Prague

Having already described my adventures in getting from Berlin to Prague in a previous post I’ll get down to business and describe my adventures in Prague. 

Day 1: Prague is a very old and very beautiful city. The most dominant feature is Prague Castle which sits on a hill that overlooks the Vltava River. The earliest evidence of substantial fortifications in this area date from the late 800’s (885 specifically), and the city itself is made up of two distinct area on opposite sides of the river. The Mala Strana area is in the immediate area of the Castle (known as Hradčany today). This was founded in 1257 and is on the other side of the river from the Old Town that had grown up around a market place that has origins in the 9^th century. During the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378), Prague expanded with the establishment of the New Town personally laid out by the king. Charles IV (Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia) is responsible for many of Prague’s other notable features, the Charles Bridge linking the Castle area with the town, St Vitus Cathedral (begun in 1344 but the building program flourished under his patronage, though the cathedral was not finally finished until 1929!!!), Charles Square, and Charles University (the oldest university in Central Europe). Other notable features include the astronomical clock in the clock tower of the Town Hall (installed in 1410 and still working!!), Henry’s Tower, the Powder Tower, the many churches and squares with their unique architectures - the list goes on. It’s also to the credit of the city planners that as Prague has grown, the older sections of town have been left intact and the new building has taken place outside these areas for the most part. 

Archaeologists have uncovered these ancient ruins from the very first fortified structures to be built on the castle site, dating from the 800's.

The first task was to get orientated to the city and to purchase the Prague card that would give me free or reduced entry to all the things I wanted to see. Unfortunately, it does not include transport but as it turned out walking from place to place was the best option for the most part. I did buy a 24-hour transport ticket the second day but found that I did not use the public transport enough to justify the cost. Like most cities in Europe, Prague is very compact and all the main areas of interest are easy to walk to and between.

When I set out from my hotel I had intended to head for Wenceslas Square but misread the map and wound up going in a different direction, passing through Charles Square (with the New Town Hall) and finally stopping near the Botanical Garden of Charles University. Once I figured out what I’d done and where I was (GPS is really helpful), I headed down to the river. This turned out to be a good thing as I got my first glimpses of the Castle from there. After wandering down the river to the Charles Bridge, I headed into the Old Town/New Town area finally winding up at the Old Town Square and the Old Town Hall. The Square is a popular tourist spot with lots to see, as well as restaurants, souvenir shops and street performers.

Prague Castle from the Vltava River bank. St. Vitus Cathedral dominates the skyline.

I can't tell you what this monument celebrates as there was no identifying sign but it was intriguing to look at.

The Charles Bridge with the Castle in the background.

There are some interesting juxtapositions of architecture in Prague as witnessed by the placing of this building along the Vltava riverbank.

The Old Town end of the Charles Bridge

The Old Town Town Hall with its astronomical clock

Detail of the astronomical clock

The clock is fully functional with moving characters that appear when the clock strikes the hour

The Old Town Square

Tyn Cathederal that backs on to the Old Town Square

One of the streets of Old Town leading to the Old Town Square

View past the Old Town Hall in Old Town Square; Tyn Cathedral is in the background

 After spending the rest of the morning here it was time to move on towards Wenceslas Square as there is a tourist information center there where I could get a Prague card. This meant finding my way through the narrow streets of the Old Town and took me past the Powder Tower and Jindrisska (or St. Henry’s) Tower. Originally one of the thirteen gates into the old walled city, the Powder Tower is now a symbol of Prague and leads into the Old Town. Its name stems for the fact that in the 17^th century gunpowder was stored in the Tower. St. Henry’s Tower was originally built in 1475 as a free-standing bell tower for the Church of St Henry (Jindrich in Czech) but is now a vertical strip mall. Still, the external façade has been retained and is impressive.

The Powder Tower

Henry's Tower

Eventually I found my way to Wenceslas Square. It’s not really a square as such, but an elongated, mostly pedestrian oriented, space, with mostly tourist oriented businesses lining the square. It is very much dominated, however, by a very imposing statue of Wenceslas II (now St. Wenceslas) the “Good King” of the Christmas carol. Behind the statue, and sitting on top of the hill, is the Czech National Museum, so this area has a powerful emotional attachment for the Czech people and does attract political protesters (as it did on this day). At the other end (the lower end) there is an area on street stands selling regional food. On another day when I was back at the square I tried a pastry which was made by taking sweet dough and wrapping it around rod and cooking it over an open flame as it rotates. The exposed surface is covered with cinnamon sugar just prior to cooking and this caramelizes and forms a crust on the surface. After cooking, the pastry is removed from the rod, cut into sections and sold warm and fresh (yum!). I finally found the tourist office and got my Prague card and headed back to the Old Town. As the Prague card was valid for two days from the first use, I decided to activate the card tomorrow, when I would spend the day at Prague Castle, and spend the rest of the day exploring the Old Town district. Finally, I headed back through Wenceslas Square and back to the Hotel (figuring where I should have gone that morning).

Wenceslas Square looking towards the Museum and the Statue of St Wenceslas

The statue of St Wenceslas

The national Museum building at the top of Wenceslas Square

Day 2: I was heading up to Prague Castle this morning. First, however, I retraced my steps to Wenceslas Square to get some pictures without the political rally and to purchase a 24 hour metro pass so I could use the subway and trams. There is a subway station at the museum end of the square which made it a convenient access point to the subway line that travels past the Castle. The Castle station exists right below a set of stairs that lead up to the “back” entrance of the Castle and was used to reach the Castle from the Town. The entrance is guarded by an elite unit of guards as the New Palace holds the office of the President of the Czech Republic. The Prague card allowed me free entry into three of the major attractions of the Castle –St. Vitus Cathedral, St. Georges Basilica and the Old Palace. Of these, the first two were open but a sign indicated that the Old Palace was closed for renovation. However and here I lucked out again, it would reopen the next day and my ticket was good for two days. So today I checked out the Cathedral and the Chapel and took the opportunity to investigate the newer portions of the Castle and the area of Hradčany immediately adjacent to the Castle on top of the hill. You can’t actually enter the New Palace for obvious reasons but you can wander through the courtyards and adjacent gardens which are interesting in their own right.

The cathedral is massive and very Gothic in appearance which may have something to do with why it took so long to build. The interior space is even more impressive and, unlike most cathedrals in other cities I’ve visited, you can take photos so long as you don’t use flash. The chapel (which I visited after lunch) is also impressive in its simplicity-it was the personal chapel of the royal family and several of the kings were buried in the chapel space.

The rear of St Vitus Cathedral

The southern facade

Part of the entrance facade. It's impossible to get the full facade as the Cathedral is in a confined space and soars toa great height above the square.

The interior space is immense.

The stained glass is spectacular.

This window is by the Czech artist Alfons Mucha.

Looking towards the high altar.

A tryptych in one of the side chapels

This is a tomb ornament! It's the tomb of John of Nepomuk.

And so is this. It;s the tomb of Archbishop Jan Ocko of Vlasim.

The cathedral organ.

The Bohemian coat of arms

The Chapel of St Wenceslas. King Wenceslas II is buried here in a simple tomb.

The front entrance to St George's Basilica. This is the oldest surviving church in Prague Castle, having been founded in 920 by Vratislaus I

The interior of the basilica.

A crypt lies below the altar of the Basilica.

As I mentioned earlier, when I climbed up to the Castle, I came up a long set of stairs that climbed the face of the bluff adjacent to the Castle and would have been used regularly by the town folk to come up to the Castle. However, the main entrance to the Castle was from the other side. The original entrance no longer exists but the ceremonial entrance that has replaced it is very impressive. Arrayed around the square that fronts the main entrance are a several palaces built by nobles of the court, many of which today house museums. In the nearby area there are also buildings with religious origins, typically churches with associated monasteries. Several of these also have been turned into museums or galleries. So, the Hradčany area of town is not only of historic importance but buildings in the area are used as repositories of that history.

The official entrance to the Prague Castle. This part of the Castle contains the Office of the Czech President.

Castle Square, which lies in front of the official entrance.

Archbishops Palace, one of the palaces that front Castle Square.

The Prague Loreto

The entrance to the Strahov monastery.

This church is part of the Strahov monastery.

This is the view from a terrace just below the monastery.

Another part of the same view.

Looking back at the monastery from the terrace.

The entrance to the Castle from up the street.

Schwarzenberg Palace which faces Castle Square

The other feature of Hradčany is the spectacular views of Prague that you get from the Castle and its environs. I’ve added several photos to illustrate what the views are like but I’m not so sure they really do the views justice. I also had lunch at a little Czech restaurant and had a typical Czech meal that included potato pancakes (that are more like potato patties) and beef stroganoff served in a bread bowl (mmm!!!).

One last place I could visit was the section of the Castle where it is thought Castle employees and maybe some of the knights/armorers may have lived. These small houses (emphasis on small!!) were in private hands late into the twentieth century before being bought back by the state. Apart from their historic connection to the Castle, several notables have lived in these houses over the years. For instance, number 22 was occupied by Franz Kafka for a few years.

Looking along Golden Lane, which features little houses built into the walls of the Castle.

Number 22 on Golden Lane was the home of Franz Kafka for a short time.

At this point, having seen all that I would be able to see that day in the Castle, and seeing as how I could not see the Old palace until tomorrow, I went down the hill by a different route, crossed over the Vltava via the Charles Bridge. The bridge is a grand structure spoiled by numerous souvenir sellers and street artists lining both sides of the bridge. Once over the bridge, I turned left and continued along the river eventually wandering through the edge of the old Jewish quarter before heading back to Wenceslas Square. Seeing as I was coming back to the Square in the morning I decided to head back to the hotel called it a day.

This the road that leads from the Mala Strana Square towards the Charles Bridge.

Looking towards the Mala Strana end of the Charles Bridge.

The Mala Srana end of the Charles Bridge.

I saw this water wheel of to the side of the Charles Bridge. It is still operating!

TheOld Town from the Charles Bridge.

On the Charles Bridge.

Looking back at the Castle from near the Charles Bridge.

This statue of Charles IV is located next to the Old Town end of the Charles Bridge.

 

Day 3: I was heading back to the Castle this morning with the intention of getting into the Old Palace which was to reopen today. This time I walked around the base of the Castle and climbed up to the formal entrance to the Castle and the New Palace via another set of stairs. The parts of the Old Palace that were open to visit included the Grand Hall where the kings were crowned and where special events were held (and still are today), the court chamber where the king sat as judge with his courtiers and nobles, and the rooms where records were maintained and stored. 

On the way to the Castle

 

The Great Hall of the Old Palace

The formal entrance to the Great Hall

The walls and ceilings of the rooms adjacent to the Great Hall and the court room are decorated with coats of arms

More of the coats of arms.

 

The court room with the king's throne in the center

This alternate entrance to the Great hall was designed so the king could enter the hall mounted on a horse.

In the court chamber there is a large display cabinet containing replicas of the Czech Crown Jewels. The originals are also stored in the castle precincts, in a chamber built above the chapel of St Wenceslas in St Vitus Cathedral by Charles IV. The door to this chamber has seven different keys each kept by a separate person. The last time the real jewels were on public display was in 2008 for the 90^th anniversary of Czechoslovakia.

The Crown Jewel replicas

At this point I had one more thing to do before leaving Prague. Adjacent to the Hradčany area is a park name Petrin Park, set on the site of a vineyard of Charles IV. The park occupies the face of a hill (Petrin Hill) that overlooks Prague and I could have walked from the formal entrance to the Castle over to the park but instead, chose to leave the Castle through the “back” entrance then walk along the river around the base of the Castle hill then climb up through the park to the top. I can see why this park is very popular with the people of Prague. The views are incredible. It was the perfect way to finish up my last day in Prague.

Looking down on the Charles Bridge and the Old Town from Petrin Hill.

The Old Town from Petrin Hill

St Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle from Petrin Hill.