We met our guide, Eva, and started out on our walking tour of the "Right Bank" - Old Town and New Town. The New Town is new because it is "only" 600 years old. (I can beat that. The New Forest, in Hampshire, England, is "new" as of 1066.)
It was another really hot day, and I barely made it through the tour. It got up to 97 F today.
My favorite thing was the old city hall with its famous astronomical clock. For 600 years this clock has been telling the time, the phase of the moon, the zodiac sign, and more. Every hour it's like a little play. Death rings a bell. A pagan turns his head. Some other figures move around. Two doors open and the 12 apostles go by, At the end, a golden rooster crows. A huge crowd gathers each hour to see this. Tour guides explain it in many different languages. Selfie sticks pop up. It's almost like part of the clock.
It was another really hot day, and I barely made it through the tour. It got up to 97 F today.
Eva led us down some of the same streets we had walked along yesterday, but she showed us interesting things we missed, and she took us down passageways and around corners to see interesting things that we were unaware of. Eva also shared her perspective on Czech life, including living under the Soviets until the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
One of the areas of focus was all the different styles of architecture that could be seen within a small area. We saw 14th century buildings, Baroque church interiors, Gothic churches, Renaissance arches, Neo-classical, Art Noveau, Art Deco, Cubist, and Soviet-era buildings. I have probably left a few styles out.
Cubist:
We saw a number of important buildings and squares. First was the Municipal House, a gorgeous Art Noveau building. Adjacent to that is the Powder Tower - a fabulous Gothic gate to the Old City.
Wenceslaus Square is the place where everything important happens. It's where the Nazis marched in, in 1939, and took over the country. It's where students and Soviets clashed in 1969. It's where the Velvet Revolution culminated in 1989 and Vaclav Havel addressed the country. It's not really a square, but more of a long very wide avenue. At one end there is a hill, and on that hill is a statue of King Wenceslaus, patron saint of the Czech people, astride a horse. (More on that later.) The buildings along Wenceslaus Square are gorgeous.Eva took us into a building that had a main hallway with shops and offices coming off the hallway. In the center there was a round stained-glass skylight. Underneath it was a David Cerny sculpture of King Wenceslaus on an upside-down horse. What does it mean?
We saw three incredible churches. Our Lady of the Snow was built in the 14th century. It has the largest Baroque altar in the Czech Republic, and it is quite beautiful.
St. James Church is similar. It doesn't look very big or fancy from the outside, but the inside is splendid. (Pictures not allowed inside)Finally, there is the Church on the Tuyn. Same amazing history and Baroque interior.
Old Town:
We saw a number of important buildings and squares. First was the Municipal House, a gorgeous Art Noveau building. Adjacent to that is the Powder Tower - a fabulous Gothic gate to the Old City.
Wenceslaus Square is the place where everything important happens. It's where the Nazis marched in, in 1939, and took over the country. It's where students and Soviets clashed in 1969. It's where the Velvet Revolution culminated in 1989 and Vaclav Havel addressed the country. It's not really a square, but more of a long very wide avenue. At one end there is a hill, and on that hill is a statue of King Wenceslaus, patron saint of the Czech people, astride a horse. (More on that later.) The buildings along Wenceslaus Square are gorgeous.Eva took us into a building that had a main hallway with shops and offices coming off the hallway. In the center there was a round stained-glass skylight. Underneath it was a David Cerny sculpture of King Wenceslaus on an upside-down horse. What does it mean?
We saw three incredible churches. Our Lady of the Snow was built in the 14th century. It has the largest Baroque altar in the Czech Republic, and it is quite beautiful.
Old Town:
We saw the oldest university in the Czech Repblic. We saw an old market square. We saw the old CIty Wall - or at least where it used to be.
New Town:
We saw remnants of the German occupation during WWII, such as their social club. We saw remnants of the Soviet occupation after WWII, such as their drab, blocky, charmless (is that a word?) buildings. We saw more public art installations by David Cerny. We saw a beautiful old building that now contains, from left to right, McDonald's, the Museum of Communism, and a casino. I think communism has been outflanked. We ssaw some of the crystal for which the Czech Republic is famous.
My favorite thing was the old city hall with its famous astronomical clock. For 600 years this clock has been telling the time, the phase of the moon, the zodiac sign, and more. Every hour it's like a little play. Death rings a bell. A pagan turns his head. Some other figures move around. Two doors open and the 12 apostles go by, At the end, a golden rooster crows. A huge crowd gathers each hour to see this. Tour guides explain it in many different languages. Selfie sticks pop up. It's almost like part of the clock.
At this point, our tour was over, and it was just too hot to stay out, so we went back to the hotel to experience air-conditioning.
After an interlude, we went out again, into hotter weather than before, to tour the Municipal House. It is interesting inside and out. It is all done in the Art Nouveau style, including some work by Mucha. The inside includes an art exhibition, an elegant French restaurant a cafe, and the "American Bar." Eva said it has always been called the American Bar, even during the communist period. The centerpiece is the Smetana Auditorium. You can't see it unless you pay to go on a guided tour, or . . . unless you attend a concert . . .
Yes, the Soviets left behind drab, blocky, charmless gray concrete buildings in all the countries they occupied--at least all that I've been in.
ReplyDeleteLove your photos! And what a summer: From becoming an Outdoors Woman to visiting an ancient and beautiful city.