Prague, Czech Republic
Caught the tram around to Queen Anne’s Summer Palace and the Royal Gardens (Kralovska zahrada) this morning. It seems that the locals like to advertise that the way to the castle precinct is up the hundreds of steep steps we came down yesterday, but this was certainly quicker and easier! This site is north of the Prague Castle precinct and the tram takes you right to its gates. The Palace is just a large house which now houses art exhibitions, although it was closed today. However, we spent a great hour or so wandering along the tree shaded paths, admiring the colourful flower-bed displays and small ponds and fountains of this 19th century English modified 18th century Baroque modified 16th century Italian renaissance garden. In 1534, Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg purchased vineyards on which the garden was to be built and originally a bridge over a trench connected it with the Castle. At the opposite end of the gardens from the Palace, we found a large building which was the former residence of the Czech President, but originally a greenhouse. The old orangery was replaced with a new structure towards the end of the 1990’s and in it we found a beautiful orchid display, encouraging tourists to visit Slovenia.
Arriving back at our apartment, we decided to head back up the funicular for a light lunch at the Rose Garden cafe on Petrin Hill. Very crowded and we had to wait for a turn to be seated but a nice spot from which to take in the panoramic view of the old city and surrounds.
Then down to the Vltava, over Charles Bridge and into the Old City. A seeming maze of cobbled streets going in all directions, we eventually found our way to the Old Town Square (Staromestske namesti) to see the famed Astronomical Clock. Unfortunately the Clock was undergoing repairs and all we found was a mass of people and someone dressed as a gigantic polar bear, with whom you could pay to have your photo taken. The Square is also the site for the Prague Meridian – a brass strip with plaques either side in Latin and Czech. There was once a Marian Column that cast a shadow along the strip at high noon, from which the citizens could establish the correct time each day from 1652 to 1918. The Church of Our Lady before Týn, with its distinctive twin spires, has been the main church in this part of the city since the 14th century. Unfortunately it was not open for visitors.
The Square is flanked by impressive buildings of various styles and a large statue commemorating Jan Hus and his followers who were persecuted for their part in the Bohemian Reformation, a century before Martin Luther. St. Nicholas Church, off the Square, separated from the Catholic Church after WWI, becoming the Czechoslovac Hussite Church. As well as a typically ornate interior, it contains displays of the history of the Hussites. Hus was burnt at the stake for speaking out against Catholic Church practices, such as the selling of indulgences and church offices. His followers defeated five Papal Crusades launched against them between 1420 and1431, in what has been called the Hussite Wars. Both the Bohemia and Moravia remained dominantly Hussite until The Battle of White Mountain in 1620, when the Hussite army was defeated by Ferdinand II and the German Catholic League. For the next 300 years, the Czech lands were Catholicized under the Habsburg rulers. The statue was unveiled in 1915, 500 years after the martyrdom of Hus but as Czech was under Austrian rule at the time, celebrations were forbidden. Nevertheless, the citizens of Prague covered the statue in flowers. The statue has become a symbol against foreign oppression – during Communist rule, people would quietly sit at the feet of Hus as a silent protest. Today the statue is surrounded by a bed of yellow flowers.
After exploring St. Nicholas Church, we bought a ticket to visit various Jewish buildings and memorials scattered throughout the Old Town.The Jewish quarter made up 25% of Prague’s population prior WWII. However, the Jews of Prague have been much persecuted over the centuries: suffering violent opposition during the Crusades, half their number being murdered in mob riots in 1389, expulsion from the city during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa in 1745, the death of 70,000 people due to Nazi racial extermination programs and 50% of the population fleeing the city under Communist rule to find a new life in Israel.We started our tour at the Maisel Synagogue where we bought our tickets. This was set up as an introductory Museum to the Jewish Quarter and its history. This was followed with a walk through the 350 year old Old Jewish Cemetery with its 12,000 headstones and 100,000 burials – thought to be up to 10 bodies deep in parts. Even more sobering than the number of people buried here, is the fact that Hilter ordered that the cemetery be left untouched as a reminder of the extermination of the Jewish race he had instigated. One light moment was experienced when we spotted a Woodpecker flitting from stone to stone.
Two more synagogues came next. First the Klausen with its displays of objects of Jewish tradition including copies of the Torah and Talmud, ceremonial items for the synagogue and Jewish homes. The Pinkas Synagogue is dedicated to displaying the names of Jews were were deported from Bohemia and Moravia to concentration camps by the Nazis and never came back. The walls are covered in almost 80,000 names, which include their dates of birth and the last known date of existence.
We ended our self-guided tour at the Spanish Synagogue with its stunning gold gilded interior, blue-starred back-drop to the altar, Moorish architecture and wall and ceiling designs. A quiet contemplative space away from the horrors of war. After such a busy afternoon, we found a nice corner street cafe for a cuppa and rest before trudging back home. Back along the river to admire the car-shaped and swan-shaped paddle boats and back across the Legion Bridge with a slight detour down onto the island running under the bridge for a reflective pause. Home again after a very full day.
