Czech-Republic: Prague

We drove two hours to Prague, taking pictures of the countryside of the Czech-Republic and the city as drove through the traffic.  There was a lot of traffic and we just took pictures from the car of the National Theater, Prague State Opera House, and the National Museum.  We'll have to check out those sites and the New Town on our next visit.

The National Museum

We headed for the Lida Guest House to check in.  There we met Yuri, a really great guy full of information about what to see and do in this cool city.  His recommendation for our one-day visit was to walk along the river and visit Old New Town.  Since it was our first sunny day on the trip, the jackets were shed and excitement rose as we set off downtown.


Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic.   Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million. 

Walking along the river towards Old Town

Camping, boating, and recycling all at the same time!

Prague has been a political, cultural and economic center of Europe during its 1,100 year existence.  For centuries, during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the permanent seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and was also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.  Later it was an important city in the Habsburg Monarchy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and after World War I became the capital of Czechoslovakia.  The city played major roles in the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War, and both World Wars and the post-war Communist era.

Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of twentieth century Europe.  Prague boasts more than ten major museums, along with countless theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits.  Also, Prague is home to a wide range of public and private schools.  Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city receives more than 4.1 million international visitors annually.

The Dancing House is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building in downtown Prague. It was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in co-operation with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot (where the previous building had been destroyed during the Bombing of Prague in 1945). The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996.

The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time.  Czech president, Václav Havel, who lived for decades next to the site, had supported it, hoping that the building would become a center of cultural activity.  Originally named Fred and Ginger, after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, because the house resembles a pair of dancers, it stands out among the Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous.  Others have nicknamed it "Drunk House".  On the roof is a French restaurant with views of the city.

Our first stop was the Old Town Square.  It is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague.  Located between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge, Prague's Old Town Square is often bursting at the seams with tourists in the summer.  Featuring various architectural styles including the gothic Týn Church and baroque St. Nicholas Church, the square is an oasis for travelers wearied by Prague's narrow streets. Among many churches, tourists may find the Astronomical Clock on this square, while the tower at the Old Town Hall offers a panoramic view of Old Town shop.

Sam had to get his picture taken with every sports car he could find.

Sam also had to have his picture taken with every type of food we saw.  Okay, not really, but he is definitely checking these cinnamon twisty rolls out.  They were soooo good.

There were lots of merchants in the square selling their goods and wares to the tourists.  We picked up some souvenirs here for our children along with some delicous food--chicken and veggie kabobs in a long roll, sugared almonds, bratwursts, and roasted corn on the cob and potatoes. 

 

 

Old Town is the original place of settlement of Prague.  It was separated from the outside by a semi-circular moat and wall, connected to the Vltava at both of its ends.  The moat is now covered up by the streets which remain the official boundary of the cadastral district of Old Town.
After the city was expanded in the 14th century by Charles IV with the founding of the New Town, the moat and wall were therefore dismantled.

We climbed up the Rathaus Tower (Old Town Hall) and took in all the sites of Prague.  Around the tower were signs explaining the different landmarks and their history.  It was beautiful and we enjoyed searching the city for the different buildings from above. 

This guy played some awesome songs on his trumpet

The Church of Our Lady before Týn is a dominant feature of the Old Town and has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. The church's towers are 80 meters high and topped by four small spires.

View from the Rathaus Tower.  This church reminds me of Maleficent's castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

In the 11th century, this area was occupied by a Romanesque church, which was built there for foreign merchants coming to the near Týn Courtyard.  Later it was replaced by an early Gothic Church of Our Lady in front of Týn in 1256.  In 1679 the church was struck by lightning, and the subsequent fire heavily damaged the old vault, which was later replaced by a lower baroque vault.
Renovation works carried out in 1876-1895 were later reversed during extensive exterior renovation works in the years 1973-1995.  Interior renovation is still in progress.

 

The Prague Astronomical Clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the only one still working.  The clock is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square.  The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.
According to local legend the city will suffer if the clock is neglected and its good operation is placed in jeopardy.

The Powder Tower is a Gothic tower and one of the old city gates. It is one of the symbols of Prague, leading into the Old Town.  Dating from 1475, the Powder Tower was built as one of 13 gates to the city of Prague.  When construction began, it was connected (via the small bridge at the right of the photo) to the royal palace.  Before construction was completed, however, King Vladislav Jagellonský moved his residence to Prague Castle in 1485.  Nevertheless, the Powder Tower remained important to the Bohemian kings - until 1836, the Bohemian monarchs would pass through the Powder Tower on their way to St. Vitus Cathedral for their coronation.

As the city grew beyond its old walls, the Powder Tower grew less and less important (except on those rare occasions when a new king was being crowned).  By the 17th century, it was being used as a gunpowder storage facility - it was at this time that it developed its name.  The tower was severely damaged in 1757 when Prague was occupied by the Prussians, but was eventually restored to its former glory in the 1870s and 1880s.  It is now one of the few remnants of the fortifications that once surrounded the city.

 

 

 After walking through the town, we headed across the Charles Bridge.  It is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river.  Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river until 1841, the Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.

The bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side.  The Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world.  The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.
During the night the Charles Bridge is a quiet place.  But during the day it changes its face into a very busy place, with painters, owners of kiosks and other traders alongside numerous tourists crossing the bridge.

The Charles Bridge led us to Prague Castle, where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices.  The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept here.  Prague Castle is the biggest ancient castle in the world, according to Guinness Book of Records, at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide.

The history of the castle stretches back to the 9th century (870).  The following are some interesting facts:
*The first walled building which was the Church of Our Lady
*The Basilica of Saint George
*The Basilica of St. Vitus  
*The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle  
*A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century
 *In the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV, the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style and the castle fortifications were strengthened.  
*During the Hussite Wars and the following decades the Castle was not inhabited.  
*In 1485, King Ladislaus II Jagello began to rebuild the castle to which the massive Vladislav Hall was added.
*New defense towers were built on the northern side of the castle  
*A large fire in 1541 destroyed large parts of the castle.  
*Rudolph II used Prague Castle as his main residence.  He founded the northern wing of the palace, with the Spanish Hall, where his precious artistic collections were exhibited. 
*The Second Prague defenestration in 1618 began the Bohemian Revolt. During the subsequent wars the Castle was damaged and dilapidated. Many works from the collection of Rudolph II were looted by Swedes in 1648, in the course of the Thirty Years' War. 
*The last major rebuilding of the castle was carried out by Queen Maria Theresa in the second half of the 18th century. 
*Ferdinand V, after abdication in 1848, chose Prague Castle as his home.
*In 1918 the castle became the seat of the president of the new Czechoslovak Republic. 
*The New Royal Palace and the gardens were renovated until 1936.

During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia during World War II, Prague Castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich, the "Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia".  It is said that he placed the Bohemian crown on his head; old legends say that a usurper who places the crown on his head is doomed to die within a year.   Less than a year after assuming power, Heydrich was assassinated.

After the liberation of Czechoslovakia, it housed the offices of the communist Czechoslovak government.  During the Velvet Revolution, Alexander Dubček, the leader of Czechoslovakia, appeared on a balcony overlooking Wenceslas Square to hear throngs of protesters below shouting "Dubček to the castle!" As they pushed for him to take his seat as president of the country at Prague Castle, he embraced the crowd as a symbol of democratic freedom.  After Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the castle became the seat of the Head of State of the new Czech Republic.

Sam had knee surgery a few months before this trip.  We walked many miles through Prague and he had to rest frequently, per his doctor's orders.  Luckily his doctor was with us ;)  Sam did awesome and didn't complain once even when we would check in on him from time to time for his truthful answer.

A view of the city from the steps leading to the castle

The prettiest statue in all of Prague

Saint Vitus' Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague.  It was founded on November 21, 1344 and was intended to be a coronation church, family crypt, treasury for the most precious relics of the kingdom, and the last resting place of patron saint Wenceslaus.  Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, this cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and is the biggest and most important church in the country.

Perhaps the most outstanding place in the cathedral is the Chapel of St. Wenceslas, where the relics of the saint are kept.  The lower part of the walls are wonderfully decorated with over 1300 semi-precious stones and paintings about the Passion of Christ dating from the original decoration of the chapel in 1372-1373.  The upper part of the walls have paintings about the life of St Wenceslas between 1506 and 1509.  In the middle of the wall there is a Gothic statue of St. Wenceslas.  The Chapel is not able to be accessed by members of the public, but it can be viewed from the doorways.  A small door with seven locks, in the south-western corner of the chapel, leads to the Crown Chamber containing the Bohemian Coronation Jewels.

We walked back across the Charles Bridge as the sun was setting and headed back into the main part of the city.  We ate a late, traditional Czech dinner at Klementin and relaxed after a LONG day of walking.

After sitting there for a long time, it was getting pretty late.  We had decided to take the tram back to our hotel but had purchased only 5 tickets from Yuri earlier that morning.  Joe told all of us to get on the tram and he would walk back but I didn't want to leave him alone so the others left for the tram.   Joe and I tried to find a tram ticket kiosk, that were supposedly located all over the city.  It was about 11:00 p.m. and we searched all over as we headed in the direction of our hotel.  There were no ticket booths anywhere and almost every shop was closed.  The handful of shops or restaurants that were open didn't sell them.

We finally came to a main train station and headed down the dark stairs into the terminal.  Joe put his arm around me tightly as we quickly bought one more tram ticket.  It was pretty scary and there were some shady characters sitting around.  We hurried to grab the next tram to our nearest stop.  We still had to walk down some dark streets to get to the hotel.   There were some drunk people leaving the bars as we walked quickly and quietly through the streets.  We did whisper back and forth, letting our imaginations run wild about an American couple getting mugged or killed while touring the streets of Prague, leaving four children parentless.   We definitely get more dramatic the later it gets in the nighttime.  We finally arrived just after midnight and hit our bed with much relief and exhaustion.  It was a wonderful day in an incredible city.  This was one of our favorite cities on our trip so far and we easily could have spent three more days there.  However, it was off to Vienna in the morning!