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| CHARLES IV WANTED HIS STONE BRIDGE,A MASTERPIECE OF WORKMANSHIP, TO PROTECT HIS BELOVED CITY OF PRAGUE. |
A city of 1.3 million people....Prague was the capital of the kingdom of Bohemia and main residence of several Roman emperors,most notably Charles IV.Prague flourished in the 14th century under him who transformed Prague into an imperial capital and the third largest after Rome and Constantinople.
We start at the Wenceslas square,a short walk away.Here is king Wenceslas on a horse gazing proudly down this long,broad square.It is a boulevard busy with cars with a park like median right through the middle.It was first laid out over 600 years ago in the Charles IV period when it was used as a horse market. Since then the square has been a regular meeting ground for every kind of person, organisation or political party known in the Czech Republic.Getting back to King Wenceslas,he was the "good King" of Christmas Carol fame..wise and benevolent 10th century Duke who united the Czechs,when the land was called Bohemia.Like King Arthur in England he is more a legend than history,but symbolises the country's birth.
We walk on and see the Grand Hotel Europa.A yellow and ornate Art Nouveau building with a great facade.Here it is.
A bit of history...In 1918 at the end of WWI modern Czechoslovakia was created.Unfortunately the country was trampled again,first by the Nazis and then by the communist Soviets.Finally in 1989,on a cold November night,after 20 years of Russian hegemony the Czechs managed to break the communist rule.. 300,000 ecstatic folks gathered and overthrew the Govt.It was done peacefully by sheer people power right in front of this Hotel.They called it the Velvet revolution.
We are now at the border of New town and headed to the old.There used to be a moat and a city wall here during medieval times.As we found,old town still retains its medieval character by way of cobbled streets,vintage architecture and hidden courtyards as compared to glass and steel of the new town.
Through twisted streets and archways we walked among hoards of tourists towards Old town square,a massive area of around 9000 Sq.M.It used to form part of the Royal way taken by Bohemia's incoming kings going for their coronation at the Prague Palace at Castle hill.The large monument in the middle of the square is the statue of the reformer Jan Hus,one of the most important personalities in Czech history. A hundred years before the Protestant reformation was started by Martin Luther, Jan Hus was burnt
[Sgraffito* (Italian: “scratched”)In the visual arts, a technique used in painting, which consists of putting down a preliminary surface, covering it with another, and then scratching the superficial layer in such a way that the pattern or shape that emerges is of the lower colour.]
We spent some time observing the action at the square,listening to music,some jazz,some classical..Of course Antonin Dvorak was Czech... and while we wondered where the Charles bridge was located,a local came to our help.He told us to follow signs that said Karlov Most. "Woh Cheez badi Hai Most Most Kya?" I asked.He smiled and said"Sharukh Khan?"I said "No, Akshay Kumar"
But first,let us look at the good old Astronomical clock that was built some 600 years ago! and has survived till date,entertaining millions of tourists over the years.A good crowd had gathered as it was 10 min to 7 PM and the clock rings every day from 9 to 9 on the hour every hour.
Let me explain the features as we have some time.
With revolving disks,celestial symbols and sweeping hands the clock keeps several versions of time.You can see an hour hand in black pointing to VII,almost! in the inner ring.The outermost ring with strange Gothic numbers tracks medieval,Bohemian time.In the centre of the map of Earth which is stationery ( 600 years ago).The big hand in the inner circle is adorned with a golden Sun that sweeps around.The little hand,the Moon spins to show the various phases. Four statues flank the clock.A Turk with a mandolin for hedonism,Jewish money lender holding a bag of coins for Greed,figure staring into a mirror for Vanity and the face of death whose hourglass reminds us that time is running out!Ah! here we go...the clock is putting out the show!first,DEATH tips its hour glass and pulls the cord for ringing the bell.Now the windows open and the 12 apostles parade around...the rooster crows and finally the hour is rung.A second circle was added below in the 19th century,showing the signs of the Zodiac.
After the "spacious square" and astronomical/astrological clock experience,we walk through the narrow road that winds through medieval Prague...We just followed the crowds and the signs.The feeding frenzy of the tourists is at its highest here:plenty of Pizzas,Ice cream joints,Bars, Chocolaterias, and souvenir shops...some selling Russian nesting dolls!.Soon we were looking at a tall medieval tower that marks the start of Charles bridge.To the right of the tower is a little park called Charles IV square where we found a number of photographers training their cameras,on tripods,to capture the view of the bridge and rest of Prague across the river.
About Charles bridge...Charles Bridge is Prague’s oldest bridge. Its foundation stone was laid by Charles IV as part of a ceremony held on 9 July 1357 and the construction stretched almost for the rest of the 14th century. In 1378, Charles’ remains were taken across the new bridge to Prague Castle to be buried in St. Vitus’ Cathedral.
From 1683 to 1928, a total of 30 statues of saints were carved to decorate the
bridge, lending Charles Bridge its hauntingly beautiful silhouettes.A great time to visit the bridge is during dawn or sunset to capture the sunlight’s play on the bridge as well capture the scene across the river,The Prague castle.
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This tower stands as a gate to the bridge.It shows the 14th century hierarchy of society.People at street level,above them kings,and bishops above Kings.As I saw this I was thinking of our own Gopurams and Stupas
like the Madurai Meenakshi temple gopuram or the Sanchi Stupa;so much more beautiful compared to the stark and dull stone face that presents itself here.We didn't venture to walk the bridge today and retraced our steps to go back to where we started...to the new town on Wenceslas for some dinner.Pilsner Urquell draft beer was most welcome after a long day that commenced at Budapest very early in the morning.
Walking back we wondered how intense the night life would be in the W'square looking at the variety to choose from.There are lots of restaurants,bars,discos,cabarets and music bars and people attracting tourists to different entertainment venues all along.
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| Cafe Tramvaj on Wenceslas square |
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Day 2
Today we visit Kutna Hora in Central Bohemia about 70km east of Prague to see an extraordinary bone church.An hour and 30 minutes by bus brought us to KH.
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| Chapel Exterior |
The legend of the Bone Church (Ossuary to be more correct) in Kutna Hora is that,in the 13th century an Abbot of the monastery,returned from a diplomatic mission to the Holy Land, carrying a handful of earth from Golgotha,the site of Jesus' crucifixion. Thinking to bless the church,he sprinkled it on the consecrated ground surrounding the Chapel of All Saints.This simple act elevated the churchyard’s appeal so much that – pardon the pun – people were dying to get in.Suddenly this cemetery became a coveted burial place for wealthy and poor throughout Central Europe.It worked well until the black plague of 1318,when 30,000 people were buried in the cemetery. The Hussite wars contributed even more,and eventually burial space became hard to find.The clever Abbot decided to make way for newcomers by exhuming the bones of the cemetery’s 40,000 current inhabitants. He took advantage of a basement chapel that had been built on site and the bones ended up there in a big heap until they could figure out what to do with them.
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| Chalice |
In 1870 the House of Schwarzenberg, which owned much of the surrounding land,hired a local woodcarver named Rint to better organize the bones. Rather than just create more piles, the visionary artist used the various shapes of skeleton bits to create elaborate designs and sculptures in the chapel,as well as assorted garlands of bones and skulls overhead.Thus was born the museum showcasing a reminder of the impermanence of human life and inescapable death. |
| A Chandelier in the center of the Chapel and other decor
At the end of it all I asked our Guide whether she wasn't feeling Eerie or Creepy bringing visitors every now and then to witness the macabre and ghoulish. She shrugged in a dismissive way and said “ They’re only bones, they won’t hurt you; it’s the living who scare me”. Good Point!
Leaving the Spooky stuff behind we now get talking about mining of silver in KH whose wealth and renown were built on it. Legend has it that when a lazy monk named Anton woke up from a nap in the monastery orchard, he discovered three pieces of silver protruding from the ground near his face, and laid down his robe (‘Kutna’, in Czech) to mark the place. When the monks investigated further they found that the three pieces of silver were the tip of the iceberg and KH’s days as the richest silver mine in the Kingdom of Bohemia began.As the Bohemians’ greatest source of wealth, KH received plenty of attention.Palaces were built, the city was fortified, the royal mint was relocated here.
 The Gothic Cathedral of St.Barbora in KH is spectacular.With its three tent-like spires soaring skywards from the highest cliff above the river,it’s visible for miles around and leaves very,very few visitors unimpressed.Dedicated to St Barbora, patron saint of miners, the cathedral is an integral part of KH’s history and the main monument that helped KH onto the UNESCO world heritage list.  Its difficult to appreciate the splendor of the cathedral from up close and not possible to capture it in a photograph.The intricacy of the flying buttresses,the unique tent-like sailing spires,and the marvelous cliff-top setting combine to make the cathedral visit awesome! Being a Miners' Church many of the interior adornments reflect mining life. Stained-glass windows and frescoes depict winches, ore-trading, and medieval minting techniques,and the ceiling murals include depictions of the miners’ guild coat of arms.   A late lunch was had at the Dačický beer hall,a popular pub restaurant with something of the atmosphere of a medieval knights’ hall  The main room of the beer hall has an open fire, brick floor, heavy wooden benches with outbursts of raucous laughter.This is about as close as you’re going to get to a medieval knights’ banquet.The painted coats of arms,wall-mounted weapons,flags and the mock renaissance ceiling and cast iron chandelier reinforce the impression that you’ve stumbled somehow into the 16th century. Mikolai Daceki of 16th century who lived next door was a gourmet with interest in beer,wine and women. His family founded the brewery and the great tasting Dacicky beer comes from there.After a good lunch,when our Guides (2) saw to it that we got what we ordered with some help from the nubile waitresses,we were walking again to get some views across the forested valley.There was St James’ church dating back to early 14th century which was originally meant to have two towers. Despite the second tower never being completed, the lone tower is impressive enough for St James’ to be known as ‘the tall church’.  We are almost at the fag end of our tour and as we walked the beautiful town lined with great houses and beautiful squares we saw this particularly attractive one with SGraffito. Settled back in the bus most of the 32 of us had a good snooze before we found ourselves back in Prague.It was a wonderful trip.
We walked along the strand,serene and green, looking at the various ferry wharfs from where the cruise boats would take you for a spin up and down the river Vitava and decided to hop in. An hour's trip sipping beer,cheaper than water,and looking at the panoramic view over the river and of the historic buildings running along its banks with Charles bridge in the background, was time well spent.
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Day 3
Lazy start since we had a day and a half of hectic activity.We ambled down W' square,looking at shop fronts and on to Lucerna passage to see the good king W in a different setting
 
It’s difficult to think of a more ironic site for a Museum of communism – in an 18th-century aristocrat’s palace, between a Casino on one side and a McDonald’s on the other.The museum tells the story of Czechoslovakia’s years behind the Iron Curtain in photos,words and a fascinating and varied collection of…well, stuff.The empty shops,corruption,fear and double-speak of life in socialist Czechoslovakia are well conveyed,and there are rare photos of the Stalin monument – and its spectacular destruction.As we walked along this pleasant street of modern shops,the bleak era of communism seemed a distant memory.
 We were thirsting for one of those traditional pastry ice-creams that Prague is famous for.It is called Trdelnik. Dough is rolled into thin strips, wound around a spindle called a “trdlo”, glazed with sugar and grilled over open coals until the dough is cooked brown and the sugar caramelized.A modern version filled with ice cream or other fillings, has been spreading recently from Prague.The stand behind is exhibiting the circular Trolo which is made into the traditional pastry from eastern Europe.Delicious to the core.
We come to a busy intersection.We see the big black Powder tower and the attractive building next to it is the Municipal house.We find a spot to take pictures.The facade is striking,with an elaborate wrought-iron balcony and a colorful mosaic above where goddess Praha presides over a land of peace and high culture.It was constructed in early 1900.Within a few years,in 1918,the nation Czechoslovakia was formed and the Independence proclamation was announced right here. Prague's largest concert hall is located inside along with cafes and restaurants.
 
The 500 year old Powder tower was the main gate of the old town wall.It's named such because it also held city's gunpowder stocks.This is the only surviving bit of the wall that was built to defend the city in the 1400's.The road from Vienna arrived here...the city's formal front door!Two hundred years ago Empress Maria Theresa would have passed under it to be crowned queen of Bohemia.
We are in Celetna street which leads to the old town square (covered already) and walk into a shop which exhibits a good old Nuts and Bolts "Meccano Set".We buy one thinking of our grandson at home.Then we visit the tour agency to confirm our participation in the walking tour to "Castle hill". Thus ends our morning walk.
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As we were crossing the bridge we had the first glimpse of the Castle hill.Our guide asked us all to be nimble and get on the tram to go up the gradient and then we alighted in the proximity of the Strahov Monastery complex,next to the Castle hill.The grounds of the monastery are fairly small and nice,and we were told that the monks ran a brewery,on-site,famous for their Lager.In the time allotted for visit to the rest room...you can always depend on the longish line at the Ladies...I managed to guzzle some Norbert beer which was fantastic and soothing for the hot day.After this feast we proceeded with our walking tour.But not before we saw this view of Prague from the hill.
Prague is one of those places that seems like it was pulled straight from a fairy tale.The complex of castles have been around since the 9th century,and they've got the charm to prove it.Professionally,it's the official home of the President of the Czech Republic.But for obvious reasons,it's become a popular tourist spot, and a hot spot for stand-out Instagram photos. It is set in a commanding position overlooking the city, from where the Kings of Bohemia once ruled.The Prague Castle complex is enormous,with an area totaling of 753,474 square feet.That makes it the largest ancient castle in the world,according to the Guinness Book of Records.It is such a big sprawl of Great halls,Palaces,State Apartments,Churches,Viewing towers,Museums and Art galleries that we walked for almost 4 Hrs and perhaps achieved 30%of all that was on offer.I am putting down some of the areas covered.
St. Vitus cathedral is the one that dominates the skyline wherever you are in the city.It is a Gothic masterpiece, and the spiritual symbol of the Czech state.
The cathedral was commissioned by Charles IV. Construction began in 1344. However,it took almost six centuries to build, with the final phase completing in the early 19th century.As well as being the largest and most important temple in Prague,St. Vitus Cathedral has also overseen the coronation of Czech kings and queens.Their crown jewels are seriously secure. Stowed away in a chamber of St. Vitus Cathedral, the Bohemian crown jewels include the St. Wenceslas crown,royal scepter,and coronation cloak.And the Republic isn't taking any chances with their safekeeping.Both the chamber door and iron safe inside have seven locks,the keys to which are held by seven people, including the President,Prime Minister and Prague Archbishop.The Great South Tower of the Cathedral was founded in the late 14th century, and reconstructed in the 16th and 18th centuries. The tower holds the largest bell in the Czech Republic,which dates from the 16th century.
Above pic shows the Prague castle main gate..Once you pass through the gate,you go through another archway which leads into the main courtyard, featuring an elaborate fountain,an ancient well and views of St. Vitus Cathedral.The buildings surrounding this courtyard is where the President has his office along with all other admin offices.Foreign dignitaries are entertained here.As we keep gazing our guide goads us towards some security gates and we witness a change of guards function somewhat akin to the ones in London.
We move on to St. George's Basilica which is the oldest church building within the complex.It was founded by Prince Vratislav in 920 then enlarged with the construction of St. George's Benedictine Convent.The Baroque facade that we see today was added in the 17th century.
Golden lane,a small street just behind Prague Castle,has charming rows of little houses.These days,souvenir and bookshops occupy some of the lower floors and tourists mill around.But in the last years of the 16th century, alchemists under the then emperor lived here, and reportedly tried to turn metal into gold.Much later,Franz Kafka,lived with his sister in the blue house.
Prague has this weird statue in the castle without a plaque. The boy with a golden penis.The guide was almost red in his face after taking us to the spot.Some in our group touched and took photos.It was a good laugh at the end of the longish walking tour.I must say Prague castle affords visitors magnificent views over the whole city as it is perched high on a hill..
Climbing down the hill we walked for 20 minutes to reach the Charles bridge and walked,watching the crowds,statues,street artistes,stopped for our last pics as seen below and bid farewell to Prague.
Bye Bye....Next stop Salzburg
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