2024 Oct 7 Monday

Prague

For our second sightseeing day, we planned to visit sights at Prague Castle. The basic ticket covers four sights: St.Vitus Cathedral, the Royal Palace, St. George Basilica, and Golden Lane, a worker’s housing area preserved in its ancient state.

There is also St. Nicholas Church near the castle as well as its bell tower, and St. Vitus Cathedral’s clock tower. Of course, we always try to view sights as we come across them. Another very full day.

12:18 pm to 7:04 pm. 5.57 miles, 15,244 steps, elevation +267 feet. Partly sunny in the morning turning more cloudy, but warm.

Richard’s Relive video is here, including his views from towers he climbed: https://www.relive.cc/view/vdOREoQEQKv

We had not had time to get breakfast groceries on Sunday since stores closed early, so we headed to our landlord’s recommended breakfast spot nearby, Cafe Savoy.
It has been here in business since 1893, and we learned later that it was one of the hangout spots for Franz Kafka in the time where he was befriending the theatre actor crowd.
Most people sauntered by the pastry counter to select their treat.
The WC is in the lower floor, where the restaurant has created a viewing area to see the bakers at work.
First stop on our hike up to the castle after breakfast was the Monument to Victims of Communism near our apartment.
This monument was erected in 2002, honoring not only those imprisoned or killed, but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despots.
We came upon the bell tower for St. Nicholas Church. Richard was ready to climb. The tower is owned by the city, not the church, as the Jesuits built the tower in the mid 18th century to replace the previous tower used to watch for fires. From the 1950’s until the Velvet Revolution, the State Security Service used the top tower floor to monitor movements of people at western country’s embassies.
A city crest proves that the bell tower is city-owned, not part of the church.
Richard arrives back down after his 215-step climb.
St. Nicholas was first consecrated as a Gothic church in 1283. Today’s church is one of the most valuable Baroque buildings north of the Alps. Construction lasted approximately 100 years.
The massive dome is the tallest interior in Prague. Both the dome and the bell tower are the same height: 79 meters.
The pulpit is decorated with sculpture allegories of Faith, Hope, and Love.
The main organ has over 4000 pipes up to six meters in length. W. A. Mozart played this organ during a visit to Prague.
A copy of a wooden sculpture of Mother of Mercy was brought to Prague by the Jesuits in 1629. She is displayed in Baroque glory.
The Holy Trinity Column is erected outside the St. Nicholas Church.
This tribute to Alfons Mucha is on the stairway wall as we approached the castle.
Castle guards are hard at work.
St. Vitus Cathedral is our next stop.
The Cathedral was founded in 925 when Prince Wenceslas built a Romanesque rotunda. In 1060 it was converted to a Basilica. The Gothic Cathedral was begun in 1344 by Charles IV.
The Church has been a final resting place for kings and knights.
Construction was halted in 1419 during the Hussite Wars, and remained incomplete for centuries. Work was resumed in the latter half of the 19th century, and the church was consecrated in 1929. St. Wenceslas Chapel can be viewed from doorways, but is not available for visitors. It houses the relics of the saint with bejeweled walls.
The Royal Mausoleum is near the chancel at the front of the church. A crypt is below it. Several Czech kings and patron saints are interred here.
This tomb of St. john of Nepomuk’s monument in Prague is the heaviest silver sarcophagus in the Czech Republic—almost two tons of silver.
The rose window from 1925 is based on creation.
Alfons Much designed a stained glass window on the north nave in 1931, coinciding closely with the Millennium Jubilee of the Czech patron St. Wenceslas. It portrays the boy with his Grandmother, St. Ludmila.
The figures are more recognizable as Mucha creations in a closer view. The bottom left of the window gives the name of the insurance company that bankrolled the window.
Mosaic murals cover the portico on the South Side of the church.
The All Saints’ Chapel with a vaulted interior was built by Charles IV in the first half of the 14th century.
The hall’s vault with intertwined curving ribs is remarkable for both artistry and structure. It has no internal supports, but the ribs descend into pillars on the walls.
The next room is Vladislav Hall where coronations actually took place. Replicas of the crown of St. Wenceslas, the orb, and sceptre are displayed. The actual Crown Jewels are locked away in st. Vitus Cathedral.
Leaving the Royal Palace, the sloping exit has tall ribbed ceilings. Riders used to enter on horseback for jousting tournaments.
St. George’s Basilica is the oldest preserved building in the castle complex. The first church was built in 920 by Duke Vratislaus of Bohemia. In the 12th century, the Romanesque church with two towers was built, and the Baroque facade was added later.
Inside the Romanesque structure still dominates.
The remains of St. Ludmila are in this church.
There is an added chapel to St. John of Nepomuk.
Relic bones are preserved in the chapel.
St. George slays the dragon.
The Golden Lane was an area of worker housing just inside the castle walls. It has been preserved as it used to be in some cases, and converted to shops in other cases.
Richard had just enough time in the day to climb the clock tower of St. Vitus Cathedral.
The clock is divided into two dials: hours on top and minutes below.
This fountain of St. George slaying the dragon is in the courtyard to the south of St. Vitus Cathedral. Behind the fountain in this picture is a grey granite monolith designed by Joze Plecnik as a memorial to victims of WWI.
A quick look at the city from the castle walls.
It’s 5:00 closing time so everyone is heading down the steps together.
This statue is a gift to the Czech and Slovak peoples from the British community living and working in the Czech and Slovak Republics. It expresses the community’s gratitude to the 2500 Czechoslavak airmen who served with the Royal Air Force between 1940 and 1945 for the freedom of Europe and were subsequently persecuted by the Communist regime.
One last view of the castle and then off to the apartment. Tomorrow is another day.

4 Responses

  1. Goodness, you have packed a lot in in two days!! so many beautiful sights. And so old, hard to wrap my mind around all the history of this place. Come home soon!

    1. So many of these cities have so much religious as well as regal history, and they all intertwine! No way for me to keep everything straight but we just look for the most obvious. There is much more research to do before I come close to understanding. We fly tomorrow—so sad to leave but I know we must come back.

  2. Thought St Nicholas was especially spectacular when we visited it. Loved your pictures. Looks like you will manage to see all the major highlights within your schedule. You are amazingly well organized.
    Dan

    1. We enjoyed both of the St. Nicholas Churches — the one with the crown chandelier and the much older church with the bell tower (nearer the castle). I doubt that we saw all the highlights of Prague, and I would like to go back to see some more of the outlying areas. It’s good to have trips still to plan.