Alis Procházková |

Old Town Bridge Tower

You have already explored Prague through and through, gone to most Prague city tours, seen all the main historical sites including the mesmerizing view from Prague Castle, experienced the touching atmosphere of the St. Vitus Cathedral and strolled through the romantic narrow streets of Prague Venice and the Old Town… Do you still maintain the foolish view the media have been claiming for so long – namely that Paris that is the most romantic city?

Then you must have missed the sunrise or sunset from the top of one of Europe’s most beautiful medieval Gothic buildings – the Old Town Bridge Tower!

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The Old Town Bridge Tower dates back to the reign of the famous king Charles IV in the 14^th century (who allegedly designed a part of the tower himself). In my opinion, it belongs to the 10 top things to do in Prague. After a nice breakfast or dinner in one of Old Town’s pleasant restaurants or cafes (please try to be moderate with the beer this time!) and a lovely walk towards Charles Bridge, with the warm spring breeze blowing away all the smog while bringing the nice river smell and the dim light gradually giving way to the sunset, take the hand of your loved one, forget about the improper comment they made about your hair the day before and simply say a couple of nice words to create the right atmosphere. Arriving at the entrance to Charles Bridge, don’t blindly follow the unknowing crowd hurrying towards the bridge but instead, turn left to the monumental Old Town Bridge Tower. Climb to the first floor to watch an amusing cartoon about the history of Charles Bridge and then continue to the very top (for a small of fee of about 90 crowns).

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If there is anything you have been long afraid to ask your better half, now is the right time! If not, just enjoy the romance and the panoramic view of practically the whole historical heart of Prague. But also remember the 21 protesters against the Catholic Church beheaded on the Old Town Square in 1621. There are 21 white crosses on the pavement in front of the Old Town Hall in memory of the tragedy. Twelve of them had the unique opportunity to enjoy the view of Charles Bridge from the Old Town Bridge Tower for almost 10 years (imagine the smell!). If this is still not romantic enough, remember all the “criminals” (who committed petty thefts or simply had a bad face expression when in the company of a wealthy person, which was a crime serious enough) and “witches” subjected to proving their innocence in this place. Just opposite the Jesus Christ statue right below, those people were put into a small tub and thrown into the water. The tub was lifted out after ten minutes and if the person survived, they were vindicated. Indeed, life in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, just like in most medieval societies, was harmonious and the rule was just.

View of the Powder Tower. Prague. Czech Republic, Western Europe. October 23, 2012

But do not get carried away! Disregarding the magical view and the fascinating history of this place, keep in mind the opening hours (from 10 am till 10 pm in the summer season). So don’t miss on one of the best tourist attractions in Prague!

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We wish you a nice stay in Prague full of romance!

Prague From Stalin’s Viewpoint

You may have come across a beautiful postcard or an amazing Photoshopped picture of Prague that made you wonder where the heck the picture could have been taken?! You comfort yourself with the idea that the photographer must have suffered a lot and surely walked miles before getting to this distant secret place, or even worse, must have gone on some kind of dreary walking tour of Prague!

letná 2 — photo credits: http://poprve.blogspot.cz

However, things that seem distant and unreachable are often closer and more accessible than we think. In fact, one of the most beautiful and popular parks in Prague – Letná – is only a short ride from the city centre! You can take tram no. 15 from “Náměstí republiky” (the square with two shopping centres, the Municipal House and the Powder Tower) or tram no. 17 from “Právnická fakulta” (Faculty of Law at the riverbank at the end of the famous “Pařížská ulice” (Paris Street) full of luxury boutiques). Either way, you will get to the stop “Čechův most” in no time and then you just have to climb up the stairs.

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Still having trouble finding this place? Don’t worry, the people of Prague have gone to great lengths to make it clearly visible from far away… Just look for a huge ticking triangular thing right next to the Vltava River. By now, some of you might be asking yourselves who in their right mind would build a giant metronome in the middle of a city? To satisfy your curiosity, we must look back at a chapter of Czech history, which is not a particularly happy one to recall for most Czechs.

Praha,_Holešovice,_zimní_Letná

In 1948, the Soviet Union decided that the freedom celebration party in Czechoslovakia after the Second World War had been going on for far too long, so we became a communist country. As peoples’ hearts were being injected with communist ideals, the park in Letná suddenly started feeling too empty. The Czechs were forced to show their gratitude to their Soviet liberators (just like we are grateful to our boss for letting us work overtime, thus liberating us from the chains of laziness…) and the empty Letná Park was the perfect place. As a result, since 1955 no tourists (if there were any), however bad their sense of direction was and even without a tourist map of Prague, could have possibly missed this place. There was a huge statue of Stalin, enjoying a beautiful view of Prague from the top of the Letná Park (while everyone else worked in factories). It was the biggest statue in the whole of Europe at the time (no wonder the architects committed suicide before it was officially revealed, probably due to exhaustion). What is interesting (and a bit upsetting for some) is that some of the stone used for the statue was taken from sites playing a significant role in the history of our nation (e.g. the Old Town Hall, our national hill Říp or from village Ležáky, annihilated by the Nazis along with Lidice).

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Fortunately (for us), Stalin’s supporters didn’t enjoy this magnificent statue for long (those who miss it can buy Chinese Pu-erh tea with a picture of Stalin and Mao Zedong in one of the many Prague tea shops). When Khrushchev took power, he openly criticized Stalin’s cult of personality and the statue was taken down (narcissism never gets fully appreciated…). After the fall of communism in 1989, when the hearts of people were being filled with money for a change, the Letná Park seemed a bit empty again. The Metronome Monument was built at exactly the same spot where Stalin’s statue used to stand. The rationale was to remind us that times can change and to warn us against repeating the mistakes of the past (anyway, there is no need for that today, since dry river beds, infertile soil and climate change can do the job very well on their own).

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So come and enjoy the view Stalin once had and see our beautiful city of Prague from a different angle. Since there are several playgrounds in the park, it is one of the things to do in Prague with kids. And don’t forget to learn from your past mistakes (especially don’t make the mistake of not having an awesome once-in-a-lifetime Prague holiday)!

For Mucha Lovers From Prague With Love

The end of 2016 meant not only the end of the year but also the end of one whole chapter – the exhibition of the Slavic Epic by Alphonse Mucha in the Prague National Gallery, which was launched in 2012. Large size paintings are making their journey to the far away Japan right now. They will be available for visitors in Tokio between March and June 2017. During the whole time of the exhibition in Prague, a total of 380 000 people paid a visit to the Slavic Epic.

For people like me, who like to boast about any world-known artist with a feeling, as if the genius belonged to our own child, the temporary removal of Slavic Epic exhibition is a highly tragic event. However it is important to keep in mind, that for Mucha lovers, Prague has still plenty to offer!

If you want to admire Mucha’s works, there are several places which are a must visit in Prague for you!

While being immersed in deep prayers in the St. Vitus Cathedral of the Prague Castle, one of the major Prague tourist attractions, your spiritual experience (somewhat obscured by a huge portion of duck with dumplings and sauerkraut accompanied by Pilsner bier which you consumed just now in one of the many local pubs) can be deepened by the very look at the glass window designed by Alphonse Mucha between the years 1928-1930, depicting the dawn of Christianity in Czech lands. The window became one of the most popular artifacts in the Cathedral. But don´t let your spiritual experience to get spoiled by the potential tour guides in your surroundings having a Prague castle tour, telling people something about murders- that is probably only our first baptized duchess Ludmila killing her daughter Drahomíra, or maybe Ludmila’s grandson king Václav being killed by his younger brother. We all have our little faults!

st-_vitus_cathedral_muchas_window — Stained-glass Window by Mucha at St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague

For those of you who would rather prefer traveling to the past instead of prayers, there is Alphonse Mucha museum in the city centre. You can even book a guided tour there (at least a week ahead). You can find there most importantly the exhibition of Mucha’s works from his Paris period. This period was the one, when Alfonse Mucha became famous artist for the first time. It was for his posters painted for a theater star Sarah Bernhardt. While admiring the works of “the king of art nouveau” there is one important detail to keep in mind. Mucha wasn´t one of those who would create their art works under the motivation in form of golden coins in their pockets and would blindly follow the customs or trends of that time. High art was available only for the richest people and therefore the highest esthetic experience of an average citizen at that time was probably the entrance sign of the factory gate, where he or she worked. Commercial posters were conventionally without any taste and kitschy (from my own experience I must admit, that for attention drawing it really works well). Mucha however, as one of the first people created posters as artistic works and the time he spent with creating them was also no different from a real painting. In this way he gave the opportunity for common people to enjoy art on the street, the kind of art for which you had to spend astronomical sums of money in that time. Some people might call this casting pearls before swine, but I am on the opposite delighted that thanks to people like Mucha, I can visit my favourite exhibition in the 21. century, because even the world leading authorities have realized, that even though a human being is only a mere workforce for them, catalyzing economic growth, in order to boost their productivity and ensure their compliance, it is necessary to fulfill their psychological needs, which were scientifically proven to exist.

Back to Mucha though. Another aspect of this extraordinary artist was his nationalism. The proof for his love of motherland is not only the Slavic Epic (he created it for 24 years), but also the decoration of the Mayor room in the Municipal house. The Municipal house was built in the year 1912. It was one of the most important buildings for the Czech nationalist movement. For the decoration of the Mayor room Mucha didn´t accept any monetary reward, as a sign of solidarity with Czech artists. In that time in most of the public places in Czech the only language was German as we were part of Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The Czech language started to fade. The Municipal house was therefore intended as a gathering place for Czech artists and all performances were conducted only in Czech language. The Municipal house played also an important role in our independence. In the year 1918 the independent Czechosklovakia was announced by our first president Tomáš Garrique Masaryk from the balcony of the Municipal house and with that event, Czech became an independent state after almost 400 years.

1280px-mucha_kouzlo_slova_slovanska_epopej_praha_6265 — The Slav Epic by Alfons Mucha

It was no coincidence that it was the Municipal house where our independent state was announced. In the place of the house used to stand the Royal palace, where the last king of Czech origin- Jiří z Poděbrad use to rule in the 15^th century, not long before Czech lands became part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. In the Municipal house decorated wholly in art nouveau style, you can enjoy the magic atmosphere of local restaurant or visit the most prominent classical music concerts in the Smetana hall of the first floor.

Smetana Hall, at the Municipal House, Prague

However even the missing Slavic Epic doesn´t leave the womb of Prague for too long. Already now the city authorities are searching for a place to exhibit Slavic Epic after its return form world tour. After all Mucha also returned to Prague in the end after his stay in France and America. It is in the human nature to thrive for exploring new worlds and broadening horizons during long journeys to tropical lands with the feeling of courageous missionary gaining spiritual knowledge. However it is only after I return home and see hundreds of cute towers under the curtain of tender mist that I realize that no matter what adventure I experience, no matter what place I go, there will always be plenty of fun things to do in Prague!

Touch enlightened official and get your wish come true before Christmas!

There are countless mysterious, romantic and culturally enlightening places in Prague an adventurous tourist would probably be eager to know about. Yet as we all know the darkest place is under the candle, and inspired by this knowledge I will lead your steps along hundreds of other visitors to the good old Charles Bridge.

The Charles Bridge is the oldest bridge in town (the foundation stone being laid in 1357) and another proof that Czech people just can´t stop thinking about carnal pleasures even during bridge building. As a result of this it is said that the bridge contains also eggs and milk. The naive expectation of having a peaceful walk on the Charles Bridge, enjoying fully the historical atmosphere of a small Eastern European town someone might perhaps hold, will be probably not fulfilled only unless ceaseless crowds are on your ideal romantic experience list. However for those introverted you, who got cold feet just now, please don´t get too dispirited by my heartless remarks. The magical atmosphere of this place, which feels new and different even during 500th visit, totally overshadows the fear that the almost 700 years old bridge might collapse every second under the attack of eager tourists. But it is exactly the beauty of the place which makes most of the tourists indulge in mindless awe, leaving them often unaware of the most interesting spot of the whole bridge – the tiny statue of John of Nepomuk hiding between a golden grid in the middle of the bridge wall.

This is the time when I get superstitious and having thousands of wishes in my head in the time of Christmas, when we should think of our neighbours, I pick up the most useless and selfish one, approach the statue and try to suppress the knowledge of the true identity of the depicted saint into my deepest levels of subconsciousness. Yet I am prepared to make a journey into my subconscious again in order to shed light on this little tragic comedy story.

According to the legend, five stars emerged on the surface of Vltava River (the one flowing under your feet while standing on the bridge) in the 17^th century. (Hint: it was right after the end of 30 years war, when 85% of people in Czech lands were Protestants and all of them had to either emigrate or convert to Catholicism… what an interesting coincidence!). People saw the emergence as a sign from heaven and dived into the water. To their astonishment, they found the skull and bones of the 14^th century priest John of Nepomuk right there! And what more, his tongue was still preserved! (Well it is actually quite difficult for modern capitalist creatures to imagine such an excitement over few bones with no apparent business utility, but just you wait!). John Nepomuk was said to have served as the personal priest of the kings Wenceslaus IV wife Žofie. He enjoyed her full trust and thus she told him all her personal secrets. Unfortunately the king became afraid, that he might have “parohy” (horns, in Czech language having horns means to be cheated on by wife, I am sure she wasn´t the only one for him either though). He wanted John to reveal everything she entrusted to him during confessions. John however being a decent priest refused to break the seal of confession even during torture and was eventually executed by throwing into the Vltava River. And because this miracle he was canonized and proclaimed a saint. According to the legend when you touch the five stars around his head with your right hand and five stars of the cross below with your left hand, John of Nepomuk being able to return to Prague again after his death (even if in the form of bones) can help you to return to Prague again also. Or just fulfill some of your wishes.

While being a bit reluctant of destroying the mystical curtain of John of Nepomuk’s holiness and revealing his true identity, I realized that in today’s world we don´t fall victim to the presumption, that a hero or icon must necessary be moral, or even can be moral, since we are all just human beings, having our cute little flaws.

John of Nepomuk while indeed having lived in the 14^th century and served the king Wenceslaus IV, he wasn´t a mere priest but the vicar general of the Prague archbishop. It was because of the fact, that John threatened the power of the king with his intrigues and rising power that the king decided to get rid of him and his bones ended in the depths of Vltava River. After the end of the 30 years war however, there was an urgent need for some catholic saints in Czech lands (how sad) and his newly by chance discovered bones were a great opportunity to trick the people.

So please, when you make your trip to Prague and see the beautiful scenery of this city from the Charles Bridge for the first time in your life (envy you), spend a thought about Czech history and appreciate the creativity and narrative genius of our ancestors. Touch the statue of John of Nepomuk and make a wish (and at the same time please avoid the unpleasant feeling that the society actually didn’t change that much over the centuries). I am sure that a vicar general who has made it to a saint is surely powerful enough to make it come true!