Cultural Guide of Prague

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historic sights, Museums and exibitions festivals and sports theatres, operas and cinemas

2-31 59-82 32-58

cafe, pubs, restaurants and nightlife

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Du int ring fac erve the dam ade ntio 196 ma age was n t 8 Wa sub chin d by sev he m rsaw m e e a

nat ion al mus eum

National Museum in Prague was founded in 1818, by the prominent aristorcratCount Sternberk. Early on, the focus of the museum was on natural sciences, partially because Count Sternberk was a botanist, mineralogist, and eminent phytopaleontologist, but also because of the natural science focus of the times, as sugested by Emperor Joseph II of Austria.

The museum was originally located in the Sternberg Palace but it was soon apparent that this was too small to hold the museum's collections. The museum relocated to the Nostitz Palace but this was also found to be of insufficient capacity, which led to the decision to construct a new building for the museum in Wenceslas Square. The museum did not become interested in the acquisition of historical objects until the 1830s and 40s, when Romanticism became prevalent, and the institution of the museum was increasingly seen as a center for Czech nationalism.

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belveder Belvedere is one of the most iconic renesaince buildings north of the alps, meant as a gift for queen Anne from Ferdinand I of Hapsburg. During the time of Rudolf II Belvedere was used as an observatory by Tycho de Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Even many of the art objects located from Louvre where originaly stored in Belvedere, until it was plundered in the 30 year war by the Swedes. Finally the building roof was painted red and blue to represent the czech nation. Belvedere is one of the most iconic renesaince buildings north of the alps, meant as a gift for queen Anne from Ferdinand I of Hapsburg. During the time of Rudolf II Belvedere was used as an observatory by Tycho de Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Even many of the art objects located from Louvre where originaly stored in Belvedere, until it was plundered in the 30 year war by

Did you know that if you put your ears near the FOUNTain you can HEAR IT SING 4


y e l l a n e d l o g

Golden Lane name is due to the story of alchymists living in the street during the reign of Rudolf II who tried to make not only the philosopher stone or the elixir of youth, but also tried incesantly to dsicover to formula for making gold, or to make a perpetum mobile. These stories however maybe nothing more than myth however there is a real story from the beginning of the 19th century. One of the local houses in the alley was inhabited by an old man, Philosopher Uhle. He collected obssesively old books on magic and made secret experiments in his lab inside the house. In 1831 people in the Golden Lane heard a big detonation from his house. When fire fighters entered the house and extinguished the fire, they found Uhle dead with a yellow stone in his hand. The yellow stone proved to be gold, how it got there however is still not known.

The stories of alchemist may be just a myth however there is one story that is true

Maybe he really made a discovery and many other alchymists’ longtime dream come true. Many renown people used to live in the golden street, Jaroslav Seifert who won the czech nobel prize. House number 22 for example used to belong to the sister of writer Franz Kafka, who used this house

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PRAGUE

1.DALIBORKA It served as a dungeon since middle ages, named after Dalibor, who so well played the violin while in prison that he remains remembered till today

III.black tower The Black Tower is one of the oldest structures in Prague. It was built in 1135 as the eastern gate of the Romanesque castle fortification. The original gateway is sill visible .

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CASTLE

11.saint vitus cathedral This cathedral took more than a 1000 years to build and is the best and biggest example of czech gothic architecture.

iv.golden alley Golden Lane (Czech: ZlatĂĄ uliÄ?ka) was originally built in the 16th century, for emperor Rudolf II's castle guards, it takes its name from the goldsmiths that supposedly should have lived there during his reighn.

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5 reasons why Czech culture rocks 1.untouched

Czech republic is peaceful country untouched by war. Its mayor figures aren famouse generals but writers and poets. It has architecture from diverse styles and ages, ranging from Romansque to Gothic style

11.equal

It is a society were there are no noticeable class divisions. The differences in sallary arent that high.

iv. educated

It has a culture dating back more than a 1000 years, which is proudly taught in Schools. Many. Czech Republic is home to many inventions such as the sugar cube, ship rotary blade and the lightning conducter

III.milenial

The history of the city goes back to the foundation of Prague Castle by Bořivoj in 870 AD. Prague Castle has been a symbol of Czech history for centuries. After 894 it became the main seat of the oldest ruling dynasty of the state Bohemia, the Premyslid princes.

v.beer

It has one of the highest pubs per capita in the for any city in the Czech Republic. It is house of many breweries, the most noticable of them can be staropramen.

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02 ARENA O2 Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Prague, Czech Republic. It is home to HC Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga and is the second-largest ice hockey arena in Europe The idea of building a new arena in Prague was based on following the "golden era" of Czech ice hockey: winning the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The arena was proposed to be built in time to host the 2003 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, but due to unforeseen complications with the investors. Currently it is one of the most modern multi-function arenas in Europe with a capacity of 18,000 seats. It was opened in 2004 for the World Championships in ice hockey and since then annually welcomes over 600,000 visitors. It hosts top sporting and cultural events, and world-renowned music stars regularly perform here. The arena includes shopping areas, lounges, restaurants and bars, rooms for press conferences and congresses.

sparta hc praha (dont mention brno) Sparta is on of the oldest hockej clubs in the world, it was created the 6th of December in 1903. The first coach was the former speed skater JaroslavPetrak. In that time however, they didnt follow a puck, but just a rubber ball. From 1909 Czech republic was charmed by Canadian hockey and Sparta HC behan to build fame in the czech republic and in the world. The most famous names of the club belongs to Karel Pesek, who besides representing czech republic in hockey, did also in football and tennis.

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lucerna 10


The building was designed in the 20th century by Vรกclav Havel (the grandfather of former president Vรกclav Havel), Stanislav Bechynฤ and Vรกclav Prokop,ay. It was finished in 1921. The reinforced concrete construction is unique to its time, and its construction cost were incredibely high. The building was meant as being the first multipurpose building. It houses a multilevel open air galleria that houses The Lucerna Music Bar and the Lucerna Theatre, a formal concert hall, in addition to an assortment of shops, restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. The Lucerna Palace has been the site of many significant events in the country's history and is considered the most important pri-

LUCerna is a huge building complex from 1902, it includes a cinema, cafe, bar and a huge dancing hall vate cultural centre in the city. It is the home of the Prague International Jazz Festival and was the site of Vรกclav Havel Tribute Concert. Ascend the steps under a magnificent red marble archway and you are immediately presentad with the bust of the founder and architect Vacslav Havel, the Grandfather of Czech President Vaclav Havel. Enter the Cafe to the left of Vacslav. The beautifully decorated cafe is also the lobby to the cinema. The Lucerna Cafe is a lavish greeting, welcoming you into the wondrous space beyond the cinema doors: Kino Lucerna is probably the most impressive part of the complex. The decor of the Golden Age of Cinema can be observed in every detail: huge ceiling space sprawling with golden wood paneling and carvings, with arched balconies worthy more in common with a refined opera.

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The Great Hall is a spacious hall with three balconies hosting concerts of Czech and foreign stars, dance balls and other social and cultural events Czech film awards (Cesky lev).The multifunctional Lucerna Palace was built in 1921 by Vaclav Havel, the ex-president's grandfather. It soon became a cente of social and cultural life in Prague and its premises held many important social events. In Lucerna Palace you will find aditionaly a, cinema, music club, cafe and shops in the passage. Lucerna Palace holds up to its past and carries the legacy of Czech Republic's rich cultural tradition. Up until the end of the 1980s, Czechoslovakia remained under the control of one of the most repressive Communist governments in Eastern Europe.

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year Louis Armstrong performed there.[6] Jazz Writers, musicians, artists and intellectuals are credited with promoting the democratic ideals that shaped the Velvet Revolution. Although they could not openly practice their arts, some writers and musicians were among the most elite memIn the marbled atrium hangs artist David Černý’s sculpture Kun, a wryly amusing counterpart to the equestrian statue of St Wenceslas in Wenceslas Square. The neighbouring Novák Arcade, connected to the Lucerna and riddled by a maze of passages, has one of Prague’s finest art-nouveau facades (overlooking Vodičkova), complete with mosaics of country life. There are many old cinemas in the nieghberhood, sucha as Svetozor, Atlas, Bio Oko, Evald and much more. Independant cinemas were very popoular during communism. Just recently independant cinemas have experienced a revival.

Additional cinemas SVETOZOR

atlas

bio oko

evald

aero

MAT

www.kinosvetozor.cz

www.biooko.net

www.atlas.cz

www.evald.cz

www.aero.cz

www.kinomat.cz

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The cafe in Mala strana know as Cafe Radetzky, was known as a meeting place for artist like Jan Neruda, Ema Destinn and Kan Zrzavy also being popular among students. The current renewal in the baroque minimalism style took its boheme atmosphere. Slavia in Narodni trida fames began in 1881 in Lazanskysh Palac in 1991. In the marble table in that time many personalities of political and artistic spheres-from Bedrich Smetana, Jaroslav Seifert and Jan Werich until recently Vaclav Havel. Nearby is located the national theatre Its current appearance is due to renewal in 1881. After a period of 18 years independence, the New Stage served as home stage for e ensemble Laterna magika, the New Stage became part of the National Theatre in January 2010, so did the Laterna magika ensemble.

The national theatre had to be rebuilt after it buned down

The New Stage of the National Theatre serves nowadays as an open space for performing arts with a separate managerial unit within the National Theatre. The programming focuses primarily on actual cultural trends. Its mainly focused on contemporary dance, progressive drama alternatives, interactive performances, urban culture phenomena, multimedia projects, family programs and more. The New Stage has been since January 2010 playing an active part at the cultural scene in Prague providing the original concept of creative artistic institution within the structure of National Theatre. The New Stage has functioned for both Czech and international audience and the programming includes black light theatre, operas and ballete.

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Pubs Just a few years ago, historians uncovered the earliest evidence of a brewery in the Czech lands: it is now nearly certain that a brewery was founded in 993 at Břevnov Monastery in Prague. Until that date was confirmed, the earliest reference to brewing in the Czech lands was believed to have been almost a hundred years later, when Vratislav II mentioned the use of hops for brewing in 1088. Although they did contain highly-prized Bohemian hops, the earliest beers here were probably not too much like what we drink today. Much of this early beer was a kind of cloudy wheat beer, using a so-called top-fermenting yeast, which as known then as bilé pivo, or “white beer.” Today, many brewing historians believe that bilé pivo was brought from Bohemia to Bavaria, where it later turned into the Hefeweizen and Weizen styles of wheat beer. founded all around Bohemia and Moravia, often by assigning “brewing rights” to noble

the highest beer consumption per capita in the world

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Pragues charm doesnt just limit itself to beer consumption. Prague boasts a wide variety of nightlife activities that go beyond the charm and magic continue from daylight to nightlife scene, making it a city that plays host to a lot of fabulous evening pleasures and activities. Prague boasts froma a varied nightlife, from rock, jazz cafes to electro, funk dance nice clubs. From amazing theater performances, music clubs, and bars to romantic river cruises, here is the compilation of best ways to

JAZZ dock club The Czech Republic has a longstanding absinthe

tradition, but these days it can be difficult to find the real deal. We suggest that you avoid any establishment that offers flaming green shots! For a more authentic experience, turn to sleek cocktail lounge Hemingway Bar where you can sample craft Czech absinthe from a beautiful old-fashioned fountain, with a knowledgeable English-speaking bartender on hand to walk you through the experience. The cafe in Mala strana know as Cafe Radetzky, was known as a meeting place for artist like Jan Neruda, Ema Destinn and Kan Zrzavy also being popular among students. The current renewal in the baroque minimalism style took its boheme atmosphere. Slavia in Narodni trida fames began in 1881 in Lazanskysh Palac in 1991. In the marble table in that time many personalities of political and artistic spheres-from Bedrich Smetana, Jaroslav Seifert and Jan Werich until recently Vaclav Havel. Its current appearance is due to renewal in 1881 The city of Prague is currently in the grips of swing fever with young Czechs lining up to learn the Lindy Hop, Boogie Woogie, and Shag.

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chapeu rouge Chapeu Rouge is a unique place in the centre of Prague, dating its existance from 1919. Musicians come from the whole world. it consists of more than three floors were there are multiple bars and music is played. The idea is that you have several themed floors depending o your taste rangig from funk, electronic to regeton. special and its place you shouldnt miss if you are lokking after night life

jazz redata It was the year 1957. The artists of Czechoslovakia were oppressed by the communist regime and the situation seemed hopeless. But then In a heart of Prague the first jazz club in the whole Central Europe has been founded. But it wasn't only a place for free, talented musicians. Reduta has been one of the first experimental theatres, starting a revolution in European acting methods. And after performances, dissidents and crusaders for free country has been meeting in the club, discussing and planing until dawn. the fall of communist dictatorship.

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Prague has been part of the Austro-Hungarian empire for over 400 years. During all this time, the Viennese cafe culture has extended beyond the borders of the imperial capital, reaching Prague and several other cities. Cafes were not just places to have coffee and cake – they were the headquarters of cultural societies, meeting point of actors, poets and writers. Art and history were shaped at the tables of these cafes, sipping a cup of Viennese melange – or a Czech beer. Like many Prague coffee houses, the Café Imperial has undergone something of a makeover in recent years. Gone is the dark and dismal interior, the indifferent service, and - a terrible shame this - the legendary doughnut bowl, whose stale contents could once be bought and pelted at fellow patrons for exactly 1,942 Czech crowns (just over 100 dollars), a homage to an incident in the classic 1942 novel Saturnin, a sort of Czech Jeeves and Wooster.

Cafes are not just places for coffee but they were the meeting place for cultural societies

The Imperial is one of a handful of the great prewar cafés - temples to caffeine, creativity and conversation - left in Prague. You wll find two of the most famous on the city's Národní street. The first, Café Louvre, boasts a beautifully-preserved interactive map in the marbled lobby, displaying the unfeasibly long list of cafés (160!) that served the Czech capital before war, Communism and Starbucks intervened.

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