First created 25 Jan 2013. Version 1.0 - 1 Feb 2013. Jerry Tse. London.

Prague

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A walk along the Vltava

Beginning of a nation

By the 10C Prague had developed into a thriving town with a large market place, at the crossroads of Europe. The first rulers, the Premyslids ruled the city from the Prague Castle. Above is the golden St Wenceslas Crown of the Kings of Bohemia made in 1347, out of the original Premyslid Coronation Jewels. It has 91 gems and 20 pearls. The Orb and the Scepter were made in the second half of the 16C.

Statue of Saint Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, from 921 until his assassination in 935. Thereafter he became the patron saint of the Czech nation.

Gothic Prague

The centrepiece of the golden mosaic on the Golden Gate of the St Vitus Cathedral, depicting the last judgement. It was made in the late 14C.

The St Vitus’s Cathedral in evening lights. Work began on the Gothic cathedral in 1344.

The façade of the St Vitus’s cathedral.

The main altar of the St Vitus’s cathedral.

Some modern stained glass windows in the St Vitus’s cathedral.

The Golden Gate façade of the St Vitus’s cathedral.

The Chancel of the St Vitus’s cathedral.

The Powder Gate dates back to the 11C. It was one of the 13 gates into the Old Town. It was rebuilt in 1475.

The famous Astronomic Clock on the Old Town Hall tells not only the time, but sunrises and sunsets. It was built from 1552 and 1557.

Below the Astronomic Clock is the Calendar Clock of 1866, incorporating the seasons of the Bohemian peasant life.

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, in the Old Town Square. Work on the church was started in 1365.

A solid gold effigy on gable of the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, in the Old Town Square.

The Old Town tower on the Charles Bridge, which was completed in 1357.

Figures on the Old Town tower on the Charles Bridge.

Renaissance Prague

Renaissance in Prague coincided with the rule of the Austrian Habsburg Emperors.

The 16C Schwarzenberg Palace was built by an Italian architect, covered by sgraffitoes. The projected pyramid shaped stonework on the wall is in fact a painted illusion.

The detail sgraffito on the 16C Schwarzenberg Palace.

This is the Dum U Minuty (House at the Minute) now part of the Old Town Hall is covered with High Renaissance sgraffito.

A former Neo-Renaissance waterworks (1883-84), it is now the Smetana Museum.

Jewish Quarter

There was a Jewish community in the city since the Middle Ages. The Old Jewish Cemetery, where burial took place since the early 15C to 1787, included some Renaissance tombstones.

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The Old new synagogue was built in c1270. It is the oldest synagogue in Europe.

Jewish Quarter

Today the district is lined with up-market apartments. Many of these were built with delightful Art Nouveau façade.

An Art Nouveau entrance into a modern apartment block, in the Jewish Quarter.

Jewish Quarter

Baroque Prague

The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) was a series of wars principally fought in Central Europe. It is partially a religious war between the Protestants and the Catholics. By 1620, the Habsburg reinstated their rule over Prague. During this period, Famine and disease had decimated the population of Bohemia. It was during this period the new Baroque architecture was introduced to the city.

The Church of St Nicholas, the best known Baroque church of the city, which was built in 1703.

Mirror Chapel - Clementinum

The Mirror chapel is one of the many buildings making up the Clementinum, which was built by the Jesuits in the late 17C -18C, to spearhead the Restoration Movement and to persecute against the Protestants. They brought with them the Baroque style to Prague.

Mirror Chapel - Clementinum

The ceiling of the 17C Mirror chapel .

The catholic church of Loreto was constructed in 1626.

A row of baby angels decorated the entrance patio into the church.

Prague Castle (Hradcany Castle). The palace forecourt and gate entrance to the castle.

Further upstream on the northwest outskirt of the city, along the River Vltava is the 17C Troja Palace (1679-1691). The palace was modelled on a Classical Italian villa.

Neo-Classical Prague

In the late 19C Austria relaxed its rule and followed by the independence of the Czech Republic. This National Revival led to a construction of a series of buildings in the city. Amongst these were the Rudolfinum, built between 1876 and 1884. Today, it is the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

The State Opera with its Neo-Classical façade, had its first performance in 1888. Today it is used as a venue for opera and ballet.

Ceiling chandelier of the State Opera house.

The National Theatre built from 1844 to 1883, by the River Vltava (on the right).

Two bronze chariots on the roof of the National Theatre.

Art Nouveau originated in Paris in the 1890s. It quickly spread to Prague and reached its height in the first decade of the 20C.

Art Nouveau Prague

The former iron monger’s house. U Rotta, with colourful paintings by the 19C artist Mikulas Ales.

Art Nouveau building (1898) built as an Insurance Company now it is the Ministry of Commerce.

Prague Today

A shop

River Vltava

Bridges across the River Vltava

Charles Bridge across the River Vltava

A sausage kiosk

All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners. Available free for non-commercial and personal use.

The End

Music – Vltava composed by Smetana, who wrote six symphonic pieces about his Czech homeland (1874-79).