What is there to see and do in Prague?
If you consult any guidebooks or “must-see” lists on-line – there is one item that is always listed first – Prague Castle.
I have been to a number of castles over the years – but this was an absolutely unique visit. This is the largest castle complex in the world – and one day of visiting wasn’t enough to see everything.
Prague Castle is not really a single structure – but rather a set of interconnected buildings built over centuries to include a cathedral, living quarters, a winery, a chapel, places for government officials, and plenty of rooms for state gatherings. The Kings of Bohemia all lived here as did some of the Habsburg kings/emperors and it is still used for government ceremonies by the Czechia Government today.
The first part of the castle was built in 870 A.D. – and it has been consistently expanded since that time. We had the chance to see the St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George Basilica, and the Lobkowicz Palace.
We elected to walk a bit over a mile from our hotel to the Prague Castle complex. On our way – we encountered city crews in bucket trucks knocking down large icicles from high buildings above sidewalks. I am sure that it is an exciting day at the municipal city office when you get “icicle knock down duty”. Still – a bit unique in my travels.
Our first order of business was to walk up the icy and slick hill to get to the palace entrance. The good news – there was a cafe at the top of the hill for a quick coffee and piece of Black Forest cake after the rather strenuous climb. The view of the city was pretty spectacular as well!
After appropriate refreshment, we made our way to the official entrance to purchase tickets to get us into the various places in the castle along with an English audio guide. It was nice to be able to stop at different places, type in a number into the guide, and listen to some historic background of the different stops in the buildings.
The St. Vitus Cathedral was ornate and packed with a significant number of religious artifacts that had been collected over the centuries. This is also where the Crown Jewels of Czechia are currently stored. To reach the Crown Jewels, they are located up a spiral staircase behind a door with 7 locks with various church and government officials each having a separate key. Once per year the door is unlocked and the Crown Jewels displayed as a special occasion.
As Andrew and I listened to the commentary about the various kings and major religious events it was clear that I had not studied much history in what is now considered Eastern Europe. This may have had more to do with the fact that Czechoslovakia was behind the Iron Curtain during my formative years – and growing up there was no way I would have ever thought I could visit this area of the world as an American.
It was time for lunch – so we stopped by a cafe and had a classic Czech lunch, warmed up a bit, and then got ready for more of the castle.
The castle was used for years in the governance of the Kingdom of Bohemia – and we toured some of the offices that housed land records and where government officials kept the Kingdom running smoothly.
After touring many of the governmental rooms, we next went to see another religious part of the caste. The St. George Basilica is the oldest part of the castle complex and originally built in the late 800’s – and has been rebuilt several times over the centuries.
Our final tour of the day was the Lobkowicz Castle. This is privately held and the displays focused on the Lobkowicz Family – who could trace their lineage back centuries and who currently own the castle. During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia much of the castle art was seized and distributed to various other places – and once the Czech Republic was formed after the fall of the iron curtain – the family managed to go and obtain most the art which had been looted in the 1940’s.
It was a great day of touring – but we were both tired and needed to get off of our feet for a few hours.
Our evening adventure took us to the Hemingway Cocktail Bar – but that will be in my eating and drinking highlights of Czechia entry tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Kirk’s Travelogue 