Prague Travel: A Walking
Tour through Historic Downtown Prague
After more than two weeks of European explorations
in Austria and Mallorca, another highlight of my
2009 European odyssey was waiting for me: a three-day
trip to Prague, one of the destinations I have been
wanting to visit for a long time! As I had always
heard, Prague was supposed to be one of the most
beautiful cities in Europe, and I definitely wanted
to see that for myself.
So early this Monday morning, my brother and my
sister-in-law packed me in the car and went for
the hour and a half drive to Vienna from where I
was scheduled to take my train ride to Prague. I
had booked the train ticket a couple of months ago
with the Austrian Federal Railways, and at 29 Euros
for a ticket from Vienna to Prague I had really
lucked out with a great price.
My train is ready for departure
We stopped briefly at the restaurant at Vienna’s
Südbahnhof (Southern Railway Terminal) and
had some typical Austrian soups as a late breakfast:
Fritattensuppe (pancake strip soup) is always one
of my favourites, and it was going to tide me over
for the next few hours.
Shortly before 10 am I got on the train and said
goodbye to my brother and my sister-in-law. Departure
was delayed a little bit because apparently there
had been a train accident where a person had got
hurt, but about half an hour later we started rolling
through the suburbs of Vienna. Through the flat
landscapes of lower Austria we quickly entered into
Czech territory and after some time we passed by
the capital of Moravia and the Czech Republic’s
second largest city, Brno. A young Czech woman entered
my compartment and we started to have a great conversation
about life in Central Europe.
View of Brno's cathedral from the train
Helena told me that she is studying in Berlin and
loves that city’s multicultural cosmopolitan
flair. We also touched on Czech food, German food,
and right-wing extremism that has become a problem
in some parts of Europe. But Helena has been living
in Berlin for the past five years and loves it.
It was great to connect with her and get a bit of
an insider’s perspective.
A nice welcome at the Hotel Jalta: a glass of champagne
The train finally arrived in the Prague Holesovice
train station and I started to make my way to my
Hotel. I was staying in the Hotel Jalta, an upscale
hotel on Wenceslas Square, right in the heart of
Prague’s New Town area. Although I do not
speak a word of Czech, I had no problems whatsoever
navigating my way through the subway system of Prague.
As a matter of fact, people in the Metro were all
very friendly and helpful.
The National Museum in Prague, one of my first impressions
of the city
Four subway stops later I exited at the “Muzeum”
Metro station and enjoyed this daytime look at Wenceslas
Square, one of Prague’s most important public
spaces. I arrived at the Hotel Jalta, a four-star
hotel propertyh, and as I was checking in I was
greeted with a glass of sparkling wine. I went up
to my room which was very spacious and featured
all kinds of amenities. My favourite feature of
the room was the balcony from where I had an excellent
view of the Square and Prague’s National Museum
with its elevated position at the eastern end of
the Square.
Great view from my hotel room over Wenceslas Square
After freshening up a bit, I met my tour guide
Jitka Simkova who had brought a young colleague
by the name of Karel. Jitka is the founder and owner
of Prague
Walks, a company that provides guided walking
tours of Prague. Karel explained that Wenceslas
Square originally was a horse market and today is
the centre of New Town, one of Prague’s four
main central city districts.
Karel and Jitka, my two local experts
The architecture dates mostly from the early 20th
century, and Jitka explained that one of the architectural
gems of this area is the famous Hotel Europa whose
Art Nouveau interior has been almost completely
preserved, simply because of dispute among the owners
that prevented them from renovating the hotel.
Prague's Hotel Europa, an Art Nouveau gem
Two old streetcars are located in the central area
of the square and are used as snack vending booths.
Karel and Jitka pointed out the Lucerna, a popular
historic concert hall that has launched the career
of many Czech bands. The Koruna building on the
Old Town side of Wenceslas Square is another stunning
historic building and has been turned into a shopping
centre and office building.
Two streetcars are now snack vendors on Wenceslas
Square
Jitka also explained that Wenceslas Square played
a major role in 1989 during the Velvet Revolution
when Czechoslovakia transitioned from Communist
rule to a democratic nation. She personally remembers
the events very clearly because she had just moved
to Prague shortly before and witnessed many of these
events first-hand.
Prague's Hotel Ambassador on Wenceslas Square
On November 17, 1989, thousands of students participated
in a peaceful demonstration that came in from National
Avenue and moved onto Wenceslas Square. The demonstration
was suppressed by police. As a result demonstrations
continued for the next few days, even a general
strike was held on November 27, 1989. Finally on
November 28, the Communist Party announced that
it would give up power and allow a multi-party state.
Communism had fallen, and Wenceslas Square had played
a major role in these historic developments as a
location of many of these history-making demonstrations.
Facades on Wenceslas Square
Crossing the Na Prikope Street we now entered Prague’s
Old Town district. Karel pointed out the open air
Havaski Market that is open daily and sells vegetables,
flowers and souvenirs. This market dates back to
1230 when the first small market was opened in this
location. The original market was an egg market.
Walking on cobblestone streets that got ever narrower,
I started to get a feel for the historic core of
Prague.
First impressions of Old Town Prague
One of the things that really fascinate me about
Prague are the many interconnected passageways,
many of them with picturesque inner courtyards,
that connect historic buildings in the inner city,
giving the place a very romantic feel. Through a
narrow street we finally reached the Little Square,
a triangular shaped square that features a historic
well in the centre. Karel stopped to explain some
examples of historic house signs that can be found
in the centre of Prague.
Example of some of Prague's medieval house signs
House signs started to come into being in the early
15th century since there had been no numbering systems
on houses. Frequently used symbols include lions
and various coats of arms of established families.
Karel pointed out places like the House of the Golden
Lily, House of the Golden Crown, the House of the
Little Blue Horse etc. All the images on the house
signs correspond exactly to the names of the houses.
Prague's Old Town Square: a magnificent collection
of architecture
From Little Square we were just steps away from
Old Town Square, the heart of Prague’s Old
Town and probably the city’s most visited
area. I was simply blown away by the gorgeous Gothic-era
architecture that frames this medieval square. Starting
first and foremost with the Church of Our Lady before
Tyn on the east side, I was marveling at the unusual
towers of this church that was started way back
in 1365. Karel explained that the towers are of
unequal size, that’s why they are often referred
to as Adam and Eve.
The Church of Our Lady before Tyn: my favourite
building
The square itself was originally used as a fish
market, starting in the 9th century AD. From the
12th century onwards, Czech, Jewish and German merchants
came together here to sell their goods. Due to its
proximity to the Vltava River, the square often
got flooded, and in the Middle Ages it was decided
to raise the level of the square by filling it in
up to a height of 4 metres. This means that many
of the ground floors of these buildings now became
cellars. Many of the Romanesque area cellars have
today been converted into restaurants and bars,
and the original rounded vaults can still be seen
today.
The brightly painted facades of Old Town Prague
The east side of Old Town Square features a beautiful
collection of historic buildings, including the
Gothic-era House of the Stone Bell, which used to
be the seat of the Czech royals. Beside it is the
Kinsky Palace, one of the most outstanding examples
of Rococo architecture. Originally built as a palace
for an aristocratic family, this palace was turned
into a grammar school in the early 20th century
and today is used by the National Gallery for temporary
exhibitions.
The monument to Jan Hus in the middle of Old Town
Square
The centre of Old Town Square is home to a statue
of Jan Hus, a 15th century religious reformer who
criticized the Catholic Church for many of its excesses.
Denounced as a heretic, he was burned at the stake
in 1415. He was a key contributor to the Protestant
movement in Europe and his teachings had a significant
influence on Martin Luther who initiated the Protestant
Reformation about a century later.
The baroque-era Church of St. Nicholas
On a location that has held a church since the
12th century, the baroque Church of St. Nicholas
dominates the northern side of the square. The western
side of Old Town Square is home to one of Prague’s
most popular sights: Old Town Hall, a striking Gothic
building that was built in 1338. Prague’s
Old Town Hall holds one of the city’s most
celebrated attractions: the Astronomical Clock,
which delights the crowds with its hourly ritual
when 12 carved apostles make an appearance, followed
by the crowing of a rooster and the chiming of the
bell on the hour. Big crowds of people gather here
every hour, and we were lucky that we caught the
6 o’clock performance.
Prague's Old Town Hall, another beautiful medieval
building
The north side of the Old Town Hall was destroyed
by fire on May 7 and 8, 1945 when the Nazi army
tried to suppress the Prague Uprising at the very
end of World War II. Unfortunately the Prague archives
were housed in this building, and with the fire
all the city’s records were destroyed as well.
This is the location of a small park on the west
side of the square today. A plaque with the inscription
“Dukla” on the east façade of
the Old Town Hall reminds us of an important WWII
battle that helped to liberate Czechoslovakia from
the Nazi occupiers.
Prague's famous Astronomical Clock
In front of Old Town Hall are 27 white crosses
embedded in the pavement, a memory to 27 Protestant
leaders that were executed here in 1621. Obviously
Old Town Square has seen many significant events
over the last many centuries. From here Jitka and
Karel took me to a gorgeous historic hotel, the
Hotel By the Prince.
Impressive wooden portal of Prague's Old Town Hall
We walked all the way up to the roof terrace from
where a magnificent view over Old Town Square and
beyond opened up. Jitka added that this hotel probably
provides the best view of Old Prague anywhere. We
could even see the far away Siskov Hills and Prague’s
unpopular TV tower. Looking westwards we had a great
view of Prague Castle, Strahov Monastery and Petrin
Hill with its miniature Eiffel Tower. Jitka added
that the Hotel By the Prince is very popular with
British tourists as a wedding location.
Phenomenal viewo over Old Town Square from the Hotel
by the Prince
We then walked through the Clementinum, an expansive
Baroque-era university complex, and Marianske Square
which features Prague’s modern Town Hall,
built in 1912. This building is adorned by a statue
of Rabbi Loew, an important Talmudic Scholar of
the late 16h century who, according to legend, created
a human being from clay, the golem.
Prague's modern Town Hall
Our walk then took us to the Knights of the Cross
Square which is the entrance to the historic Charles
Bridge, one of Prague’s most popular sights.
The Charles Bridge was started in 1357 under King
Charles IV and was finished in the early 1400s.
This stone bridge was built to replace an earlier
bridge from the 1100s, the Judita or Judith Bridge.
This more than 500 metre long bridge forms the connection
between Old Town and Prague Castle and is an important
part of the Coronation Route that Czech kings took
when they ascended the throne.
The Old Town Bridge Tower on the east side of the
Vltava River
The Knights of the Cross Square also features two
baroque churches: the Church of St. Francis, on
the north side, and the Church of the Holy Saviour
on the east side which is also part of the Clementinum
complex. A large, dark brown Gothic tower marks
the eastern entrance to the Charles Bridge and we
walked about half-way onto the bridge from where
we had a phenomenal panorama of the riverfront and
Prague Castle. 30 stone statues of religious personalities
adorn the bridge. Prague is also known as the “City
of 100 Spires”, and from the bridge we were
able to see a whole assortment of church towers
on both sides of the river.
One of the 30 religious statues on the Charles Bridge
After our visit on the Charles Bridge we turned
around, and Jitka announced our plans for the evening:
a visit to a real Czech beer hall!
