Monuments of Prague - Best sightseeing of Prague.

The Astronomical Clock - Prague

The astronomical clock was incorporated into the structure of the Old Town Hall in 1490. The clock must have been a fantastic technological achievement for the age. So much so that - as legend has it, the timepiece's maker, Master Hanus, was deliberately blinded by the local council in an attempt to stop him from building a similar clock elsewhere in Europe. By way of revenge, Hanus is said to have returned to the clock tower, whereupon he duly tossed a spanner in the works, damaging it so severely that it didn't work for over one hundred years.

A more likely (but less interesting) account is that the clock's creators were a Professor Sindel from the University of Prague and Mr. Mikoláš from Kada? - men who both specialised in the calculation of astronomical movements during the early 14th century. Their original plans, which are said to have included a far from perfect mechanism were only properly completed after being rectified by Jan Táborský some 140 years later.

Aside from showing the phases of the moon, the sun, planets and starsmoving around the earth, the clock's most famous element is the upper section, added in 1865. At the top of each hour, a unique ritual occurs in which decorative figures of the twelve apostles move from left to right below the clock face while a skeletal figure (Death) pulls a rope in time to the chimes. The spectacle ends - to much applause and laughter - as the mechanical cock crows.

Underneath, the clock's painted calendar - created by the revered Czech artist Joseph Manes in 1870 - shows the signs of the zodiac, saints' days and the monthly labours of peasant folk.

Charles Bridge is a major tourist attraction in Prague. It's the main pedestrian route linking the Old Town with Mala Strana, and then onto Prague Castle itself.
During the day, souvenir stands and street musicians line the bridge; look out for the jazz band, who can be particularly entertaining.

King Charles IV's favourite architect and builder, Peter Parler, built the present day Charles Bridge. The initial idea was to build a functional construction for knight tournaments, and for many years the only decoration on the bridge was a simple crucifix. Later, the Catholic desire for ornamentation resulted in 30 statues being erected between 1600 and 1800.

Today, most of the statues are copies, as various floods and catastrophes over the centuries have damaged the originals. There are now 75 statues, and perhaps the most interesting, as well as the oldest, is that of John of Nepomuk (8th from the right as you cross towards Prague Castle).

There are towers at both ends of the bridge - the Old Town Bridge Tower on the Old Town side and the Lesser Town Bridge Towers on the Mala Strana side.

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn dominates one side of the Old Town Square in Prague. This powerful looking, Gothic church with a baroque interior can be seen from all over Prague.
The church was founded in 1385 during the tumultuous period when the ‘heretic’ Hussites were slaughtered by the ruling Roman Catholics. The Catholic Jesuits then made the church their own by recasting the bell and replacing the Hussites symbolic chalice with a ten-foot figure of Mary nailed between the towers.

Impressive during the day, and striking at night lit up against the dark night sky, take a close look at the two spires. They are not symmetrical. This is characteristic of the gothic architecture of the time, which tried to represent both masculine and feminine sides of the world.

Prague Jewish Quarter - Prague Ghetto (Zidovske mesto)

Originally dating back to the 13th century, the Jewish Quarter present appearance is mainly the result of a vast redevelopment undertaken between 1893-1913. Only the few most significant buildings were saved, living testimony of the history of Prague Jews, spanning many centuries. Yet these buildings form the best present complex of Jewish historical monuments in the whole of Europe.
Six synagogues remain from this old settlement, which includes the Jewish Town Hall and the Old Jewish Cemetery - the most remarkable in Europe, along with the Old-New Synagogue. They are all part of the Jewish Museum.

Loreta Church (Loreto)

An extraordinarily ornate church, the façade of the Loreta is best described as a "Baroque fantasy", being lavished with all manner of cherubs, ecclesiastical statues and fine plasterwork.

The beautiful Loreta is an important pilgrimage site commissioned by Baroness Beligna Katherina von Lobkowicz in 1626.
After completion, Loreta Church was maintained by the Capuchins, an order connected with the St. Francis of Assisi's Brotherhood.
This historical building was created to promote the legend of Santa Casa, a copy of the house believed to be the Virgin Mary's. This Santa Casa copy, complete with original fresco pieces and the statue of Our Lady of Loreta, sits in a lovely courtyard surrounded by chapel-lined arcades.

Not to be missed is the 'Prague Sun' and its 6000 plus diamonds in the Treasury, and the 27-bell carillon playing on the hour in the entrance.

Municipal House (Obecní Dum)

The finest example of Art Nouveau architecture in Prague, the Municipal House is also a triumph of artistic collaboration. Constructed between 1905 and 1911 the house, which has been painstakingly restored to its former glory, was built to the designs of Osvald Polívka and Antonín Balšánek (with the input of more than 30 other leading artists) and raised on what was once the court of the Bohemian Royal family.

The interior, which includes a number of impressive works by the world famous Czech artist Alfons Mucha, is surpassed only by the building's lavish entrance and exterior façade. Here, the central wrought iron gate and stained glass canopy are complimented by a truly delightful mosaic entitled 'Homage to Prague' which, in turn, is flanked on either side by sculptures depicting 'Humiliation and Rebirth of the Czech Nation'.

To our mind there's no better way of rounding off a visit here than by enjoying a coffee in the grand Kavárna Obecní d?m (Obecní d?m café) or a meal in either the Francouzská or Plze?ská restaurants. In addition, the Obecní D?m is built around Prague's biggest concert venue - Smetana Hall, thus providing a wonderful setting for the Prague Spring Festival as well as art exhibitions throughout the year.

The Old Jewish Cemetery (Stary zidovsky hrbitov)

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Josefov, the Jewish Quarter, was created in the 15th century when Jews were forbidden to bury their dead outside their own district. Space was scarce, so bodies were buried on top of each other in an estimated 12 layers. Over the centuries, lopsided tombstones formed unruly, poetic groupings.

The surrealist author Franz Kafka enjoyed moments of quiet reflection in the old cemetery. However, his own grave lies across town in the New Jewish Cemetery. That burial ground is half empty because the generation it was built for was transported to Nazi death camps.

The entrance to the Old Jewish Cemetery is through the courtyard in front of the Pinkas Synagogue and the exit is near the door to the Klausen Synagogue. The cemetery opens at 9:00 a.m. and it is best to get there early since this is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Prague. Men are required to cover their heads before entering the cemetery. Any kind of head gear is fine, including baseball caps, and paper hats are provided for those with bare heads. If you want to visit the Old Cemetery, but not the synagogues, you can buy a single ticket, which is good only for admission to the cemetery, at any of the ticket booths located at the synagogues. No photography is allowed in any of the synagogues, but photographs of the cemetery are permitted.

The Old-New Synagogue - Prague (Staronová Synagóga)

The oldest synagogue in Europe also considered to be the most historic site in Josefov - and the spiritual centre for Prague's Jewish Community - the Old New Synagogue, which dates from the 13th century, is one the few remaining medieval buildings in the Quarter.
Still used for prayer today, the Gothic interior features an ornate barrel-vaulted vestibule, while the structure of the main hall - crowned by an impressive tympanum over the north portal - is influenced by the 12 tribes of Israel i.e. there are 12 carved vine leaves, 12 windows..

Note: when entering the hall, male visitors are asked to cover their heads - bandanas, baseball caps etc. are okay, but a yarmulka can also be purchased with your ticket.

Old Town Hall (Staromestska Radnice)

The Old Town Hall which is situated on the southwest corner of the Square, is actually a fusion of buildings, each with a slightly different architectural style. The earliest dates from the 14th century when blind King John of Luxembourg agreed to a modest dwelling for the town clerk.

The town hall's southern face ends at the Renaissance house At the Minute (Dum U minuty), which was built in 1610 and has a facade decorated with ornamental sgraffito. Franz Kafka lived on the second floor of this building from 1889 to 1896!!

As Prague developed into a wealthy trading city the Town Hall gradually expanded, incorporating Gothic and Renaissance elements over later centuries. Probably the most interesting feature of the building (and the one most mentioned by tourist books on Prague) is the astronomical clock, which was incorporated into the structure in 1490.

Old Town Square - Prague (Staromestske Namesti)

The Old Town Square is one of the most beautiful historical sights in Europe.
If you want to understand Prague you should first go there.
Dating back to the late 12th century, the Old Town Square started it's life as the central marketplace for Prague. Over the next few centuries, many buildings of Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic styles were erected around the market, each bringing with them stories of wealthy merchants and intrigue.

The most notable sights in Prague's Old Town Square are the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, the Astronomical Clock & Old Town Hall Tower and the stunning St. Nicolas Church.

At the centre of the Old Town Square is the Jan Hus statue, erected on the 6th July 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of the reformer’s death. The groundswell of supporters for his beliefs during the 14th and 15th centuries eventually led to the famous Hussite wars.

The Powder Tower (Mihulka)

A passage-way running from Vikarska street afford access to the northern bailey of Prague Castle with the tower called Mihulka, built in the late 15th century as a part of the new bulwarks designed by Benedikt Ried. The name "Mihulka" evidently originated in the 19th century. Previously the structure has been successively called the New Tower, the Round Bastion, the Laboratory or the Swedish Laboratory, and the Powder Tower.

The Powder Tower was the largest of the cannon towers, but its defence qualities were never put to the test. In the 16th century it was inhabited by the bell-founder and metal-founder Tomas Jaros (the creator or the Singing Fountain in the Royal Garden). At the time of the Emperor Rudolph II an alchemist's workshop, later a gunpowder storehouse existed here. Up to the 20th century the dwelling quarters of the sacristans of St. Vitus Cathedral were situated in Mihulka.

The Riding School - Prague

The Baroque facade of the Prague Castle Riding School from the late 17th century forms nearly entire one side of the streed called U Prasneho mostu (By the Powder Bridge), which runs to Prague Castle from the northern side, via Deer Moat.
In the mid- 20th century the Riding School was converted into an exhibition hall.
At the same time garages were built on the area of the open summer riding school. A garden was laid out on their roofing which affords an interesting and unusual view of St. Vitus Cathedral and a part of the northern bulwarks of Prague Castle.

Royal Garden - Prague

In the Castle of Prague visit the Royal Garden.
The Royal Garden was laid out in 1534 on the orders of the Habsburg Ferdinand I. From the owners he gradually bought old vineyards beyond the valley of the Brusnice stream and had a Renaissance garden laid out here, which later became famous for its botanical rare specimens and the exotic plants gained from distant lands. From the very beginning the garden contained a number of buildings serving the entertainment of court society: the Ball Game Pavilion, the Royal Summer House, the Lion's Court. Currently the garden follows the tradition of an "English-style" park created in the mid 19th century, but it also contains elements of a Renaissance character (giardinetto near the Royal Summer House) as well as Baroque elements (ornamental flower beds). It can be approached via two entrances, the main (western) gate from the street U Prasneho mostu (By the Powder Bridge) and the east gate near the Royal Summer House. The northern gate from the street Marianske hradby (Marian Ramparts) is only open occasionally.

Rudolfinum is one of the Prague`s Neo-Renaissance jewels.
It was built in 1874 - 1885 by the architect Josef Zitek and Josef Schultz, originally designed for a picture gallery, collection of antiquites and concerts. In the years 1918 - 1938 and 1945 - 1946 Rudolfinum was the seat of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
The building has a great many rooms, which are used for concerts and exhibitions in present.

St. George's Basilica originated as the second church at Prague Castle. Only the foundations of the building, founded about 920 by Prince Vratislav I have been preserved. When the convent for Benedictine nuns was founded in 973 the church was enlarged and reconstructed.

The interior of the basilica is Romanesque, austere and monumental. The tombs of members of the Premyslid dynasty of princes are situated in the main nave.
The southern side of the chancel is adjoined by St. Ludmila's Chapel. The convent has a simple and soberly decorated Early Baroque facade. From the eastern branch of the cloister access can be gained to St. Anne's Chapel in the convent.

The Spanish Synagogue (Španelská Synagóga) was built in 1868 on the site of the oldest Prague Jewish house of prayer ("the Old Shul"). It was designed in a Moorish style by Vojt?ch Ignátz Ullmann. The synagogue has a regular square plan with a large dome surmounting the central space. On three sides there are galleries on metal structures, which fully open onto the nave. The remarkable interior decoration features a low stucco arabesque of stylized Islamic motifs which are also applied to the walls, doors and gallery balustrades. The interior, together with the stained glass windows, were designed by architects A. Baum and B. Munzberg and completed in 1893. František Škroup, the composer of the Czech national anthem, served as organist here in 1836-45.

By reopening the Spanish Synagogue - closed for over 20 years - on the 130th anniversary of its establishment, the Jewish Museum in Prague has completed one of its most ambitious projects to date.

The Spanish Synagogue is part of the Jewish Museum of Prague.

St. Vitus Cathedral (Katedralá sv. Vita)

St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in here. The cathedral is a place of interment of remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops.

The cathedral is the third church consecrated to the same saint on the identical site. About the year 925 Prince Vaclav I founded a Romanesque rotunda here which after 1060 was converted into a basilica with three naves and two steeples. The importance of the cathedral grew especially after the establishment of the Prague bishopric in 973 and the founding of the body of canons - the St. Vitus chapter, which later became an important cultural and administrative institution.
In 1344 Charles IV began the construction of a Gothic cathedral. Its first builders, Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler, built the chancel with a ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas Chapel, the Golden Portal and the lower part of the main steeple.
In spite of the endeavours of some sovereigns to secure the continuation of the construction work the cathedral remained uncompleted for whole centuries. The main steeple was crowned with a Renaissance helmet and the music choir was built. The facade of the cathedral was provisionally closed.
It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that the Union for the Completion of the Building of St. Vitus Cathedral began the repair of the original part and the completion of the building of the cathedral in Neo-Gothic style. The cathedral was solemnly consecrated in 1929. Its interior was subjected to adaptations even in later years.
Visitors enter the cathedral through the portal in the western facade, opposite the passage-way between the Second and Third Courtyards of Prague Castle.
Its bronze door is decorated with reliefs with scenes from the history of the cathedral and from the legends about St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert.
The Neo-Gothic part of the cathedral consists of the main nave and the narrow side aisles, lined with chapels, and the northern wing of the transverse nave. The chapels have stained glass windows. The construction of the large southern steeple was started by Peter Parler, but he did not complete it. It gained its originally planned height after being provided with a Renaissance helmet in the 16th century. St. Wenceslas's Chapel partly reaches on to the area of the transverse nave. The different conception of its architecture and its magnificent decoration emphasize its importance as the central point of the cathedral as a whole. The solemn entrance to the cathedral, the Golden Portal, affords access to the chapel from the Third Courtyard.
Situated in the chancel of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum below which, in the crypt, there is the royal tomb. The chancel is surrounded by a ring of Gothic chapels. Czech sovereigns and patron saints are interred in some of them.

St. Nicholas Church (Kostel Sv Mikulase)

Not to be confused with the church standing on the Old Town Square (Staré Mesto), St Nicholas church of Malá Strana is a truly grandiose affair, not only boasting one the finest cupolas in town, but a lovely façade and lavish, cherub-laden interior.

Indeed, such was the scale of Kristof Dientzenhofer's design that it took over 60 years to build, with his son Kilían Ignaz (along with Anselmo Lurago) having to complete the work. Founded by the Jesuits at the behest of Ferdinand II, the building - which became the parish church for the area in 1814 - also features a slender bell-tower which, because of a financial crisis, was only added 40 years after St. Nicholas' nave had been finished.

The church's interior, justly regarded as the very pinnacle of Baroque flamboyancy in Prague, makes all but a few of the city's other fine 18th century buildings look dull by comparison. The structure, which boasts an extravagant trompe l'oeil ceiling fresco by Austrian Johann Lukas Kracker, is topped only by the main dome - a truly awesome spectacle that incorporates a painting by Franz Xavier Palka, the Celebration of the Holiest Trinity (1753).

Elsewhere, frescoes depict the life of St Nicholas (Nikulas) who, as the bearer of gifts to women and children is commemorated on 6th of December each year, with his gold statue also decorating the high altar.

Strahov Monastery (Strahovsky kláster)

Founded at the behest of Vladislav II by Premonastratensian monks in 1140, the Strahov Monastery - originally known as Mount Sion - quickly became Bohemia's most important centre for theological study and learning. Despite being attacked by Jan Zizka's Hussites in the 14th century and the rampaging Swedish in 1648, the monks amassed an ecclesiastical library of unparalleled size, whilst also educating leading nobles and political figures of the time.

Because of the monastery's popularity - and the wealth that accompanied it, the monks were able to construct two splendid libraries. The first was the Theological Hall, built between 1671 and 1679 by G.D Orsi. Adorned at its centre by 17th-century globes, the hall features an impressive stuccoed ceiling, with lavish frescoes by Siard Nosecký to represent the theme of human knowledge.

Just over a century later the larger - and even grander - Philosophical Hall was added (built from 1782 1784). Dominated by Maulbertsch's ceiling fresco 'Struggle of Mankind to Gain True Wisdom', the hall is enriched still further by its carved walnut (floor to ceiling) shelves holding over 40,000 books.

Elsewhere, the Church of Our Lady is a 17th-century Baroque remodelling of an original 12th century ground plan, while the Strahov Picture Gallery boasts a number of impressive works including Spranger's Resurrection of Christ and Dirck de Quade's van Ravesteyn's Allegory of the Reign of Rudolph II.

Vysehrad Castle

The Vysehrad Castle is regarded by Czechs as the mythical birthplace of Prague, the slavic tribes first established an outpost here under the leadership of local chieftain Krok who, as legend has it, fathered a daughter named Libuse with visionary powers. Libuse, who prophesized that she would marry a ploughman named Premysl (and indeed did) later said that on the seven hills - of what is now Prague - a majestic city would rise. Of course, on account of her being right, Libuse is considered to be the 'mother of Prague', while Premysl was the first in a long line of Czech rulers (the Pemyslid dynasty).

Many local historians agree that it was actually Boleslav II who first developed a sizeable settlement here (from 972-99), while the area gained further prominence under the reign of Vysehrad II. The first (written) mention of a castle on this rocky outcrop is in 1003, although the structure was almost totally destroyed during the Hussite wars - from 1421 onwards. Indeed, the heavily restored St Martin's Rotunda is the sole remaining feature of the original fortifications.

During the 17th century the site was rebuilt and turned into the powerful Baroque fortress that you see today. In addition to Corinthia Towers, the other major draw for visitors is the Church of SS Peter & Paul (Kostel sv. Petra a Pavla), a neo-Gothic style building - completed in 1903 - that features a splendid Art Nouveau interior.

Nearby, the Vysehrad cemetery is the resting place of famous Czech figures including Dvorak and Smetana, while the shady trees of Vysehrad Gardens offer tranquil respite on a hot summer's day