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Prague is one of Central Europe’s most enchanting and interesting cities. The river Vltava meanders through the city passing several hills and boroughs, each containing unique architectural gems, elegant squares, green oases and everything else that belongs to a big city.
A meeting with Prague is a meeting with one of Europe’s old and large cultural cities. Throughout the streets of the old town you will find nice architecture, large institutional buildings, churches and historical places where emperors and kings have left their mark over the years. The Old City and the New City are located on the eastern side of the river, and together with the Lessor Town and Prague Castle on the western shore, they make the most interesting parts of Prague.
All the neighborhoods offer different sights from each their eras of history, culture and architecture. The often narrow streets are leading from one sight to the other, with experimental modern architecture in contrast to the Gothic and the Baroque styles, which is very visible in Prague with the city’s many churches and noble palaces. The Old Town Town Square, Staroměstské náměstí, is the center of it all and an impressive starting point for it all, and not least for the walk to Charles Bridge and Prague Castle.
There are many great sights close to Prague as well, and a trip in the surrounding area allows you to see everything from the country’s many castles to rich provincial towns, some of them with fashionable facilities like the spa town of Karlovy Vary. Mountains are to the northeast and also relatively close to the capital.
Charles Bridge is one of Prague’s greatest sights and widely famous from countless photographs of the Czech capital. The bridge spans the river Vltava and was built by Peter Parler under Charles IV from 1357. It happened as a replacement for a 12th-century bridge that had collapsed during a flood in 1342. The foundation stone was laid at 5.31 in the morning on 9 July 1357 by Karl IV. Precisely this time was chosen to ensure the bridge’s greater strength through a time that could be set up as a palindrome of numbers.
Since then, the bridge has played a role in Czech history several times. When Swedish soldiers besieged Prague in 1648 and took the west bank of the Vltava during the Thirty Years’ War, they tried to take the opposite side, and the fiercest fighting in this city battle took place on Charles Bridge. Just over twenty years earlier, 27 leaders of a rebellion against Habsburg rule had been killed and their heads displayed on the bridge to prevent further uprisings.
Charles Bridge is 620 meters long and built in Gothic style in sandstone with arches over the river. Its width is around 10 metres, and along the sides there are 30 statues from the Baroque period. They were erected from 1683 with inspiration from the Ponte Sant’Angelo bridge that spans the Tiber in Rome.
The statues are mainly statues of saints. The large crucifix in the middle of the bridge was erected in 1629, and it stood there alone before the statues began to be erected later in the century. One of the most admired statues is the one standing by the stairs down to the island of Kampa. It was made by Matthias Bernhard Braun at the age of just 26. The statue is of Saint Luitgard. Other statues include St. Francis of Assisi and Francisco Xavier on the south side of the bridge, while on the north side you can see, for example, John the Baptist and St. Cyril and St. Methodius.
Today the bridge is a pedestrian bridge, but until the 1900s there was traffic on it. A horse-drawn tram line was replaced by an electric one in 1905, and later cars and buses ran over here. After a thorough renovation of Charles Bridge in the years 1965-1978, only pedestrians have had access.
At each end of the bridge, a Gothic bridge tower has been built, which is integrated into the rest of Prague’s architecture. You can climb the bridge towers, and from here there is a beautiful view of the bridge and its rows of statues. These bridge towers served as gateways to Staré Město and Malá Strana, respectively.
The square Staroměstské náměstí is the center of the so-called Old Town and the town hall square, and the name also means Old Town Square. The square is one of the best-known and most central places to start a tour around the Czech capital.
You can see a number of beautiful and interesting buildings around the square; it concerns not least the town hall, St. Nicholas Church and the contours of Tejn Church, which stands immediately behind a row of houses.
In the middle of the square you can see a large monument to Jan Hus, Pomník mistra Jana Husa. Hus lived 1369-1415 and was a Czech reformer inspired by the Englishman John Wycliffe. Jan Hus preached Reformation thoughts and he did it in Czech instead of Latin, which made him popular and he was listened to.
Hus was educated at Charles University in Prague and preached in the city criticizing the Catholic Church. He was burned as a heretic in 1415 after being lured from Prague with free rent by the Catholic Church, which did not keep its word. The monument on Staroměstské náměstí was inaugurated 500 years later; it was thus in 1915.
In front of the town hall and slightly south-west of the Jan Hus monument is another monument. It consists mainly of 27 white crosses in the coating. They mark the spot where the Habsburgs killed 27 Bohemians after the Battle of the White Mountain, which took place in 1620.
The city hall in the Old City district was originally set up in the first building in 1338. It was a patrician villa that the city government bought from the Volflin family. Since then, the city’s administration spread over a number of beautiful houses in the Gothic and Renaissance styles, and thereby the town hall over time came to be almost a building complex that formed a unified whole.
Over the centuries, many changes were made to the individual building parts, and in the 19th century the last part of the original house disappeared. Other parts disappeared in 1945 during the uprising in the city, and you can see a partially preserved building north of the town hall tower today. The preserved part of the town hall lies to the west from the tower.
The town hall tower, which is the most significant part of the building, was completed in 1364, and from the balcony at the top there is a beautiful view of the city, the square and the Tejn Church.
The town hall is most famous for the beautiful astronomical clock that can be seen on the facade. The first version of the clock was built in 1410, while the current one is from 1490. It functions both as a clock and as a calendar, and it attracts many tourists every day, who can see the procession of the twelve apostles over the clock at the stroke of the hour.
Jindřich Zdík was bishop of Olomouc when he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1138. Here he got the idea to found a new Premonstratensian monastery in Prague, and over the following years both the bishops of Prague and the regents of Bohemia supported this idea.
The great Strahov Monastery was founded in 1140. The first buildings were made of wood, but over time larger constructions were built of stone. A Romanesque basilica was the centerpiece of the complex from the start. The monastery was destroyed during a fire in 1258 and then had to be rebuilt.
In 1420, calamities next befell the monastery, which was looted by the followers of the reformer Jan Hus. Many valuable books and other interiors were either stolen or burned, while the buildings did not suffer much damage.
In 1586, Jan Lohelius took over as abbot in Strahov, and his work was not least to renew the monastery and bring it back to its former glory. Lohelius later became archbishop of Prague, and his venture with Strahov succeeded. Both the church and monastery buildings were renovated and expanded during his time.
Lohelius’ successor was Kašpar Questenberg, and he continued where Lohelius left off. He also had a hospital and a brewery built, and with the funds at his disposal, skilled artists were put to the task of construction and decoration, which has left some of the current buildings in the style of the time.
In 1627, the relics of Saint Norbert were transferred from Magdeburg to Strahov Monastery, which was a great religious event. Norbert had in his time founded the Premonstratensian order, which of course made him a decisive figure for the monastery. Saint Rochus Church was under construction for another purpose, but was completed for the purpose of housing the relics.
In 1648, Swedish troops besieged Prague, and they looted Strahov Monastery, which again had to be partially rebuilt. In 1670, Jeroným Hirnheim became abbot at Strahov, and he had a new library set up. It was furnished with the famous Theological Hall/Teologický sál, which was completed in 1679. This hall can still be seen and, with its sumptuous ceiling, is one of Prague’s best-known sights.
The 18th century was also the time when the beautiful Maria Himmelfartskirke/Bazilika Nanebevzetí Panny Marie was decorated in the elegant baroque you can see today. It was in the middle of the century, and a few decades later Abbot Václav Mayer had a new part of the monastery’s library built in classicism. This applied to the Philosophical Hall/Filosofický sál, which can still be enjoyed as one of the most beautiful parts of the monastery.
Strahov Monastery was in operation until 1950. In the decades under communist rule in the 20th century, the monastery was set up as a center for literature. After the system change in 1989, the complex was given back to the Premonstratensian Order, which has since then reconstructed the complex.
St Nicholas Church is a particularly beautiful building in Baroque style, which was built in the years 1703-1752 by the architects Christoph and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. A 13th-century church in Gothic architecture previously stood on the site. It was the Jesuits who decided to build the new church, and the first plans appeared in 1673. Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Jesuit order, and then Saint Nicholas Church was given the status of a parish church from 1773.
The dome of the church measures 74 meters in height and is one of the landmarks of the Malá Strana district. Next to the church’s main building is the bell tower, which was completed as the last part of the building.
Saint Nicholas Church is lavishly decorated and is considered Prague’s most beautiful baroque church. Here are statues, frescoes and paintings, all done by the leading artists of the time. For example, the fresco of the guardian angel of music, which hangs over the organ, and the dome fresco of the Trinity, done by Franz Palko in 1752. The church’s beautiful pulpit is from 1765. In 1787, Mozart also played on the church’s organ, which has more than 4,000 organ pipes.
Immediately north of and built together with Saint Nicholas Church is a building that was built as a Jesuit monastery. Today, the city’s university faculties for mathematics and physics are located in the building.
Prague Castle is the collective name for the large castle complex, which, with its beautiful location, rises above the rest of the city on one of the many ridges that dominate the course of the Vltava. The castle as an area was founded in the 8th century, and construction has been going on for more than 1000 years.
The extent of the castle is as much as 570 meters in length and 130 meters in width, and there are naturally enough great sights in the old complex, whose history began with the fortified Church of Our Lady/Kostel Panny Marie in the year 870. In the first half of 900 century, several other churches were added under the rule of Vratislav I and his son Václav.
It was, for example, Saint Jørgen Basilica/Bazilika Sv. Jiří, which was founded in 920 and has been preserved to this day as the oldest church in the castle area. In 973 the first Bohemian monastery arose; it was a Benedictine monastery, which was connected to the Basilica Sv. Jiří.
An actual residence palace took shape from the 12th century, and the style was Romanesque. During the rule of Charles IV in the 14th century, the residence was remodeled and expanded in Gothic style, and the castle’s defenses were strengthened. It was also during this time that the construction of Saint Vitus Cathedral began; it happened as a replacement for previous churches on the site.
In the 16th century, large parts of the residence castle burned down, which was subsequently rebuilt and continuously expanded under the rule of the Habsburgs. German-Roman Ferdinand I developed the site as a summer palace, while Rudolf II used the castle in Prague as his primary residence. In the 17th century, the castle was again destroyed and also looted. It happened in connection with the Thirty Years’ War, when Swedish troops besieged and ravaged the area.
The last major reconstruction took place under Empress Maria Theresia in the 18th century. It is this castle that can be seen today as the area’s actual residence building. Later, the abdicated Austrian emperor Ferdinand I used the castle as a residence after 1848, and in connection with the country’s independence in 1918, the place became the home of the Czechoslovak president.
Before World War II, Adolf Hitler stayed one night in the residence castle after the German capture of the city, and later the place became the headquarters of the German Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia; Reinhard Heydrich. After the war, the residence was simply converted into offices for the communist government, and today Prague Castle is once again the seat of the Czech head of state.
Today, Prague Castle remains a large area in the city with many attractions. Among the most well-known buildings that make up the area’s two residence castles and St. Vitus Cathedral, but it’s just about exploring the area, where most architectural styles from the past millennium are represented.
In the center of the castle hill in Prague is the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, which is 97 meters high and can be seen from almost the entire city. With this location, the church is one of the landmarks of the Czech capital.
The cathedral is the largest church building in the Czech Republic, and it was founded in 1344. It happened on the very spot where Václav of Bohemia had established a Romanesque church in 930. This was built to house the relic of St. Vitus’s arm, which Václav had acquired from the emperor. This church quickly became too small and a new three-nave basilica was built before the present and third church on the site was begun in 1344.
The reason for the foundation of Saint Vitus Cathedral was that in 1344 Prague became the seat of an archbishop. At the same time, the Bohemian king and future emperor Charles IV wanted a coronation church, which could also function as a relic treasury and family burial church.
The first builder was French, and with him he brought inspiration from the great French Gothic cathedrals. However, the builder died after a few years of construction in 1352, and the German Peter Parler took over the work, which he further developed based on his own ideas. He can, for example, leave his mark with the double-ribbed vaults in the church room, which both gave increased strength in the construction and increased the decorative effect.
Peter Parler came far from completing the cathedral, as before his death in 1397 he was assigned to many other tasks in Bohemia and Prague; among other things, the construction of the Charles Bridge over the Vltava. Others took over, but construction did not take off, and wars, iconoclasm and a fire in 1541 destroyed and to some extent halted construction.
Several attempts to complete the cathedral were made in the following centuries, but it was not until 1844 that initiatives for the final completion of the church were presented. The realization of the plans got underway in earnest in the 1860s with partly a restoration and partly the removal of some building parts from the Baroque period. After that, the new construction of the neo-Gothic part of the church started, which was completed in 1929, and thereby St. Vitus Cathedral was finished after almost 600 years of construction.
The large rose window in the west facade is from 1925-1927, and it reproduces several scenes from the Bible’s account of creation. The west facade with the two towers and the rosette is the most significant part of the most recent extension, which took place in the period up to 1929. This part is an example of the desire to preserve Peter Parler’s Gothic church in the design, and the result is also a very harmonious building despite the many centuries of difference in construction.
Inside there are many attractions. You can see, for example, the many beautiful glass mosaics and Václav Kapel/Kaple svatého Václava with its lavish decoration. The chapel was built as a burial monument for Saint Václav. Václav was called the good king and he is the Czech national saint. The chapel was built by Peter Parler in the years 1344-1364 and beautifully decorated with, among other things, murals depicting parts of St. Václav’s life. The Czech crown jewels are stored above the chapel. However, these are not for general public viewing, but are only shown occasionally.
In the church’s crypt there are several royal and imperial tombs. The earliest is Ottokar I of Bohemia from 1230. Other important graves include Emperor Karl IV from the 14th century and Emperor Ferdinand Is from the 16th century.
This church, also known as Týn Church, is one of Prague’s best-known buildings and the most striking silhouette in the Old Town; Old Town. Construction of the church continued from the 14th century until 1511, when the southern tower was completed. The exterior of the church is late Gothic, while the interior was built in Baroque style after a fire in 1679.
There was originally a Romanesque church on the site. It was built in the 11th century as a church for all the foreign traders who from this time visited the nearby merchant farm; Týnský Dvur.
Inside you can see, among other things, a baroque altarpiece, it was made by Karel Škréta in the middle of the 17th century. The church organ is from 1673 and one of the best examples of European 17th century organs.
The famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe is buried in the church. Tycho Brahe worked in Prague for Emperor Rudolf II, and after his death he was buried here in 1601. His grave is marked with a stone in the floor near the altar, and there is also a Danish flag by the grave.
Josefov is the name of one of Prague’s centrally located smaller districts, and it used to be the old Jewish quarter. The Jewish history in the city is believed to start with the first immigrants in the 9th century. The following centuries brought with them the time of the Crusades, and during these centuries the Jewish population of Prague was concentrated in a Jewish ghetto that was behind a fence. In 1262, the division became so clear that Ottokar II allowed a certain degree of autonomy for the Jews in the ghetto.
In 1850, the neighborhood was renamed Josefov after Emperor Josef II, whose edict of tolerance from 1781 came to mean a lot to the Jewish inhabitants. In the decades around 1900, a lot was renovated in Josefov, which had to be modernized with Vienna and Paris as models. Much was demolished, but the city’s old town hall, six synagogues and the Jewish cemetery were preserved. Today, not many of Josefov’s old buildings remain, but the preserved synagogues and the cemetery give an impression of the neighborhood’s historical culture.
Today you can see several historic buildings in Josefov, and to that is added the elegant architecture from the beginning of the 20th century, which in itself is worth a stroll. Over the course of a few decades, one large, beautiful house after another was built along most of the streets, and today they stand nicely renovated. During a stroll through Josefov and, for example, Pařížská street, it is therefore important to look up at all the architectural details from this time.
Of Prague’s many Art Nouveau buildings, the town hall Obecní dům is the most remarkable. The house was built as a cultural center and exhibition space in 1905-1911 on the site where the residence of the Bohemian kings had been in the 1300s-1400s. This residence was demolished in 1904.
The entire building is almost worth seeing. Most famous is the elegantly decorated concert hall Smetana Sal/Smetanova síň, whose interior is both impressive and opulent for its time and function. The style is overall art nouveau, but there are also features from the preceding historicism. It can be seen on the facade, where you can notice allegorical decoration; among other things with the mosaic above the main entrance.
Obecní dům became historic as the place from which the country was declared independent in 1918. It happened with the declaration of independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A good way to experience the house is by visiting the house’s large cafe, located on the ground floor. The cafe is one of Prague’s finest dining venues, and the setting is internationally quite unique.
Rudolfinum is home to the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The building was built in 1876-1884 and named after the Habsburg Prince Rudolf. The Rudolfinum houses many concert halls, of which the impressive Dvořák Sal/Dvořákova síň is a fine example of Prague’s 19th-century architecture. In the Rudolfinum, there is also a gallery with changing exhibitions.
The concert building has played a significant political role in Czechoslovakian history, being the seat of the country’s parliament from 1918 to 1939. It was the first period in many centuries when the country was independent.
The powder tower is one of Prague’s old and exciting buildings. In its original appearance from the 11th century, the tower was one of the city gates in Prague’s Old Town. There were a total of 13 gates to this district.
The current powder tower was built from 1475, and it happened in connection with a royal mansion, which Vladislav II used as a residence. It was the Prague city council that paid for the tower as a coronation gift to Vladislav II. The king moved his activities to Prague Castle in 1484, after which the construction of the tower came to a standstill.
The 65 meter high tower got its name in the 17th century, when it was used as a gunpowder magazine. It was still unfinished with a temporary roof. The neo-Gothic roof construction that can be seen today originates from a restoration and completion in 1886.
Prague’s main railway station, Hlavní Nádraží, is a beautiful Art Nouveau building from the years 1901-1909. It was designed by the Czech Josef Fanta, and with its ornamentation, glass mosaics and large halls, the station is a good example of the prestigious railway constructions of the time.
Inside, you can see it, among other things, in the Fantova Kavárna cafe area, which is an impressive period space. This room is located at upper street level, so from the general traffic to and from the tracks and platforms you have to go up one floor.
The first railway station was inaugurated in 1871 with the name Franz Josef I Banegård/Nádraží Františka Josefa I. After Czechoslovak independence, it was renamed Wilsonowa Banegård/Wilsonovo nádraží, named after the American president Woodrow Wilson.
A statue of Wilson stood in a park in front of the railway station until 1941, when German authorities removed it. The name Hlavní Nádraží came about in 1953, and by the way, a statue of Woodrow Wilson was put up again in 2012.
The Czech National Museum is the country’s oldest museum institution, founded in 1818. The forerunner goes back to 1796, when an association started work to establish a patriotic museum. It happened in the aftermath of the French Revolution, when great royal and noble exhibitions came on public display, and the same thoughts prevailed in Prague.
The museum was founded in 1818 as the Patriotic Museum, and the focus was initially natural history and natural science. This developed through the 1830s and 1840s to also encompass general history, and over time the museum became one of the centers of the growing Czech national feeling.
The location was initially the Sternberg Palæ/Šternberský palác at Prague Castle, but both here and the next place the collections soon became so large that it was decided to build a large-scale building for the purpose. The current colossal museum building in an impressive castle-like style was completed after six years of construction in 1891 according to architect Josef Schulz’s design. It is a clear example of the growing Czech self-awareness of the time, and it continues to this day as one of the Czechs’ most important symbols of the development of the independent Czech Republic.
The museum’s collection counts several million effects, so there is enough to see for curious visitors. There are major exhibitions in anthropology, archaeology, botany, entomology, mineralogy, mycology, palaeontology, zoology and more at more addresses than the main building, whose primary aim is the depiction of history. With the scope of the collections, you can, for example, choose a special department or simply enjoy the architecturally beautiful and impressive building during a visit.
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The beautifully landscaped Václavské náměstí, Václavské náměstí, was established in the Middle Ages as the city’s horse market with the name Koňský trh. It happened with Charles IV’s establishment of the New Town, Nové Město, which became an extension of Prague from 1348. Koňský trh, together with Charles Square/Karlovo náměstí, were the large open spaces in the district.
500 years later, the square got its current name. It was in 1848 that Czech nationalism won out. It was therefore natural to name one of the city’s most significant squares after the Bohemian national saint, Saint Václav. An equestrian statue of Václav was also erected on the occasion, and it can be seen in the center of the square in front of the Czech National Museum.
After conversion from an old medieval square, Václavské náměstí is more like a splendid boulevard than a square with its 60 meters in width and 750 meters in length. You can walk the sides of the square or in the middle, from where you can really enjoy the square’s many fine buildings from the decades around 1900. There is also a cafe here, which is set up in one of Prague’s old trams, and several other things.
Throughout history, many major events have taken place here. On October 28, 1918, Alois Jirásek read the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in front of the equestrian statue of Saint Václav, and during World War II the Germans used the square for large processions. It was also here that Yuri Gagarin was hailed locally as a hero after becoming the world’s first man in space.
In addition to the Czech National Museum and the equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas, you should pay special attention to several beautiful buildings along the square. Grand Hotel Europa (no. 29) was built in Art Nouveau style in 1906. The hotel has largely been preserved in its original form inside and out and stands as a contemporary gem of a house. The neighboring building stands elegantly in the same style, while the Rococo Palace/Palác Rokoko (Václavské náměstí 38) is a slightly later and more imposing example of earlier 20th-century architecture. Palác Rokoko was built 1912-1916.
Vyšehrad is, in the sense of the word, Prague’s stronghold. The facility was founded in the 9th century on a ridge by the river Vltava. Vyšehrad was Prague’s second castle complex, as the current castle in Prague was also established, and it was even this that was the residence of the monarchs.
Vyšehrad experienced its heyday from the end of the 11th century to around 1140. The period started when Vratislav II moved his seat of government from Prague Castle to Vyšehrad. In this connection, the castle was expanded with a residence palace and a church, and development proceeded quickly. However, Vyšehrad quickly lost its status again when Prince Soběslav moved back to the nearby castle a few kilometers to the north on the opposite side of the Vltava.
At Vyšehrad, however, there was still a palace complex that was used by the royals. It lasted until the 14th century, when the place had fallen into such disrepair that Emperor Karl IV had the entire castle and castle complex renovated and rebuilt. In the 15th century, Vyšehrad was besieged and attacked twice, after which the buildings fell into disrepair.
The Habsburgs gained dominion over Prague after the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, and in the 1650s they established a baroque building on Vyšehrad, which otherwise stood as a ruin. The facility was not a residence, but instead came to function as barracks for the Austrian army.
Vyšehrad today gives an impression of the Austrian baroque construction and subsequent reconstructions. There are two churches and a few things to see from the medieval castle. These are, for example, the lookout tower Libušina spa and the gate Špička. The area became an official part of Prague in 1883, and today it is laid out as a beautiful and atmospheric park.
Vyšehrad is located on the top of a ridge, and around it, in some places, huge walls have been built, which gave Vyšehrad strength as a fortress. The walls are most impressive if viewed from the north or south, and they can also be experienced from the viewing platform established immediately south of the Vyšehrad Basilica.
At the top of the hill Vitkov you can experience one of the 20th century’s largest and most significant monuments in Prague. It consists of several individual parts, and its history began in 1928, when the construction of a memorial to Czech legionnaires began.
Vitkov himself has laid the foundation for several things in Czech history. In the wake of Jan Hus’ reformation ideas, the Holy Roman Emperor and Bohemian king, Sigismund, led a Catholic crusade against the reformation-supporting Hussites. The Hussites entrenched themselves at Vitkov, and on 14 July 1420 the final battle took place, where the Hussites won over the Catholic army.
In memory of this, an equestrian statue was erected on Vitkov. It depicts Jan Žižka, who was the leader of the Hussites and stands as an icon of the Czech national consciousness. Jan Žižka also gave his name to the district of Žižkov, of which Vitkov is a part.
With Czech independence in 1918, the idea of a national liberation monument became manifest, and in 1928 President Masaryk laid the foundation stone for the current construction. In 1933, the building itself was completed, while artists continued the interior decoration. This work was not completed before the outbreak of World War II. During the war, the Germans used the monument as a warehouse.
After the end of the war, work could continue on the monument, and the equestrian statue of Jan Žižka was inaugurated in 1950. Below the statue, a flame burns for the unknown soldier as part of the memorial to those who have fought for the Czech land.
In addition to the completion of the monument, a mausoleum was built for the head of state Klement Gottwald after the latter’s death after the Second World War. In doing so, the communist leadership sought to change the monument from a memorial of the freedom struggle to a pantheon of the new communism.
It happened with inspiration from Lenin’s mausoleum in Moscow and Dimitrov’s in Sofia, and Klement Gottwald also came to be embalmed as a communist luminary. Gottwald came to lie where President Masaryk was originally supposed to be buried. The mausoleum was in operation in the years 1953-1962, when Gottwald was cremated.
Petřín Tower is a 63 meter high tower, which is a steel construction with clear inspiration from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was also a Czech delegation that, after a visit to Paris and the Eiffel Tower, started a collection of funds for a tower in Prague.
The tower was built in 1891 in connection with a jubilee exhibition in the city, and ever since then it has been very popular for locals and visitors to go up to the viewing platform at the top. As the tower is located on a ridge, the top is located high above the city despite the relatively modest height of the tower itself, and this provides one of Prague’s absolute most beautiful views.
Over time, the tower has also functioned as a transmission tower. It was thus Prague’s primary television transmission tower from the installation of an antenna in 1953 until 1992, when a new tower in the district of Žižkov was completed.
South-west of Prague lies Karl IV’s castle Karlštejn, which has historically been the country’s most important. Karlštejn was founded in 1348, and Charles IV stayed here for the first time in 1355. The impressive structure was completed in 1365 in its original form and appearance. The Gothic castle has been rebuilt several times, in late Gothic style, through the Renaissance and most recently in the popular contemporary neo-Gothic style at the end of the 19th century.
The construction of Karlštejn is carried out on a hillside with the complex’s large residence palace and on top the 60-meter-high defensive structure Store Tårn/Velká věž.
During the turbulent centuries after its construction, the national crown jewels were stored here in the castle, and this was an underlining of the security that Karlštejn was believed to possess with partly the location and partly the character of the building.
Karlštejn offers visitors many experiences in the beautifully decorated rooms and buildings. Holy Cross Chapel/Chapel sv. Kříže with the 129 14th-century works by the medieval master Theodoric is just one of the highlights. You can also see the country’s largest portrait gallery of rulers through time and the reconstruction of the Czech royal crown.
Only 10 kilometers from impressive Karlštejn are the Koněprusy Caves, the largest stalactite caves in Bohemia. The caves were discovered in 1950 and opened to the public nine years later. Since the discovery, the 2 kilometer long and 70 meter deep caves have been explored. The 620 meter caves are now accessible to visitors who get a trip to the beautiful world of the underground.
The historic town of Kutná Hora was established due to the area’s rich silver deposits, and already at the end of the 13th century it was established as a royal residence. A trip here is a trip to a cozy Czech provincial town with a rich history. With this background, there are many sights in the city that are worth a trip.
You can see, for example, Saint Barbara Cathedral/Chrám svaté Barbory. The construction of the church started in 1388, and it was completed after more than 500 years of construction in 1905. The church is a masterpiece in the High and Late Gothic style. Saint Barbara is the patron saint of miners, and in the church there are frescoes from 1490 that show their daily life.
The castle in Kutná Hora is a Gothic fortification, first mentioned in 1312. It was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century in late Gothic style. In the castle you can see an exhibition about mining, an original mining machine from the 16th century and experience a depiction of the medieval Osel mine itself, whose mine tunnels run under the town itself.
Kuks is a Czech village on the river Elbe, which at this point is quite narrow in contrast to, for example, the course through the port of Hamburg. Kuks’ major attraction is the city’s large old hospital with Matthias Bernard Braun’s fine statues as part of the experience.
The place was known for its springs, and Count Franz Anton von Sporck built a bath at them in 1692-1696. After the site’s initial success, Sporck expanded the facility in the years 1707-1772 with a church, a hospital and other facilities in the Baroque style. It was here that Matthias Bernard Braun created the sculptural decorations that are preserved for many statues to this day.
Sporck died in 1738, and his heirs did not want to continue Kuks’ baths, which fell into disrepair especially after a flood in 1740. Today, you can enjoy the magnificent baroque structure, which is surprisingly located in almost nowhere.
The city of Terezín was founded at the end of the 18th century by Emperor Joseph II of Austria, and it is named after Joseph’s mother, Maria Theresia. Terezín was laid out as a star-shaped fortress city to protect Austria-Hungary from a threat from Prussia.
The city is best known as the home of the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. In Terezín there is a museum about the history and everyday life of the camp.
Karlovy Vary is one of the famous spa towns in the northwestern part of the Czech Republic. The city is located at the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, and it is named after its founder, Charles IV, who was King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. Karlovy Vary was founded in 1349, and the reason was the presence of hot springs, which since then boosted a great economy from tourists arriving from most parts of the world.
In Karlovy Vary you can enjoy some lovely walks in the cozy centre, where elegant architecture characterizes the cityscape. It is especially along the banks of the river Teplá that you can explore the characteristic Karlovy Vary from the time when the city became one of Europe’s most visited spa towns. There are squares, parks, hotels, spas and, of course, the view of the city’s beautiful buildings in, for example, Lázeňská street.
České Budějovice is a beautiful town located in southern Bohemia at the point where the river Malše flows into the larger Vltava. The city was founded by the Bohemian King Ottokar II in 1265, and the royal city was supposed to strengthen Ottokar’s position in the region. Over the centuries, the city has been influenced by both German and Czech culture, and as part of the Habsburg Empire as well.
The old town of České Budějovice is located like an island at the confluence of the rivers, and the Náměstí Přemysla Otakara II is the central square of the city. All sides of the large square are full of beautiful houses, and in the middle of the square you can see the Samson fountain from the 1720s, which is one of the city’s landmarks. To the southwest you can see the baroque town hall of České Budějovice, which was built in the years 1727-1730.
Václavské náměstí 21
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The streets around Staroměstské náměstí and Václavské náměstí, 28. října, Celetná, Na Příkopě
Muzeum Loutek
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The Prague area have been inhabited for several millennia, due to the location of the site on the north-south trade routes, which followed the river Vltava.
The first known tribes who settled here were boii who were cellars. They came here about 500 BC, and it is believed that they gave Bohemia its original name.
Well over 500 years later, the Germanic tribe marcomanni came here. Some of the Celts retreated to the south, while others were integrated with the Germans under the leadership of King Maroboduus.
The twentieth century and the following many centuries became the time of the migrants in Europe, and from the mid-500s slaves came to the area, and in time they came to establish Prague and the Czech Republic. Many of the Germanic settlers moved on with the Longobards to the northern Italian region, while the remaining were assimilated among the West Slavs.
According to the accounts, a Czech dynasty was established when Princess Libuše married Přemysl, who came from humble conditions. Libuše reportedly predicted that a large city would rise and reach the stars along the Vltava River and that a castle named Praha would be erected here. Whether the story is true or not must remain uncertain, but Prague Castle was founded in the 8th century, and it became the starting point for the first real city formation.
It was Prince Borivoj of Bohemia who ruled from the second half of the 8th century, and he moved his residence from Levý Hradec to Prague, and since his time he Prague Castle and castle has been the political center of the Czech territory. The castle also became one of Europe’s largest fortified residences.
In 921, Václav, the Czech national saint, first came to power. Prior to his time, Prague and Bohemia were part of the Great Empire, but Václav made approximations to the German Ottoman dynasty to strengthen the influence of the Czechs. The approaches made adversaries, and Václav was assassinated in 929 after eight years as leader.
Václav was saintly ordained and buried in the church he founded at the site of the Václav Chapel of St. Vitus Cathedral today. He was brought up with a Christian father, which was contrary to many of the pagan customs that the nobility held until Christianity took over. Václav became the Catholic saint and the beginning of Christianity in the Czech territory.
Later in the 9th century the Saxon Ottorians subjugated Prague, which at the beginning of the 9th century became part of the German-Roman Empire with a politically autonomous regime.
Prague had rapidly developed into a thriving commercial city. The rulers invited many German merchants to Prague, and they made up an ever larger part of the city’s population, which not least set its mark culturally and linguistically. Other ethnic groups also joined the city. This was, for example, the beginning of Prague’s great Jewish colony. On the whole, the city flourished with great international trade from the late 900s, and from 973 Prague was also established as an ecclesiastical diocese with a bishop within the walls of Prague Castle.
Prague Castle was not the only center of power in the city. Around the year 1000, Vyšehrad was constructed as a new fortified place, and it was on the opposite side of Vltava in relation to the castle, which was also the city’s residence castle.
Vyšehrad came to develop separately, and not least when Vratislav II of Bohemia as king moved his residence from the castle to Vyšehrad. It happened in the 1080s, but this political status retained the place only until 1140, when Prince Soběslav moved the court back to the castle.
The 1100s became a major period for construction in the Bohemian capital. Monasteries and churches sprang up, and in 1170 the first bridge over Vltava was established. Growth continued in the following centuries, with more districts being granted commercial property rights. Staré Město is today the old town, and it first got its privileges in 1230 followed by Malá Strana in 1257 and Hradčany in 1320.
Prague’s population grew steadily, and in the 1300s it was one of Europe’s largest cities with 35,000 inhabitants. New institutions had come into being, such as the city’s university, which was founded in 1348.
Prague in the 13th century was not least characterized by the activity and facilities created by Charles IV. Charles IV was born in Prague in 1316 and first became king of Bohemia and then German-Roman emperor. Under Charles IV, who reigned as emperor in the years 1346-1378, the city flourished with a colossal new construction, and it was not only the university he founded.
Charles IV expanded the city with Nové Město, started the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral, Tyn Church and much more. Best known today is probably the Charles Bridge with its many beautiful statues; it also dates from the time of Charles IV. With the bridge and the many other buildings he founded in many ways contemporary Prague, which you can still see the contours of examples in many places in the city. It was also what was the ambition of Karl IV; he wanted to make Prague one of the world’s most important cities and the center of the empire.
After the heyday of Prague during Karl IV in the 1300s, it went down the hill on the city and Bohemia in the form of several settlements in the following century. Václav IV assumed the throne and reigned 1378-1419.
During Václav IV, a settlement was made with the Catholic Church. The preacher Jan Hus of the Bethlehem Chapel led the rebellion, reminiscent of the later reformation based on Martin Luther’s theses. House preached as far as possible in Czech, and that in itself was in opposition to the Catholic Church in the country.
Jan Hus’s followers were Husites who supported Hus’s reformation. King’s brother Sigismund lured Jan Hus to an ecclesiastical meeting in Konstanz in 1415, where he had promised free rent to Jan Hus. Sigismund did not keep his words, and Jan Hus was convicted as a heretic and burned at the stake. Four years later, some disgruntled citizens stormed the city’s new town hall and literally threw some Catholic officials out the window, which evolved into the Hitterite war.
King Václav IV died a few weeks later, and Sigismund claimed the throne, but was challenged by the Hussites who would defend Prague against Sigismund, which gathered an army of 30,000 soldiers. Led by General Jan Žižka, the Hussites in 1420 won the Catholic Army in the Battle of Vitkov, which became one of the great national narratives of the Czech country. Jan Žižka resisted several attacks later, but after his death, the Hussites lost their strength. The last battle was in 1434, after which Sigismund could be crowned King of Bohemia.
After King Sigismund’s death in 1437, many decades of controversy went on about the Bohemian crown, and some kings were monarchs during this time. The Husites also managed to see one of them as a Bohemian king, but this stopped the pope by sending a crusade against Prague.
The era of changing dynasties ended in 1526, when Ferdinand ascended the throne. He was a Habsburg and Catholic, and that put a damper on the scattered struggles.
Prague, with the Habsburgs and the closer ties with Austria, experienced a great flourishing, especially during Rudolf II in the period 1576-1611. Prague became Rudolf II’s hometown and he made it a European sanctuary for scientists. One of the newcomers was the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Rudolf II was also very liberal in terms of culture and architecture. Many Italian artists made their mark on the city, among other things through the many Renaissance buildings that can still be seen in the street scene.
The Habsburgs provided some stability, but tensions and rebellions continued in Bohemia, and not least Prague’s Protestant population dissatisfied with the Catholics who ruled.
The turmoil culminated on May 23, 1618, when Protestants threw Catholic governors out of the windows of Prague Castle. The governors survived, but politically the Protestants took control of the city. When Ferdinand II ascended the imperial throne of the German-Roman Empire in 1619, he was not accepted by the Protestants in Prague as King of Bohemia. Instead, they chose the Calvinist Frederick V of Palatinate, which was not well received by neither the emperor, Catholics nor the Saxon Protestants who did not care about Calvinists.
Ferdinand II saw the events in Prague as a riot, and it came to a final settlement on November 8, 1620 with the Battle of the White Mountain. The battle was between Protestants and Catholics, and with the victory of the Catholics, Ferdinand II was appointed king of Bohemia.
With the Catholic victory, Ferdinand II conquered Catholicism in Prague and Bohemia. Twenty-seven Protestant leaders were executed at the town hall square on June 21, 1621, and many measures were put in place to force Protestants to become Catholics. The nobility could choose to emigrate or convert, Catholicism became the only allowed creed and German was equated with Czech.
In the following decades, the Thirty Years’ War raged in Europe, and it also affected Prague. In 1648, Swedish troops besieged and looted the area west of Vltava, and it came to fighting on the Charles Bridge. The Swedes, however, did not conquer the city, and soon after came peace.
With the Westphalian Peace in 1648, the Thirty Years War ended and with the peace Ferdinand II moved the court to Vienna, after which about 300 years under Austrian rule started for Prague and Bohemia. These years and introduced rules became the starting point for a downturn for Prague, which had around 60,000 inhabitants before the fighting. After Peace in Westphalia, the figure had dropped to about 20,000.
With the Austrians as new rulers, a new Austrian upper class came to Prague. They built and developed the city that quickly got back on the growth track. The Austrians erected many new Baroque palaces, and during much of the Austrian period there was a great development. For part of this period, Prague and the Empire were ruled by Maria Theresia, who initiated major construction and renovations of, among others, the Prague Castle.
Maria Theresia was a regent from 1740, and her rule also had consequences for Prague’s large Jewish population. In the 1600s, it made up about 30% of the city’s inhabitants, and Prague was one of the world’s largest Jewish centers. Maria Theresia banished the Jews from Prague in 1745 on the assumption that they were cooperating with the Prussian army that had occupied the city the year before. Three years later, however, the Jews were allowed to return, and the Josefov ghetto continued to develop.
In the 1770s, 80,000 lived in the city, which at that time had experienced a major boom in construction. Countless splendid mansions and a host of newly or rebuilt churches in magnificent Baroque had seen the light of day in the years since the 1600s. The big boom in the different districts of Prague caused the four independent shopping centers in central Prague to be merged administratively in 1784.
After the Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the 19th century, the 19th century ushered in new times throughout Europe and thus also in Prague and Bohemia. It was a century in which industrialization and national identity became key, which was clearly seen in Prague and in the many buildings that took place during this time.
In 1848, a Slavic Congress was held in Prague, and the underlying theme was the Czech and Slavic sense of nationality in a kingdom dominated and ruled by the Emperor of Vienna as a foreign power. The congress was conducted 2-12. June, and just five days after its cessation, a revolutionary revolt against the Austrians and the imperial power came. However, the rebellion was beaten by the emperor’s soldiers, but the movement with increased Czech consciousness was initiated.
The Jewish population at this time lived concentrated in the Jewish ghetto in Josefov. The ghetto had been established with partly autonomous rule due to the many Jews who lived here. In 1850, the area was named Josefov after Emperor Joseph II, who had given the Jews freedom through his tolerance poem, and the same year Josefov officially became part of Prague.
In the latter half of the 19th century, Czech language, culture and history became increasingly evident in the street scene and in the development that Prague took. In 1861, Czech candidates overcame the German in the city council elections, and it was just one example of new times in the city.
During the same period, Czech language was used in more and more contexts, and artistically, several Czechs had progressed through the national identity; this included the two composers Dvořák and Smetana. Large institutions of importance to the Czech people were also founded at this time, and thus both the National Museum and the National Theater saw the light of day here; the old Charles University was also divided into two equilibrium universities with German and Czech as language respectively.
The 20th century took hold, when the 19th century escaped. The city expanded dramatically in the early 1900s, with architects working in various styles of the time. Art nouveau was popular and from the decades after 1900 many beautiful and elegant buildings were erected. Cubic forces were also tried in architecture, and this was something that was tried more here than anywhere else on Earth.
Shortly after 1900 the population increased to over 400,000, and the number continued to grow in the city, where national ideas continued to flourish. Thoughts and Czech currents culminated with World War I, during which the Empire of Austria-Hungary suffered defeat.
The defeat of the empire was also its downfall, and for the first time in several centuries, the Czechoslovak area could once again call itself an independent country. In 1918 Czechoslovakia was established as a republic with Prague as its capital. This naturally gave rise to a new boom, in which a number of new institutions were to be established for the state administration in the form of, for example, ministerial headquarters.
Prague had developed into an industrial city through the 19th century, and with the foundations of Czechoslovakia it also became a political center. All in all, Prague grew steadily and by the end of the 1920s the population had increased to around 850,000.
Life in the country and in the capital was very vibrant and positive between the two world wars. In particular, cultural life was developed and supported the new state and the fact that at this time the city had become very Czech compared to, for example, the middle of the 19th century, where almost half were German-speaking. In the 1930s, the city’s zoo and symphony orchestra opened as examples of new initiatives.
The 1930s, however, ended sadly with a German occupation from March 1939. Throughout the World War, Prague was no longer ruled by Czechs, but by Germans through the Protectorate of Bohemia and the Moravia. The Protectorate was established on March 15, 1939, after the proclamation of Adolf Hitler of Prague Castle.
During World War II, Prague was occupied, but formally the Czech Emil Hácha continued to hold the post of head of state; however, the city and the country were overseen by the Kingdom Protectors Constantine von Neurath and Wilhelm Frick. Along the way, Reinhard Heydrich and Kurt Daluege were acting protectors, and in particular, the attempted murder of Heydrich on his drive from his residence to his office in Prague on May 27, 1942 became known and became important to Prague and Bohemia. Heydrich died on June 4 in Prague, where fighting had been fought in the Germans’ chase for the perpetrators. Germany’s defeat in the war came in 1945, but before that, US planes had bombed Prague on February 14 of that year. 152 tons of bombs were thrown and 701 inhabitants were killed. Prague’s liberation took place on May 11, following the successful advancement of the Soviet Red Army.
At the May 1946 parliamentary elections, the Communist Party became the largest, and they were part of a coalition government. That condition lasted until February 25, 1948, when the Communists took over power in Czechoslovakia in what was called the Prague coup. The coup brought Klement Gottwald and the Communists to the entire government, and two years later Gottwald became the country’s president.
Communist times began with Josef Stalin as absolute leader of the Eastern Bloc, and a statue of him was erected in Prague in 1955. There was strict communism ruled by the party, and it was not until 1968 that the political system saw a change. It happened to Alexander Dubček as the country’s leader. Dubček initiated reforms to liberalize and democratize Czechoslovakia, but through the spring the situation became increasingly strained between the people, the party and the interests of the Soviet Union. The situation culminated on August 20, when the Soviet Union, the GDR, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria started an occupation of the country, which was then directed back into the path of communism.
The communist era also brought new developments. Many new buildings were erected and institutions were founded. These included theaters, of which the National Theater was expanded with a new stage. Colossal gymnastics tournaments, the so-called spartakiads, were held at the Strahov Stadium, which during this period had been expanded to be the world’s largest, and in general sports and culture were some of the things the board focused on.
The population also increased significantly over the decades following the end of World War II, and many new neighborhoods were built. The city grew significantly in size, and the metro and trams brought Prague’s population closer together purely logistically. The many new residential areas were mainly larger block buildings according to the pattern that prevailed in many places in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. From a population of around 930,000 in 1950, almost 1,200,000 lived in 1980.
In the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the population filled the streets of Prague, and the result was the so-called velvet revolution that marked the transition from one-party communist rule to a new democracy. Prague remained the capital, but Slovakia’s independence was only for the Czech Republic.
The time after 1989 brought about political change, but much else also happened in Prague and the Czech Republic. Most apparent to the many tourists in the city was the large-scale restoration of more or less the entire historic center. Maintenance of the property was given new priority, and in a few years Prague was once again beaming with greatness, which is clearly seen today in the historically important capital.
Prague, Czechia Czech Republic[/caption]
Overview of Prague
Prague is one of Central Europe’s most enchanting and interesting cities. The river Vltava meanders through the city passing several hills and boroughs, each containing unique architectural gems, elegant squares, green oases and everything else that belongs to a big city.
A meeting with Prague is a meeting with one of Europe’s old and large cultural cities. Throughout the streets of the old town you will find nice architecture, large institutional buildings, churches and historical places where emperors and kings have left their mark over the years. The Old City and the New City are located on the eastern side of the river, and together with the Lessor Town and Prague Castle on the western shore, they make the most interesting parts of Prague.
All the neighborhoods offer different sights from each their eras of history, culture and architecture. The often narrow streets are leading from one sight to the other, with experimental modern architecture in contrast to the Gothic and the Baroque styles, which is very visible in Prague with the city’s many churches and noble palaces. The Old Town Town Square, Staroměstské náměstí, is the center of it all and an impressive starting point for it all, and not least for the walk to Charles Bridge and Prague Castle.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
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Author: Stig Albeck
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Language: English
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This church, also known as Týn Church, is one of Prague’s best-known buildings and the most striking silhouette in the Old Town; Old Town. Construction of the church continued from the 14th century until 1511, when the southern tower was completed. The exterior of the church is late Gothic, while the interior was built in Baroque style after a fire in 1679.
There was originally a Romanesque church on the site. It was built in the 11th century as a church for all the foreign traders who from this time visited the nearby merchant farm; Týnský Dvur.
Inside you can see, among other things, a baroque altarpiece, it was made by Karel Škréta in the middle of the 17th century. The church organ is from 1673 and one of the best examples of European 17th century organs.
The famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe is buried in the church. Tycho Brahe worked in Prague for Emperor Rudolf II, and after his death he was buried here in 1601. His grave is marked with a stone in the floor near the altar, and there is also a Danish flag by the grave.
Josefov is the name of one of Prague’s centrally located smaller districts, and it used to be the old Jewish quarter. The Jewish history in the city is believed to start with the first immigrants in the 9th century. The following centuries brought with them the time of the Crusades, and during these centuries the Jewish population of Prague was concentrated in a Jewish ghetto that was behind a fence. In 1262, the division became so clear that Ottokar II allowed a certain degree of autonomy for the Jews in the ghetto.
In 1850, the neighborhood was renamed Josefov after Emperor Josef II, whose edict of tolerance from 1781 came to mean a lot to the Jewish inhabitants. In the decades around 1900, a lot was renovated in Josefov, which had to be modernized with Vienna and Paris as models. Much was demolished, but the city’s old town hall, six synagogues and the Jewish cemetery were preserved. Today, not many of Josefov’s old buildings remain, but the preserved synagogues and the cemetery give an impression of the neighborhood’s historical culture.
Today you can see several historic buildings in Josefov, and to that is added the elegant architecture from the beginning of the 20th century, which in itself is worth a stroll. Over the course of a few decades, one large, beautiful house after another was built along most of the streets, and today they stand nicely renovated. During a stroll through Josefov and, for example, Pařížská street, it is therefore important to look up at all the architectural details from this time.
Of Prague’s many Art Nouveau buildings, the town hall Obecní dům is the most remarkable. The house was built as a cultural center and exhibition space in 1905-1911 on the site where the residence of the Bohemian kings had been in the 1300s-1400s. This residence was demolished in 1904.
The entire building is almost worth seeing. Most famous is the elegantly decorated concert hall Smetana Sal/Smetanova síň, whose interior is both impressive and opulent for its time and function. The style is overall art nouveau, but there are also features from the preceding historicism. It can be seen on the facade, where you can notice allegorical decoration; among other things with the mosaic above the main entrance.
Obecní dům became historic as the place from which the country was declared independent in 1918. It happened with the declaration of independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A good way to experience the house is by visiting the house’s large cafe, located on the ground floor. The cafe is one of Prague’s finest dining venues, and the setting is internationally quite unique.
Rudolfinum is home to the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The building was built in 1876-1884 and named after the Habsburg Prince Rudolf. The Rudolfinum houses many concert halls, of which the impressive Dvořák Sal/Dvořákova síň is a fine example of Prague’s 19th-century architecture. In the Rudolfinum, there is also a gallery with changing exhibitions.
The concert building has played a significant political role in Czechoslovakian history, being the seat of the country’s parliament from 1918 to 1939. It was the first period in many centuries when the country was independent.
The powder tower is one of Prague’s old and exciting buildings. In its original appearance from the 11th century, the tower was one of the city gates in Prague’s Old Town. There were a total of 13 gates to this district.
The current powder tower was built from 1475, and it happened in connection with a royal mansion, which Vladislav II used as a residence. It was the Prague city council that paid for the tower as a coronation gift to Vladislav II. The king moved his activities to Prague Castle in 1484, after which the construction of the tower came to a standstill.
The 65 meter high tower got its name in the 17th century, when it was used as a gunpowder magazine. It was still unfinished with a temporary roof. The neo-Gothic roof construction that can be seen today originates from a restoration and completion in 1886.
Prague’s main railway station, Hlavní Nádraží, is a beautiful Art Nouveau building from the years 1901-1909. It was designed by the Czech Josef Fanta, and with its ornamentation, glass mosaics and large halls, the station is a good example of the prestigious railway constructions of the time.
Inside, you can see it, among other things, in the Fantova Kavárna cafe area, which is an impressive period space. This room is located at upper street level, so from the general traffic to and from the tracks and platforms you have to go up one floor.
The first railway station was inaugurated in 1871 with the name Franz Josef I Banegård/Nádraží Františka Josefa I. After Czechoslovak independence, it was renamed Wilsonowa Banegård/Wilsonovo nádraží, named after the American president Woodrow Wilson.
A statue of Wilson stood in a park in front of the railway station until 1941, when German authorities removed it. The name Hlavní Nádraží came about in 1953, and by the way, a statue of Woodrow Wilson was put up again in 2012.
The Czech National Museum is the country’s oldest museum institution, founded in 1818. The forerunner goes back to 1796, when an association started work to establish a patriotic museum. It happened in the aftermath of the French Revolution, when great royal and noble exhibitions came on public display, and the same thoughts prevailed in Prague.
The museum was founded in 1818 as the Patriotic Museum, and the focus was initially natural history and natural science. This developed through the 1830s and 1840s to also encompass general history, and over time the museum became one of the centers of the growing Czech national feeling.
The location was initially the Sternberg Palæ/Šternberský palác at Prague Castle, but both here and the next place the collections soon became so large that it was decided to build a large-scale building for the purpose. The current colossal museum building in an impressive castle-like style was completed after six years of construction in 1891 according to architect Josef Schulz’s design. It is a clear example of the growing Czech self-awareness of the time, and it continues to this day as one of the Czechs’ most important symbols of the development of the independent Czech Republic.
The museum’s collection counts several million effects, so there is enough to see for curious visitors. There are major exhibitions in anthropology, archaeology, botany, entomology, mineralogy, mycology, palaeontology, zoology and more at more addresses than the main building, whose primary aim is the depiction of history. With the scope of the collections, you can, for example, choose a special department or simply enjoy the architecturally beautiful and impressive building during a visit.
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The beautifully landscaped Václavské náměstí, Václavské náměstí, was established in the Middle Ages as the city’s horse market with the name Koňský trh. It happened with Charles IV’s establishment of the New Town, Nové Město, which became an extension of Prague from 1348. Koňský trh, together with Charles Square/Karlovo náměstí, were the large open spaces in the district.
500 years later, the square got its current name. It was in 1848 that Czech nationalism won out. It was therefore natural to name one of the city’s most significant squares after the Bohemian national saint, Saint Václav. An equestrian statue of Václav was also erected on the occasion, and it can be seen in the center of the square in front of the Czech National Museum.
After conversion from an old medieval square, Václavské náměstí is more like a splendid boulevard than a square with its 60 meters in width and 750 meters in length. You can walk the sides of the square or in the middle, from where you can really enjoy the square’s many fine buildings from the decades around 1900. There is also a cafe here, which is set up in one of Prague’s old trams, and several other things.
Throughout history, many major events have taken place here. On October 28, 1918, Alois Jirásek read the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in front of the equestrian statue of Saint Václav, and during World War II the Germans used the square for large processions. It was also here that Yuri Gagarin was hailed locally as a hero after becoming the world’s first man in space.
In addition to the Czech National Museum and the equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas, you should pay special attention to several beautiful buildings along the square. Grand Hotel Europa (no. 29) was built in Art Nouveau style in 1906. The hotel has largely been preserved in its original form inside and out and stands as a contemporary gem of a house. The neighboring building stands elegantly in the same style, while the Rococo Palace/Palác Rokoko (Václavské náměstí 38) is a slightly later and more imposing example of earlier 20th-century architecture. Palác Rokoko was built 1912-1916.
Vyšehrad is, in the sense of the word, Prague’s stronghold. The facility was founded in the 9th century on a ridge by the river Vltava. Vyšehrad was Prague’s second castle complex, as the current castle in Prague was also established, and it was even this that was the residence of the monarchs.
Vyšehrad experienced its heyday from the end of the 11th century to around 1140. The period started when Vratislav II moved his seat of government from Prague Castle to Vyšehrad. In this connection, the castle was expanded with a residence palace and a church, and development proceeded quickly. However, Vyšehrad quickly lost its status again when Prince Soběslav moved back to the nearby castle a few kilometers to the north on the opposite side of the Vltava.
At Vyšehrad, however, there was still a palace complex that was used by the royals. It lasted until the 14th century, when the place had fallen into such disrepair that Emperor Karl IV had the entire castle and castle complex renovated and rebuilt. In the 15th century, Vyšehrad was besieged and attacked twice, after which the buildings fell into disrepair.
The Habsburgs gained dominion over Prague after the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, and in the 1650s they established a baroque building on Vyšehrad, which otherwise stood as a ruin. The facility was not a residence, but instead came to function as barracks for the Austrian army.
Vyšehrad today gives an impression of the Austrian baroque construction and subsequent reconstructions. There are two churches and a few things to see from the medieval castle. These are, for example, the lookout tower Libušina spa and the gate Špička. The area became an official part of Prague in 1883, and today it is laid out as a beautiful and atmospheric park.
Vyšehrad is located on the top of a ridge, and around it, in some places, huge walls have been built, which gave Vyšehrad strength as a fortress. The walls are most impressive if viewed from the north or south, and they can also be experienced from the viewing platform established immediately south of the Vyšehrad Basilica.
At the top of the hill Vitkov you can experience one of the 20th century’s largest and most significant monuments in Prague. It consists of several individual parts, and its history began in 1928, when the construction of a memorial to Czech legionnaires began.
Vitkov himself has laid the foundation for several things in Czech history. In the wake of Jan Hus’ reformation ideas, the Holy Roman Emperor and Bohemian king, Sigismund, led a Catholic crusade against the reformation-supporting Hussites. The Hussites entrenched themselves at Vitkov, and on 14 July 1420 the final battle took place, where the Hussites won over the Catholic army.
In memory of this, an equestrian statue was erected on Vitkov. It depicts Jan Žižka, who was the leader of the Hussites and stands as an icon of the Czech national consciousness. Jan Žižka also gave his name to the district of Žižkov, of which Vitkov is a part.
With Czech independence in 1918, the idea of a national liberation monument became manifest, and in 1928 President Masaryk laid the foundation stone for the current construction. In 1933, the building itself was completed, while artists continued the interior decoration. This work was not completed before the outbreak of World War II. During the war, the Germans used the monument as a warehouse.
After the end of the war, work could continue on the monument, and the equestrian statue of Jan Žižka was inaugurated in 1950. Below the statue, a flame burns for the unknown soldier as part of the memorial to those who have fought for the Czech land.
In addition to the completion of the monument, a mausoleum was built for the head of state Klement Gottwald after the latter’s death after the Second World War. In doing so, the communist leadership sought to change the monument from a memorial of the freedom struggle to a pantheon of the new communism.
It happened with inspiration from Lenin’s mausoleum in Moscow and Dimitrov’s in Sofia, and Klement Gottwald also came to be embalmed as a communist luminary. Gottwald came to lie where President Masaryk was originally supposed to be buried. The mausoleum was in operation in the years 1953-1962, when Gottwald was cremated.
Petřín Tower is a 63 meter high tower, which is a steel construction with clear inspiration from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was also a Czech delegation that, after a visit to Paris and the Eiffel Tower, started a collection of funds for a tower in Prague.
The tower was built in 1891 in connection with a jubilee exhibition in the city, and ever since then it has been very popular for locals and visitors to go up to the viewing platform at the top. As the tower is located on a ridge, the top is located high above the city despite the relatively modest height of the tower itself, and this provides one of Prague’s absolute most beautiful views.
Over time, the tower has also functioned as a transmission tower. It was thus Prague’s primary television transmission tower from the installation of an antenna in 1953 until 1992, when a new tower in the district of Žižkov was completed.
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