I decided to write about Prague all at once, because we spent most of our three days here with the castle. But first some background.
Prague has four districts that are considered separate cities, although they are all in the same city. There is Old Town, which dates to the 800s and is where our Marriott was. Then there is the newest, Jewish Town, which has the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world, and dates from the 1300s; strangely, due to events in World War II as well as many, many persecutions over the past nearly-1,000 years, the entire Jewish population in the Czech Republic is less than 10,000. The other two districts are indistinguishable but designated by their origins, from the 900s, and the second from the 1100s.
The Castle has had inhabitants on that hill, where a rich supply of natural spring water runs through, since 3600 BC. The castle was built by Pre. a people that were not Slavs but Bohemians. The throne was then transferred to the Luxembourgs (yes, the founders of that little country), and then to the Jagiellons, until the Habsburgs of Austria took the throne in the Baroque era (late 1500s to the 1600s). It was Franz Joseph and Sisi (see my second day in Vienna blog post) that saw the end of the Habsburgs in Czechoslovakia, and Sisi became the Queen of Hungary later in her reign for her freeing of the Hungarian people from Austrian rule.
The Castle has, of course, gone through changes over the thousands of years it has been inhabited, but it largely hasn’t changed since the 1300s. The museums at this location are sprawling. There are over 14 of them in the area. We first walked up the mountain/hill across the city, so we saw the castle and its cathedrals from there; then we ventured to the other side, to the Castle itself, and that was even more impressive. The city is expansive, colorful, and ancient, and we saw it from every angle.
Prague has four districts that are considered separate cities, although they are all in the same city. There is Old Town, which dates to the 800s and is where our Marriott was. Then there is the newest, Jewish Town, which has the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world, and dates from the 1300s; strangely, due to events in World War II as well as many, many persecutions over the past nearly-1,000 years, the entire Jewish population in the Czech Republic is less than 10,000. The other two districts are indistinguishable but designated by their origins, from the 900s, and the second from the 1100s.
The Castle has had inhabitants on that hill, where a rich supply of natural spring water runs through, since 3600 BC. The castle was built by Pre. a people that were not Slavs but Bohemians. The throne was then transferred to the Luxembourgs (yes, the founders of that little country), and then to the Jagiellons, until the Habsburgs of Austria took the throne in the Baroque era (late 1500s to the 1600s). It was Franz Joseph and Sisi (see my second day in Vienna blog post) that saw the end of the Habsburgs in Czechoslovakia, and Sisi became the Queen of Hungary later in her reign for her freeing of the Hungarian people from Austrian rule.
The Castle has, of course, gone through changes over the thousands of years it has been inhabited, but it largely hasn’t changed since the 1300s. The museums at this location are sprawling. There are over 14 of them in the area. We first walked up the mountain/hill across the city, so we saw the castle and its cathedrals from there; then we ventured to the other side, to the Castle itself, and that was even more impressive. The city is expansive, colorful, and ancient, and we saw it from every angle.
The most notable museums in the Castle were the main museum of history (where no pictures were allowed but where I learned the information relayed above.) There was an armory, with replicas of real shields and weapons, armor and especially helmets.
They also had rooms of replica homes, the coolest of which was the Herbalist’s, and the Psychic’s (a normal house, I was happy to see); psychics are people too!
The Castle reminded me of the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones, or Casterly Rock, or at least how we imagine it could look. It was medieval and yet something I would love to see more of nowadays, funny how that works. It pains me to know that so little exists from that time, and worst of all that the artifacts show that wear and tear. It’s also frustrating that we know so little concrete evidence about life in the castles we so love to tour. But we learn more every day, so that’s the positive side.
We also saw the cathedral there where a lot of relics and people were buried who were former Habsburgs or other royals, it’s as close as you can get to meeting royalty as a peasant like me so that was fascinating.
Our first day we took an antique car ride around the city, which turned out to be a very informative tour. We saw the house where Amadeus was filmed, and learned that the director, Milos Foreman, was Czechoslovakian (see my second day in Vienna post for more on this as well.) We learned where Mission Impossible: III and IV, (Ghost Protocol) were filmed, and that’s something I was super fascinated by as a Tom Cruise lover (I know, I know, very unpopular but I can’t help but be impressed, he ages like a fine wine it’s amazing.)
The second day we went to the Charles Bridge, a very famous, ancient bridge that is now just for walking. It had great views of the city and is lined with beautiful statues. Also, Tom Cruise ran across this bridge in MI3 so that was pretty exciting! We also saw the famous Astronomical Clock of Prague, which was built in 1410, the 3rd oldest in the world. It has an ornate show of little figurines on every hour, and it's a beautiful building, a true marvel of historical architecture.
The third day, we went to the Jewish Quarter, saw parts of the Kafka Square named for the writer Franz Kafka who wrote in Prague for a few years, and most notably saw the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world! It was so eerily beautiful. There was an adjoining museum about burial customs as well as a background on holy days and their differing calendar, which was something I never knew much about so I was excited for this opportunity. There was a building built like a synagogue with names of every person who was confirmed dead or missing during the Second World War, and most names were connected to Terezin Concentration Camp. It was too far from the city for us to go, but it was moving enough to see their names along the walls of this memorial.
We spent the rest of the time walking the markets and eating the local cuisine. Overall, our time in Prague was brief but well-spent. I’m writing this from the flight to Istanbul, where we’ll spend Christmas Eve, and then it’s onto Bahrain for Christmas Day and the rest of my Christmas break!
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