ST Giles Church The ST Giles Church in Prague’s Old Town is fairly easy to walk past but it’s got a history and even a few quirky facts associated with it. So let’s dive in. The 13th Century ST Giles Church A Catholic Order called the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint … Read More
Jachymov Work Camp When you meet a Czech communist nowadays and you try to engage in some discussion about what the Czech communists did to non-communist Czechs in the 1950s there’s often this defence about “not everybody was executed, many only went to work camps”. Let’s take a look at one of those places, specifically … Read More
Famous Czechs – Olbram Zoubek Olbram Zoubek is not a name that will crop up in many guidebooks. He has certainly left his mark on the country and one town specifically (and it’s not Prague) but tourists will wander past at least two of his public works in Prague without realising. Olbram Zoubek was born … Read More
Training Cafe Martin If you are in the Karlin area of Prague then between the “Karlinske namesti” and “Krizikova” tram stops you’ll find Cafe Martin which only opens Monday to Friday. It looks like a regular cafe with comfy seats, selection of teas and coffees, cake stand etc. But then you’ll realise why this is … Read More
Prague and Amadeus Filming Locations The multi-award winning 1984 film Amadeus was partly filmed in Prague. In this case, Prague is supposed to act as Vienna would have looked in the 1780s. Actually that’s not particularly difficult as much of Prague still dates to this era. The director, Miloš Forman, looked at potentially filming in … Read More
Strahov Brewery Strahov Brewery is an absolute Mecca for beer drinkers visiting Prague. Not the oldest brewery in the city by a long shot but it has an interesting history and it’s well worth a trip to this area of the city which is fairly high and so affords some stunning scenic views. Strahov Brewery … Read More
Plague Columns You’ll walk past these as you wander through Czech towns and cities. Here I’ll point out the two Prague Plague Columns related to the Bubonic Plague outbreak in the early 18th Century. They will have a strong religious connection and are giving thanks for the ending of a bad period of suffering. In … Read More
Prague Streets – Peace Square In Czech this is known as Namesti Miru but for the purposes of the post I’ll just call it Peace Square. It’s located in the second district called Vinohrady. Now it’s a bustling public transport hub surrounded by cafes, restaurants and a theatre and dominated by a large church. But … Read More
Return of the Stones Memorial In January 2019 I first became aware that Jewish gravestones had been cut up and made into cobble stones for use in city streets during the communist era. I wrote about this on the Walking on Gravestones post. I’d heard that the Jewish community had an agreement with the City … Read More
Prague Cubism Museum – House at the Black Madonna When you buy your ticket at the ground floor office you’ll be told to go directly to the 4th floor and work your way down to third and second. You should really have some background knowledge of Czech Cubism before coming here at least to understand … Read More