Praha

Prague

(recorded on the list in 1992)

The Czech capital is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and indeed the world. The dominant site on the Vltava riverbanks is Prague Castle, built in the 9th century by the Přemyslids. In the third castle courtyard you will find a pearl of Gothic architecture and the imaginary spiritual centre of the Czech state, the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtěch. In the Crown depository chamber you will find a treasure perhaps even more valuable than the entire cathedral: the Czech crown jewels. In the Royal tomb below the floor of the cathedral lie a number of Czech kings and rulers, including the “Father of the Nation”, and the King and Emperor, Charles IV. The historical centre of Prague covers 866 hectares and consists of a unique set of buildings and artistic monuments representing virtually all styles. Here you can find Romanesque rotundas together with the most modern buildings made of glass and steel.

Prague Castle and the Cathedral of St. Vitus
The Přemyslids probably began to build the first fortifications on an elevated site above the river sometime around the 9th century. As their power grew, the fortress as well as the city below began to expand and gained in importance. In 1344, Charles IV of Luxembourg began the construction of a magnificent Gothic cathedral dedicated to St. Vitus. It took six long centuries until it was finally completed in 1929 and Prague Castle got the appearance that we know today.

The Chapel of St. Wenceslas is the most sacred place of the St. Vitus Cathedral. It was built above the last resting place of the patron of the Czech lands by Petr Parler from 1362 –1367. The Saint´s grave is marked by a stone tombstone from the 14th century. The decoration of the chapel is stunning: its walls are planted at the bottom with Czech gemstones connected in gilded plaster; the upper part is decorated with scenes of Christ’s sufferings. They originated in the years 1372 –1372 and their author is unknown. From the chapel we enter a staircase leading to the Regalia Chamber where the Czech Crown Jewels are deposited, locked with seven locks.

Hradčany – the Castle district
This is the area of the city around Prague Castle. The shape of Hradčany is characterized by several splendid palaces, including Schwarzenberg, Sternberg and Martinický palaces. Opposite the largest palace, the Černínský palace, you will find a Baroque Loreto, which is an important pilgrimage site. Since the 17th century, its tower clock has played its famous chime melody every hour. The silhouette of Prague Castle also includes the towers of the Strahov monastery, the oldest work of the Premonstrants in Bohemia.

Malá Strana
This is a small district between Prague Castle and the Vltava River. Its centre is the sloping Malostranské Square (Lesser Town Square), where in the middle you will find the massive Church of St. Mikuláš, regarded as the most important Baroque building in the country. Another spectacular monument in Malá Strana is the complex of buildings making up the Wallenstein Palace and its adjacent garden. According to the vision of the ambitious commander Albrecht of Wallenstein (1583–1634), this site, thanks to its large area, was to compete with Prague Castle itself. From the Lesser Town Square you can go up a popular tourist street called Nerudova Street, which will take you all the way to the castle. The street is well-known for its building signs such as House of the Two Suns, The Three Fiddles, The Golden goblet, etc.

Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge is the oldest bridge in Prague, and the second oldest in the country. It connects Malá Strana (the Lesser Town) on the left riverbank with Staré Město (Old Town), situated on the right bank of the Vltava River. It is located in approximately the same place where the Judith Bridge, which was destroyed by floods, used to stand. The bridge construction began in 1357, and was initiated by the King and Emperor, Charles IV. The bridge is over 500 metres long and 9.5 meters wide, and has 16 supporting arches. On its pillars you can see a total of 30 mostly Baroque statues, which create a unique and impressive open-air exhibition of sculptures. The entrances at both ends of the bridge are “guarded” by towers. The Gothic Old Town Bridge Tower, thanks to its magnificent decorations, is regarded as one of the most beautiful fortified buildings in Europe.

Staré Město (Old Town)
This is a district of Prague situated on the right bank of the Vltava River. Its centre is the Old Town Square, which features several important historical monuments, such as the Town Hall with its famous astronomical clock, and the Týnský Church. In the centre of the square you can see a memorial statute dedicated to the famous religious reformer, Jan Hus. If you look towards the Vltava River you will see a prestigious Prague boulevard called Pařížská třída, which starts at the square. Other historical sights in the Old Town include the Gothic Prašná věž (Powder Tower), where the Royal Way starts (a road where Czech kings walked towards Prague Castle on the night before their coronation), and the most important Art Nouveau monument in Prague, Obecní dům (Municipal House).

Old Town Hall
This was founded in 1338 as the first town hall in Bohemia. The core of the town hall is the corner Gothic house with its decorated portal. A 69.5 meter rectangular tower was added in 1364. In 1458, a memorable assembly convened at the town hall and elected George of Poděbrady (1420–1471) the first “Hussite” king of Bohemia.

The Church of Our Lady of Victory in Karmelitská Street, the oldest Baroque church in Prague, dates back to 1611-1613 and is known especially for its wax statue known as the Infant Jesus of Prague. The statue was donated to the church in 1628 by Polyxena of Lobkowicz. The church is also decorated with paintings, among others, by Peter Brandl. Under the floor of the church is a crypt that served as a Carmelite burial ground. In addition to the walled tombs, the crypt also holds mummified remains of monks, some in glass coffins.

Jewish Town
Also called Josefov – it is a small neighbourhood inside the Old Town where historical Jewish relics are still preserved today and which remind us about the origins of Jewish settlements in Prague. Without a doubt, the most important monument here is the Jewish cemetery with its almost 13,000 gravestones. People were buried here from the first half of the 15th century until 1787. Due to the limited burial area of the cemetery, new layers of soil had to be brought to the cemetery, so the dead were actually buried in several layers right above each other. Another very important historical Jewish monument is the Old New Synagogue, one of the oldest in Europe. It was built around the first half of the 13th century and services are held here to this day.

Nové Město (New Town)

The New Town was founded in 1348 on the right bank of the Vltava River by Emperor Charles IV. A well-conceived urban plan gave rise to a system of streets around the three large squares, which at that time were used as marketplaces. These were called the Horse Market (today’s Wenceslas Square), the Cattle Market (today’s Charles Square) and the Hay Market (today’s Senovážné Square). The centre of the newly founded town was the Cattle Market, and therefore, the New Town Hall was built here on this square. Other famous historical sites include, the Faust House, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Slovany and the tallest but never completed church in Prague – the Church of Our Lady Maria Sněžná on Jungmann Square.

Vyšehrad
A famous place on a high cliff on the right bank of the Vltava River. This site is associated with many legends which are closely linked to the origin of the state (the legend of Prince Krok and his daughters, the legend of Princess Libuše and the legend of Bivoj).
The oldest historical building is a Romanesque rotunda of St. Martin built in the 11th century during the reign of King Vratislav I. The Romanesque Basilica of St. Peter and Paul also comes from around the same period. Over the centuries, this Basilica was rebuilt several times, and its present shape represents the neo-Gothic style from a period between 1885 and 1903. During this period, the two square towers with their pyramid-like tops were built, which today are one of the dominant features of Prague on the right bank of the Vltava River. In the 19th century, the cemetery near the St. Peter and Paul Church was turned into a burial site where the greatest figures of the Czech nation were buried.

Did you know that…

There is a very interesting origin behind the name Old New Synagogue: It is said that the stones for the construction of the shrine were brought here from the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, which was destroyed in 70 A.D. However, these stones were brought here under one condition and that is that upon the arrival of the Messiah and when the Temple is built in Jerusalem again, these stone will be returned. The Hebrew word “al tenaj” may be translated as “under the condition of” – and that is how this synagogue got its name. But over the years this word became distorted and a new word, “altneu”, was created, which means “old-new”.