| Brief Guide to Prague |
| 1. Prague Castle (Praský Hrad) |
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Prague Castle is like a town within a town, creating an unforgettable raised skyline, dominated by the cathedral, on the west bank of the River Vltava. From the original fortress built in about AD 880, its multiple accretions over the centuries have resulted in one of the world's largest castles. The New Palace, built in grand Neoclassical style under Empress Maria Theresa (ruled 1740-80), remains the seat of the President of the Czech Republic - with a theatrical changing of the guard on the hour, every day (and with music at midday). Much of the castle complex can be visited. St Vitus' Cathedral has played a central role in Czech history - for coronations, royal marriages and burials - since it was first founded in 925. A programme of remodelling in Gothic style began in the 14th century, but was only completed more than five hundred years later, in 1929. The cathedral is particularly celebrated for its stained glass, and the ornate 14th-century burial chapel of St Wencelas, the national saint. Other attractions include the Old Royal Palace (12th-16th century); the Prague Castle Picture Gallery, showing some 100 works from the old royal collection, with work by Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Rubens; the impressively austere St George's Basilica, which also displays the National Gallery's collection of Gothic and Baroque art; extensive gardens; a history museum and toy museum; and a row of quaint historic dwellings in Golden Lane - where Franz Kafka lived in 1916-17. The Czech National Gallery has sites scattered all over the city; its impressive Old Masters section occupies one of the old palaces in Hradcany, the quarter just to the west of the castle gates. The collection includes work from across Europe dating from the 16th century, with paintings by Lucas Cranach, Brueghel, Dürer, Holbein, Rubens, Canaletto and Goya.
Prague Castle: www.hrad.cz/en/index_prazsky_hrad.shtml National Gallery in Prague: www.ngprague.cz |
| 2. Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) |
| Lined with its 30 statues of saints interspersed with antique street lamps, the Charles Bridge looks like no other. Spanning a total of 510 m (558 yards), it links the Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter), on west bank of the River Vltava, to the Staré Mesto (Old Town) on the east bank. Indeed, for more than 400 years it was the only bridge between the two, and served not only as the main artery, but also as a spectacular setting for royal and state processions. It is named after the king on whose orders it was built: King Charles of Bohemia, who became Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1355. Begun in 1357, the bridge was not finished until 42 years later, in 1399. The saints were late-comers, added during the Counter-Reformation in the 17th century; in previous, more pious eras, men crossing on the bridge would raise their hat as they passed each one. Closed to traffic since 1950, the bridge today is a lively pedestrian thoroughfare, thronging with souvenir stalls and street musicians. |
| 3. Old Town Square (Staromestské námestí) |
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The Old Town Square has served as a marketplace since the 11th century, but after the 17th century it received a face-lift with pretty pastel-shaded frontages and arcades in Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles, which today provide a fetching backdrop to the pavement cafés. One of the square's most celebrated attractions is the Astronomical Clock on the façade of the Old Town Hall, dating from 1410. The upper clock tells not only the time, but the phases of the moon and positions of the sun and stars. Carved figurines next to the face spring into life as the clock strikes: the skeleton turns an hourglass and tolls a bell, and the Twelve Apostles process through open hatches. The lower disk (painted in the 19th century) depicts the twelve months, and the work of farmers as the seasons change. Old Town Square is dominated by the distinctive, fairytale steeples of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn, but access to this Gothic church is via a passageway in the school that fronts it. Týn was the name of the merchant quarter that developed close by in the 11th century. The Týn Church, as it is called, dates from 1385, and became the main Hussite church of Prague when the followers of John Huss (or Jan Hus, c.1370-1415) and fellow Protestants dominated the city for 200 years until 1620. The interior of the Týn Church is now awash with gilded Baroque ornament; it also contains the tomb of the Dane Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), one of the greatest astronomers before the invention of the telescope. The web of old streets around Old Town Square is an excellent place to seek out a good Pilsner beer in a traditional Czech 'hospada' (pub). Remember that here you don't have to ask waiters to serve you; sit down and they'll present you with a glass of beer as a matter of course. You just have to tell them when to stop.
Astronomical Clock: www.orloj.com |
| 4. Trade Fair Palace (Veletrní Palac) |
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The Trade Fair Palace is a huge and remarkable 'Functionalist' building dating from 1928 (reconstructed in the 1970s after a fire). It is now the National Gallery's Centre for Modern and Contemporary Art and houses an impressive collection from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Star names include Delacroix, Courbet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse, Schiele, Klimt, Munch, Picasso, Warhol and Lichtenstein.
National Gallery in Prague: www.ngprague.cz |
| 5. Municipal House (Obecní Dum) |
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Art Nouveau architecture began in Brussels and Paris, but became a Europe-wide phenomenon, and Prague has some superb examples. The Municipal House, completed in 1911, is the best of these, replete with flowing Art Nouveau detailing, stained glass and sculpture, and salons decorated by Alfons Mucha (1860-1939), Czech master of the Art Nouveau poster. The proclamation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia took place here in 1918. Now home to the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Municipal House has an ornate concert hall (the Smetana Hall) and exhibition rooms, as well as a stylish café and two restaurants.
www.obecni-dum.cz |
| 6. Museum of Decorative Arts |
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This supreme exhibition of European decorative arts displays a small but exquisite selection from a vast collection (founded in 1885) of textiles and clothing, graphic design and photography, metalwork and jewellery, ceramics and glass - and especially Bohemian glass.
www.upm.cz |
| 7. The Strahov Monastery |
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Close to Prague Castle, in Hradcany, on the slopes of Petrín Hill, stands an exceptionally lavish monastery. Originally founded in 1140, it became a prosperous and respected centre of learning until the Hussite revolt of 1420. It was brought back to life in the Counter-Reformation of the 17th century, when the magnificent painted Theological Hall (1671-79) was built for the Strahov Library. The splendid, if more austere Philosophical Hall was added to the Library in 1782-84. The Library now contains 900,000 books, including priceless medieval manuscripts and religious works from the dawn of European printing. There is also a small but impressive art collection. The Strahov remains a working monastery, belonging to an order called the Premonstratensians, but it is open to visitors.
www.strahovskyklaster.cz |
| 8. Church of St Nicholas, Malá Strana |
| Protestants ruled Prague for two centuries until the Habsburg kings reimposed Catholicism in the 17th century and brought the Counter-Reformation. The Baroque style was the architectural expression of Counter-Reformation, and it is seen at its most exuberant in the domed Jesuit church of St Nicholas (St Mikulas), in Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter; there is another church of St Nicholas in the Old Town Square). Although first planned in 1653, it was not completed until a century later. The interior is a rich confection of statues of saints and cherubs, garlands, classical columns, galleries with undulating balustrades, and extensive murals and ceiling paintings. Mozart used to play the organ here, and the church still doubles up as a spectacular concert hall. |
| 9. Pétrin Hill |
| For some of the best walks and most magnificent views over the city, head for Pétrin Hill. The Pétrin Funicular Railway - also known as the 'cable car', although in fact it runs on rails - offers a novel way to ascend. At the top is the Observation Tower, the Rozhledna, built for the Prague Jubilee Exhibition of 1891; although at 60 m (197 ft) it is less than a quarter of the size of Eiffel Tower, which it imitates, it affords unrivalled panoramic views from the platform at the top. Children will also like the labyrinth of distorting mirrors, the Zrcadlová Bludite, near the foot of the tower. |
| 10. A Boat Trip on the River Vltava |
| Prague is a city of music. Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Wagner and Tchaikovsky all came here. Smetana, Dvorak and Janácek were home-grown talent. Looking at the River Vltava it is hard to resist the temptation to hum the evocative melody called 'Vltava' - or 'Moldau' in German - from Smetana's patriotic symphonic poem 'Má Vlast' ('My Homeland'). So why not yield and take a boat trip on the river, and hum away as you drink in the spectacular views of this great city - good in day time, even better when lit up at night. |
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