Beautiful Prague Preserves the Long History and Culture of the Czech People for Visitors to Enjoy
The city of Prague emerged as a popular destination for travelers after the Czech people were liberated from the control of the Soviet Union in 1989 and Slovakia split off to create a separate nation in 1993. The culture and people of the city have been influenced for centuries by the many different empires who have vied to dominate central Europe. Prague’s renaissance focused on the scenic Vltava River, Old Town Square, and the well-preserved buildings, churches, and cobblestone streets of its neighborhoods. But the charm of modern Prague also lies in the cleanliness, walkability, and friendliness of its people. Residents enjoy an active nightlife, restaurants, historic sites, and cultural activities that also attract more than seven million visitors annually to the city.
SHORT HISTORY OF PRAGUE
The city of Prague has been the center place of the Central European regions of Bohemia and Moravia for more than a millennium. Originally settled by Celtic and German tribes from the north and Slavic people from the east, Prague evolved into a regional center of trade under Emperor Charlemagne of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century AD. The city and the region continued to grow thereafter under local dukes and the Premyslid kingdom. By the early 1300s, the Premyslid kingdom centered in Prague was a hub for many important European political, economic, and religious events. Under rulers such as King Wenceslas II and his sons, it expanded well beyond Bohemia to include the crowns of neighboring Polish and Hungarian lands.
It was not long, however, until other royal families in central Europe resented the influence of Bohemia and subsumed Prague into dynasties controlled by neighbors, and the region became embroiled in the religious turmoil of Europe. From 1310 to 1419, Luxembourg kings ruled Bohemia, Moravia and the Silesian principalities, and Charles IV achieved the title of Holy Roman Emperor in 1355. The subsequent rise of the Hussite Church Movement inspired by Czech reformist priest Jan Hus created schisms in Czech culture and ongoing religious struggles within the Catholic Church. Eventually, authority over Prague fell under the Jagiellon Dynasty based in Poland. When the Jagiellon line of succession ended in 1526, the Habsburgs of Austria succeeded to the throne of Bohemia and Prague’s glory days were over. For the next three centuries, the people of Prague were part of the multi-national empire of Austria-Hungary, subjected to the centralized control of its government, and forced by the Thirty Years War to accept the Catholic faith or emigrate.
The conflicts of the 20th century brought change, great tragedies, and eventually liberation and renewal for the people of Prague. After the end of World War I, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire dissolved, and the nation of Czechoslovakia was established by the victorious allies as an independent state for Czechs, Slovaks, and German residents. Despite economic growth and the establishment of some democratic institutions over the next twenty years, the Munich Agreement of 1938 adopted by several western powers with Germany granted it the right to occupy most of the country without the consent of Czech people. That occupation ended in 1945 but a few years later a Communist takeover led to another forty-five years of political and military subjugation of the people of Prague by the Soviet Union until the Velvet Revolution in Wenceslas Square restored the nation. Today, Prague serves as the capital and economic center for the Czech Republic which is a member of the European Economic Community and NATO. The nation has achieved a standard of living which is equal with Italy and ahead of some other western European countries such as Spain and Portugal.
TEN PLACES TO VISIT IN THE CITY
There are many landmarks, historic places, museums, and cultural activities to enjoy in Prague. The following ten sites should be considered worth seeing on an initial visit to the city:
Prague Castle- The Prague Castle is a walled in area located on a hill high above the Vltava River that has served as the place for the city’s royalty and nobility, religious leaders, cultural institutions, and some modern governmental institutions to exercise authority over the population for more than eight hundred years. The entire complex covers an area that extends for more than seven football fields. It includes four palaces, four churches, and chapels, three courtyards, an art gallery with music exhibits, a moat, thick walls and guard towers, a prison tower, and royal gardens. Large crowds pass through the grounds daily and most of the buildings there are open to the public. Along the way, there are medieval halls that once served as reception rooms, stables for horses, display cases with medieval clothing, weaponry and instruments of torture, a few small shops, and platforms that provide excellent views of the city below.
St. Vitus Cathedral- This cathedral located in the center of the Castle Quarter towers above the city and the courtyards around it. While built in stages, the spires, and flying buttresses visible along the roof convey the Gothic origins of the structure and are reminiscent of Notre Dame in Paris. Inside the cathedral, there are windows, tombs and memorials to numerous saints, church leaders, and other important figures who contributed to the rise of Christianity and the struggle of the Czech people.
Charles Bridge- The lengthy pathway and strong stone foundations of the Charles Bridge make it a picturesque place to view from various locations along the Vltava River. It has survived floods, plagues, and religious turmoil ever since 1342 and remains one of the most popular landmarks of the city. Locals and visitors walk across it daily and artists, musicians and craftsman display their skills and wares there regularly. Along the way are replicas of the statues of Czech saints and priests, together with engravings honoring people who were martyred on the bridge by being thrown off it. Despite the somber nature of these memorials, the picture taking and cultural performances routinely taking place there create a festive atmosphere.
Old Town Square- The Old Town section of Prague located between the Vltava River on the west and the New Town to the east has been a bustling center of activity for almost a thousand years. It was here that the merchants, guild members, university students, city rulers and clergy interacted with the people. Centuries later, economic and tourism activity remains concentrated in Old Town Square and the cobblestone, pedestrian friendly surrounding areas. There are some old palaces around the square, the Gothic Tyn Church, 13th century houses once owned by the nobility, the `14th century Old Town Hall, and memorial statues. One statue honors religious reformer Jan Hus who was burned at the stake for heresy against the Catholic Church in 1415 but is also regarded as a Czech nationalist, and another statue is to the Virgin Mary who has been honored since the Thirty Years War in 1652 as the city’s protector.
Astronomical Clock Show – The Astronomical Clock was installed on the tower of the Old Town Hall in the 1400s. It consists of different clocks and wheels which not only tell time on a 24-hour cycle but also display other time intervals based on Roman Numerals, and the number of hours until sunset or until moonlight. The clock also contains the signs of the zodiac, the names of some saints, and pictures of the seasons. On the hour, the clock strikes. If that was not enough, a glockenspiel show takes place on the hour for at least ten hours each day. At that time, a variety of figures appear, ranging from the apostles to a symbol of Death, appear and circle through the windows. The Clock Show is a major attraction for which visitors line up throughout the day.
Wenceslas Square- Wenceslas Square is a wide boulevard in the New Town area of Prague that was established as a horse market during the 1300s. Today, it is one of the city’s main shopping, dining, and entertainment districts together with the pedestrian thoroughfare known as Na Prikope which runs perpendicular to Wenceslas Square over to Republic Square. There are numerous brand name stores along these two streets along with malls such as the Lucerna Arcade built in the 1930s, the Sretozo Mall which is full of food outlets, and the Galerie Myslbek with some upscale retailers.
While strolling through Wenceslas Square, it is also useful to contemplate the numerous historic events memorialized here which led to the evolution of an independent Czech nation. First, there is “Good King” Wenceslas himself whose statue on horseback at the elevated end of the square honors the Bohemian ruler and canonized saint from the 10th century who used his education and foresight to build a foundation for the Czech nation. More recently, Wenceslas Square is the place where Prague’s citizenry revolted against the Nazi occupation in 1945 and attempted to do so again by opposing the Soviet Union’s satellite regime in 1968. Finally, in 1989, the Square was where 300,000 students and their supporters demanded the peaceful elimination of communism during the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
Municipal House- The Municipal House located on one corner of the Republic Square is an example of a majestic, Art Nouveau structure that symbolized the launch of Czech nationalism in the early 1900s. Czechoslovakia did not become an independent nation, separate from the Austrian-Hungary Empire until 1918, but the balcony of the Municipal House was the location where Czech deputies first announced the nation’s independence. The inside of the building now contains a concert hall, a fine dining restaurant, and a café with spectacular finishings and elegant décor.
National Museum- The National Museum is in two stately buildings at the head of Wenceslas Square. The original museum focuses on the history and ethnogeography of the region and its peoples through the end of the First World War. The information provided on the different medieval rulers of Bohemia and Moravia, the calamitous effects of the Thirty Years War on the local population, and the incorporation of the region into the Austria- Hungary Empire is laid out quite effectively in chronological order and supplemented by short films and interactive exhibits that depict the long and arduous history of the Czech people. The exhibits in the new building cover the period since the First World War. The museum presents different windows into the life of the Czech people during each era but is surprisingly less interesting than the older material.
Museum of Communism- This modernistic museum located near Republic Square tells the story of the damage done to the people of the Czech Republic and Slovakia under forty-five years of communist rule in a compelling manner. The stark reality of life under Soviet communism and the degree of authoritarianism is clear from the moment you climb the staircase leading into museum and see a giant red star with the words “Dream – Reality - Nightmare” underneath it. The murals, pictures, exhibits and objects presented in the Museum show how the Soviet backed communist party took control of the government, and then systematically used propaganda and suppression of potential opponents to control all aspects of Czech life. The communists’ tactics included everything from persecuting the faithful to eradicating voluntary organizations, seizing farmlands to nationalizing private businesses, standardizing educational subjects to rewriting history and destroying monuments, spying on citizens to sentencing dissidents to labor and reeducation camps, and using sports and youth organizations to establish politically correct beliefs. Videos and documents left over from that era depict each of these communist methods in vivid and troubling ways. The fast-changing technologies of the 21st century could make authoritarianist movements even more intrusive and dangerous to society.
Jewish Quarter and Other Cultural Destinations- Another important part of the city’s legacy are the many synagogues, cemeteries, guilds, and other buildings of the Jewish Quarter. This section of the Old Town was the home of thousands of Jewish families and merchants for hundreds of years until they were decimated by the Holocaust and World War II. Visiting the remaining historic structures in these medieval neighborhoods and seeing places which are part of the Jewish Museum in Prague is an enduring experience.
There are other cultural venues in the city of Prague which present theatre works, art exhibits, classical music and symphonies, opera and ballet, and dance music. One quirky artistic exhibit known as Lennon’s Wall is located just south of the Charles Bridge in the area known as Lesser Town. After the killing of John Lennon, this wall became a popular place in the 1980s for young people to express their emotions about Lennon, freedom, and life in general with paintings and graffiti that are constantly changing.
DAY TRIPS FROM PRAGUE
Cesky Krumlov- The most popular day trip to consider when vacationing in Prague is the postcard town and World Heritage Site of Cesky Krumlov. Located about two hours to the south of the city on slow moving bends of the Vltava River, the Krumlov Castle towers over a town full of buildings and alleys dating back to the 16th century. Most of these structures now hold interesting shops, restaurants, and lodging. Cesky Krumlov is profiled in a separate Landmarks article in the Epic Destinations section of The Traveling American.
Kutna Hora- From around 1300 AD until the late 1600s, Kunta Hora rivaled Prague as an economic, educational, and religious center of Bohemia. The city’s silver mines generated substantial employment and wealth for the community. While not as popular a stop or as visually stimulating as Cesky Krumlov, the city still has an interesting story to tell. The Czech Museum of Silver explains the equipment and the backbreaking work that miners performed in deep passages beneath the town for generations to produce wealth for the crown and provides an underground tour of the cold locations where that work was done. Above the mining museum is the GASK Art Gallery that once served as a Jesuit college along with a huge Gothic Cathedral. The St. Barbara’s Cathedral was constructed beginning in 1388 and it took centuries for it to be fully completed. The resulting structure is admired for its flying buttresses, stained glass windows, frescoes and statues dedicated to the safety of the town’s miners.
Despite these other attractions and the pleasant historic center of the town, which once housed Bohemian nobility, visitors usually tour Kutna Hora to see the Sedlec Bone Church on the outskirts of town. The grounds of the church became a popular burial site for locals and wealthy Catholics to rent for deceased family members or people killed by war or disease on earth from the holy city of Jerusalem which had been sprinkled around the site in the 1400. Eventually, the bones of the newly deceased and people evicted from the church grounds for non-payment overwhelmed the available space. The presiding monks spent years bringing the bones of an estimated 40,000 people into the basement of the church, creating piles of them, and shaping the bones into various religious symbols and objects. They believed that the living and the dead both inhabit the celestial world. While some people are fascinated by the displays, others may find them macabre. Unfortunately, the current presentation, lighting, and lack of repair of the church undermine its reverence and do not justify the attention paid to the attraction.