaces that line the street. 8 Dozens of houses were levelled to make
Battle of White Mountain and subsequently
way for the ambitious building project.
beheaded on Old Town Square in 1621.
Andrea Spezza and two other Italian
Inside one of the palace halls is a fresco by
architects built the palace, shaping plenty of
Baccio del Bianco immortalising the general
marble, between 1623 and 1629, and its
as Mars, the Roman god of war.
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11
13
Crossing the Bridge From your starting point in
Karmelitská bring with them small sets of silk
Kampa Square you can continue your walk
clothing for the diminutive figure and beseech
by crossing the footbridge on your right or
the miraculous Bambini di Praga for favours. 13
you can take advantage of the great views
When you get to the Lesser
of the Old Town and National Theatre. Until
Quarter Square, enter St. Nicholas from the top
the late 1500s, fields and vineyards covered
of the square. 14 The church is hard to miss,
the entire Kampa Island. 10 As you cross
as its bulk dominates most of the square. Built
the âertovka (Devil's Creek) make a stop at
for the Jesuit Order by the Dientzenhofer family
the millwheel 11 which was operational
between 1703 and 1752, it is, simply put,
until this century.
overwhelming – inside and out. A tale about
In 1169, King Vladislav ceded
the ceiling fresco has it that the painter did not
Kampa and surrounding property to the
want anyone to see his work until he had
Knights of Malta after meeting members of
finished. An impatient Jesuit novice sneaked
the order on crusade in Palestine. The
into the church, hid behind a pillar and watched
Knights were independent of royal, and later,
the painting in progress. The artist, however,
Lesser Quarter town authorities, and their
spotted the Jesuit in a small mirror. When the
fortified compound, called the Jurisdiction of
fresco was unveiled, the novice's brethren
Malta, included what are today Maltese
immediately recognised him portrayed in the
Square and Velkopfievorské námûstí (Grand
work as a poor fisherman and the Jesuit
Prior's Square), where you will find the oldest
became a laughing-stock for all time.
church in the Lesser Quarter, The Church of The Virgin Mary Under the Chain. 12 Hussites, Swedes and fires devastated the quarter, and any place you visit is layered with history. Houses have Romanesque cellars, Gothic walls, Renaissance roofs and Baroque facades. Or a combination of the above. Pilgrims who paid, and still pay, homage to the Infant Jesus at the Church of the Virgin Mary Victorious in
14
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4 1
Walk No.8 Taking the Castle Sitting down in the Malostranská
House of the Two Suns (No. 47), birthplace
kavárna 1 is a good way to get ready for your
and residence of the journalist
ascent to the Prague Castle. This landmark
and writer Jan Neruda (1834 – 91). 6
cafe was frequented by Franz Kafka when he
Neruda's essays, poetry and short stories
lived in the Lesser Quarter and wrote up at the
capture the essence of Prague, especially
castle. Outside its windows, past the tram
the Lesser Town, Jewish Quarter and Old
tracks, is the Renaissance Lesser Quarter
Town. Neruda masterfully describes human
Town Hall, 2 where, in 1575, Bohemian
nature in his Stories from the Lesser Quarter. How did it come about that the
Protestants drafted
Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner Pablo
a plea for the legalisation
Neruda took his pen name from this Czech
of their religious beliefs.
writer? One story is that he simply admired
The Habsburg Emperor
Jan Neruda's work. Another tells that he
Maximilian II refused to
needed a pseudonym for his literary
sign the document. From
endeavours, saw Neruda's name in
the other cafe windows
a magazine, liked the sound of it and
you will see the Smifiick˘-
adopted it without reading a single line.
Montág Palace, 3 the
If you want to stay on the hill
staging post, some forty-odd years later, for
and later continue sightseeing, keep in mind
a lynching party that left for the castle to meet
– before entering the front gate of the castle
the Imperial Chancellors, sparking off the
– that Walk No. 9 begins near where you are
Thirty Years' War. More on this when you get
standing. 7 If, instead, you enter the castle at
up the hill.
this point, prepare for an onslaught of historical Nerudova Street has a number
fact and legend, not to mention a staggering
of fine Baroque townhouses with richly
variety of architectural styles. A short guide
decorated facades. Makers of string
can barely scratch the surface of what
instruments lived at the House of Three Little
hundreds of books have mined. You can visit
Fiddles (No.12). 4 The Bretfeld Palace (No.
the castle information centre, 8 past the
33) is where Mozart and Casanova attended
ornate Matthias Gate, for more resources.
society balls. 5 Where the road turns and goes directly to the castle, you will find the
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1
Taking the Castle The story of St. Vitus 9 in
The Bohemian Crown Jewels
many ways parallels the development of the
are the most precious possession of St. Vitus
whole citadel and the general course of
and they are securely locked away in the
Czech history.
Royal Treasury – under seven locks and
Built on the site of a rotunda
keys in fact, which are held by different
founded by Prince Wenceslas c. 925 (fifty
Church and governmental institutions. The
years after the hill was settled by the
treasury is in the St. Wenceslas Chapel,
Premyslids), it was transformed into a three-
a Gothic jewel placed by Peter Parléfi on the
aisled Romanesque basilica in 1060.
site of the original rotunda.
In 1344, Charles IV summoned
Perhaps the only chapel in the
Matthias of Arras from the papal court at
cathedral which tops St. Wenceslas is four
Avignon to lay the foundations for the
hundred feet away from the front door. An
present church. Peter Parléfi (builder of the
estimated two tons of silver were used to
Charles Bridge) continued the work from
decorate the tomb of St. John of Nepomuk, at
1352 (three years before Prague became the
the entrance to the chapel of the same name.
crown capital of the Holy Roman Empire) until his death in 1399, when his sons picked up the mammoth project. Hussites severely damaged St. Vitus in 1421. Additional work was done on the church at the turn of the following century and in the 1560s. During the centuries of Habsburg rule, St. Vitus sat pretty much neglected like a dusty museum on a hill. Work picked up again in the mid-19th century with the coming of the National Revival; the last renovations on the church facade were carried out as late as 1929.
9
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12
1
Taking the Castle Indoor jousting tournaments
came from the Premyslid dynasty and later,
were held in the spacious Vladislav Hall of the
when Bohemia achieved the status of
Old Royal Palace. 10 Bohemian Kings
kingdom, virgins from the order – in the
resided in the palace until the 1500s.
ultimate union of secular and clerical power
Afterward, Habsburg kings and emperors
– crowned the wives of Czech kings.
used the western wing of the castle on their
Golden Lane 12 was a double
visits to Prague from Vienna, the centre of the
row of decrepit wooden shacks until the reign
empire. The Palace still housed the offices of
of the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa,
the Bohemian state until the late 1700s.
who modernised much of the castle in the
The Chancellery adjoining
neo-classical style. Popular belief has it that
Vladislav Hall was the site of the infamous
the lane got its name from alchemists who
second Prague Defenestration in 1618.
worked for Rudolf II. In reality, goldsmiths set
Fenestra in Latin means window; hence, the
up shops here after the great fire in the
Imperial Chancellors were thrown out the
Lesser Quarter in 1541. If you want to find
window. However, they landed in a ditch full
out how to turn lead into gold, visit the
of sewage and escaped unharmed. This
Museum of Alchemy at the Powder Tower. 13
was later attributed to a miracle.
The Golden Lane also inspired writers, Franz
The oldest surviving church in
Kafka rented house No. 22 to work on his
the castle complex is the Basilica of St.
novel The Castle. Jaroslav Seifert, Nobel
George. 11 Although it was rebuilt several
Prize winning poet and one of the first to sign
times, recent restoration preserved many of
the dissident manifesto Charter 77, also drew
its features from the early tenth century.
from the lane's genius loci. Then, in the
The Convent of St. George, founded by
1960s, the houses got their pastel coats.
Prince Boleslav in 973, housed the first Bohemian monastic order. Its first abbesses
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1 4
5
Walk No.9 Visiting
the Outskirts
There are two ways to go on this walk. If you are in the Lesser Quarter, take the funicular 1 from U lanové dráhy
some of which were confiscated during the Napoleonic Wars. Further downhill from the
to the top of Petfiín Hill and backtrack to
Loreto you will discover Nov˘ Svût, 5 a
the Prague Castle. If you are standing by
secluded little neighbourhood that shines
the front castle gate, visit the Paradise
with old world charm. Or continue along
Garden 2 just underneath the castle before
Loretánská, cross a small square and go up
going on the walk.
Pohofielec; take the first left and enter the
Slovene architect Josip Pleãnik, who was invited by the first Czechoslovak
courtyard of the Strahov Monastery. 6 The Premonstratensian
President T.G. Masaryk to remodel the castle
Monastery has the Museum of National
courtyards and interiors, also carried out
Literature and an art gallery which displays
major landscaping around the complex.
work ranging from Gothic art to Romanticism
Paradise Gardens was one of his projects
– accumulated by Premonstratensians over
and it offers a spectacular view of the city.
the centuries. The Theological Hall boasts
Having soaked in a bit of
impressive original woodwork, historical
Paradise, go west on Hradãanské námûstí
globes, and rare manuscripts, including the
– taking note of the Baroque Archbishop's
Strahov New Testament dating to the 800s –
Palace 3 on your right – until you verge off
900s. The Strahov Library has an eight-
onto Loretánská Street and down to the
-hundred-year history; however, a fire in 1258
Loreto Chapel. 4 The chapel, modelled
destroyed many volumes, the Hussite wars
after the original Loreto near Ancona, Italy,
caused additional damage, and pillaging
was founded in 1626 to popularise the
Swedes claimed much of the library as war
Catholic faith after years of Protestant
booty in 1648. The Church of the Assumption
turmoil. The Loreto compound includes the
inside the Strahov compound is one of the
Blessed Virgin's Cottage, stuccoed with
several places where Mozart performed on
figures from the Bible, and a treasury with
the organ during his visits to Prague.
gilded and gem-studded liturgical objects –
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9
1
10
Visiting the Outskirts Any path or street you
Smíchov. If you do end up in Smíchov and
take down to the Lesser Quarter offers
you are a Mozart fan, take a taxi to the
spectacular views of the city. But if you
Mozart Museum at Villa Bertramka. 9
want to see it all, visit the 'Eiffel Tower'
If you want to see more work
observatory 7 on Petfiín. You can take
by the 'President's Architect' Josip Pleãnik,
Strahovská Street to the top of the hill,
cab it to Jifiího z Podûbrad Square; the
which is the easier way to go, but your
square is also on the A line of the Metro.
view will be blocked by the Hunger Wall
Pleãnik's Church of the Sacred Heart 10 is
until you get to the observation tower on
exceptional, inside and out. Its interior
your left.
radically contrasts with its austere outside. Your other option is to take
Vinohrady, the neighbourhood
Vyhlídková cesta (Road with a View), starting
where the church is located, has some
just below the Strahov Monastery and
exemplary Secession and Art Nouveau
continuing through the park (former
tenements. Polská, and especially
vineyards) towards the tower. If you keep to
Krkono‰ská (both streets are at the bottom
the right, go uphill and avoid the Hunger Wall
right of the square with your back to the
(Hladová zeì) 8 you can't miss the tower.
church), contain some beautiful buildings
The Hunger Wall, also called
and they are just a three-minute walk away.
the 'Bread Wall,' which extends across the
If you keep going down Polská, you will
Petfiín Hill from Strahov to where the
shortly reach the top of Wenceslas Square.
Lesser Quarter meets Smíchov, was built
You can also venture to the
by the poor during the reign of Charles IV
other side of Vinohrady, namely near the
as perhaps the first instance of a public
intersection of Máchova and Var‰avská.
works project.
This part of Prague has doubled as period
Once you have had your fill of the panorama, make your way down the hill. Keep to the left if you want to get to the Lesser Quarter, or steer right for
Paris and Vienna for visiting film productions. 11
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14
Visiting the Outskirts The view down PafiíÏská Avenue
The Convent of St. Agnes,
from the giant Metronome 12 at Letná Park
founded by King Wenceslas in 1233 and
is definitely worth the hike up the hill. You are
named after his sister Agnes of Bohemia,
standing at the former site of the colossal
was an important centre of worship and
Stalin Monument, which was removed less
learning in the middle ages. Completed for
than a decade after it was put up.
the Poor Clares shortly after Agnes's death in
If you walk along the park
1292, the compound also became home to
taking in the view of the Old Town panorama
the Franciscans. In the 1300s the convent
you can visit the Technical Museum, 13 one
comprised half a dozen churches and
of the two large brown buildings that will be
a college founded by St. Agnes. In 1420, the
a some ways off on your left. Planes, whole
Hussites, regardless of St. Agnes's own
steam locomotives with wheels taller than
dissenting views against the Church, took
12
a basketball
over the convent and used it as an armoury.
player,
Later, the Dominican order, having lost their
automobiles
holdings to the Jesuits, moved in. The
and historical
convent was abolished during the reign of
bicycles are just
Joseph II in 1782 and the decrepit buildings
part of
became homes to artisans and the poor.
what's on
Major archaeological digs and restoration of
display. Or you
the buildings have taken place in recent
can go back to
decades. The Czech patron St. Agnes was
the Old Town
beatified in 1874 during the National Revival
and visit the
period and canonised a week before the
Convent of St.
Velvet Revolution in 1989. Some say the
Agnes. 14 Take
Czechs had her blessings.
a look around the Na Franti‰ku neighbourhood. Since the houses and alleyways between the Convent and the Gothic Church of St. Castullus (Ha‰tal) 15 were spared from the massive rebuilding at the turn of the century, this is what much of the Old Town used to look like.
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Walk No.10 Shopping for Czech
Arts and Crafts
Artisans produce a huge variety of memorable souvenirs modelled on traditional Czech folk crafts and luxury products. You can find all of the items listed below at shops, art galleries and outdoor markets in the town centre. Shopping districts are highlighted on your map.
Garnet Jewellery The blood red garnet is a semi-precious stone mined in the Czech Republic. Its qualities reputedly give its owner strength, confidence and resolution. The largest documented stone was part of Rudolf II's collection.
Marionettes Czech puppet theatre dates to the 1600s. Early plays were influenced by Shakespeare and Moliere. Other themes used in productions include folk tales and Mozart's operas. The marionettes are sold in speciality shops, but if you want to see them on stage,
visit one of the theatres where puppetry is still a vital form of performing art.
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Shopping for Czech Arts and Crafts Bohemian Glassware Designs range from traditional pieces to contemporary work. The one thing this glassware has in common is that it is exquisitely crafted. You can purchase these products in all the mapped shopping districts, but browse around because the selection is immense.
Easter Eggs Originally used in pagan fertility rights where men caned women who in turn gave them the eggs, painted eggs these days make a colourful souvenir. The custom is still practised by children during Easter holidays.
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Shopping for Czech Arts and Crafts Pottery and Ceramic Art Whether it's historical replicas
Other Unique Gifts Any number of galleries listed in monthly cultural events publications have sales exhibitions where you can buy
of wine goblets or an imitation Chinese tea
paintings, prints, drawings and ceramics.
set, you will find it in a number of speciality
Other gift ideas include prints, engravings
shops around the town centre.
and souvenirs sold on the Charles Bridge
The hand thrown pottery is
and on the Old Castle Stairs.
amazingly inexpensive considering the production process involved.
You can also purchase old prints, maps and books at shops selling used books (antikvariรกt) throughout the town centre. Some of the booksellers specialise in
Wooden Toys Wooden playing blocks are just the beginning. Handmade toys, some with
antique books in the German and Hebrew languages. Check with the sellers, however, about customs formalities before purchase.
peasant motifs, have a long tradition in the Czech crafts.
Several large bookshops in Wenceslas Square and Na Mร stku sell art
Even the communist regime realised their selling potential and the toys became one of the hard currency earners.
and photography books that are relatively inexpensive.