I am excited to be here. Prague is one of the most visited cities in Europe and I wanted to visit for a long time. By the time I walk across the Charles Bridge, I understand why so many tourists love this city with its rich history and architectural wonders. It has evolved into a charming, picturesque, and fairytale-like city.
I am in the Czech Republic as part of a Viking River Cruise. The city is a pre-Elbe River stop on the itinerary. Always included is an overview tour. This day our group follows a knowledgeable local guide as he takes us along winding streets into the city’s heart.
HISTORY
Our guide offers a brief history as we walk toward Old Town. Known as the “City of a Hundred Spires,” it dates to 870 and Prague Castle’s foundation.
Old Town was established four centuries after the castle was built. When Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, came into power he escorted Prague into the golden age. He founded Charles University, the oldest university in Central Europe, in 1348. He also built the New Town and adorned his residential town with Charles Bridge and the magnificent St. Vitus’ cathedral.
With its 50,000 citizens, Prague became the largest city in Europe at that time.
Culture flourished when Emperor Rudolph II moved his seat to Prague in 1583. He endowed Prague’s galleries with the best Mannerist art in Europe and invited respected scientists to his court.
The Hapsburgs took over in 1621, marking the dark ages for the Czechs. During this period, a reawakening began when Queen Maria Teresia prioritized all children’s education – boys and girls. Commercial life developed, and many factories started manufacturing in the city.
In 1939, Hitler’s armies occupied Prague. Fifty years later, democracy returned to the country, with Václav Havel becoming the president. After the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Prague became the Czech Republic’s capital.
EXPLORING THE PAST
It helps to have this background as we start to explore. Old Town offers inviting streets, alleys, and passageways lined with Romanesque to Art Nouveau architecture.
A 60-metre tower adorns the town hall, constructed in 1338. The 15th-century astronomical clock is also featured here. As the hour arrives, death tips an hourglass and rings a bell before the 12 apostles march by, the cock crows, and another bell rings.
Crossing the famed Charles Bridge, we enter the world’s largest castle complex guarded by blue-uniformed sentinels. Prague Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
During darker days, Hitler occupied it. In better times, first democratic president Tomáš G. Masaryk and dissident-playwright-turned president Václav Havel ran the country from here.
Dominating the complex is the breathtaking, Gothic Saint Vitus’ Cathedral, which took 1,000 years to build. It is crowded inside, but not too crowded to see the beautiful stained-glass windows, stately statues, and ornate design.
Outside again, our tour guide bids us farewell. Because I signed up for an optional tour, I continue into the castle and the official Prague residence of the Lobkowicz Princes.
Opulence surrounds me. This fairy tale continues.
An audio guide narrated by family members and the museum curator makes the experience even more personal. The family’s priceless collection, including portraits, decorative arts, weapons, and tableware are on display.
Art by Canaletto, Brueghel the Elder, Cranach, and Velázquez, rare decorative arts dating from the 13th to 20th century, and an extensive military collection from the 16th to 18th century fill the rooms. The items offer a tangible look at family history.
The collection survived for centuries, including the Nazi and Communist eras.
JEWISH QUARTER
The next day, on another optional tour, I visit the historic Jewish Quarter.
One of the most lasting images for me is the Pinkas Synagogue, where the names of nearly 80,000 Czech and Moravian Jews, Shoah concentration camp victims during the Nazi occupation, are painted on the walls. The deportation dates are added as the last information about the dead.
The synagogue, founded in 1479 by Rabbi Pinkas, now serves as a Holocaust memorial. The temple was converted into this moving tribute between 1955 and 1960 by painters Václav Boštík and Ji?í John.
As emotional as the names are, children’s drawings from Terezin concentration camp are just as moving. Imprisoned Jewish children tell of the persecution of Jews in the Czech lands between 1939 and 1945 with their art. The paintings illustrate the transports to Terezin, everyday life in the ghetto, and dreams of returning home.
Pinkas Synagogue is part of Prague’s Jewish Museum. Three other synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery, Ceremonial Hall, and Robert Gultmann Gallery documenting the Jewish history, are also part of the museum.
The Old Jewish Cemetery, one of the world’s oldest Jewish burial grounds, dates from the 15th century to 1787. Tombstones are only inches apart. When there wasn’t any more room for new burials, residents placed a layer of soil on top of existing graves. The tombstones from the under layers were erected on the top layer where the newly departed were buried. There are more than 12,000 tombstones in the cemetery representing 10 grave levels.
Although not part of the museum complex, Old-New Synagogue is a must-see. Visiting the oldest working synagogue in Europe and Prague’s earliest Gothic buildings dating to 1270, is like time travel. To walk its small circumference and see its historical wealth on display offers a lasting memory. Worship here has continued for more than 700 years, interrupted only between 1941 and 1945 because of the Nazi occupation.
When my time in Prague ends, I board a bus to travel to the Elbe River and the Viking longboat. I only scratched the surface of what there is to explore in Prague. Still, the historical tours I took offered me a better understanding of the city, its citizens, and its amazing history.
I would love to return and explore again. There are certainly more treasures to discover.
For more information: www.vikingrivercruises.com
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