Prague Calendarium When people see the Calendarium they think that they are looking at the Astronomical Clock. Actually the Clock is above it and was there first. The Calendarium was added around 80 years later. The first mention of the Calendarium is in 1490. What Does It Do? Although it is far less technical than … Read More
Charles Bridge Portrait Artists There are some seriously talented artists in Prague and several of them can be found on Charles Bridge during the year. The signage on their easels should make it clear what the pricing will be and material options etc. It also makes it easy to point at what you want. But … Read More
Beneficial Brick Welcome to the largest street-art project in the world. You’ll find this organisation in many of the larger towns and cities in the Czech Republic not just in Prague. They have various locations in Prague but their most well-known point is on Na Prikope at the bottom of Wenceslas Square. What Do They … Read More
Illusion Art Museum Entry price for the Illusion Art Museum is CZK350 for an adult or from CZK800 for a family (depends on the number of kids 15 or younger) but let me tell you, it’s worth it. Actually it’s more than worth it for several reasons which I’ll describe below. The pictures here are … Read More
Havels Hearts Vaclav Havel was president of the Czech Republic when I first came here in 1996. He was obviously held in high regard by many and certainly those with artistic/cultural backgrounds. He was a reluctant president and known as a politician with a heart. This all started back in 2002. Havel had been elected … Read More
The Prague Book Tunnel Visiting the main city library normally doesn’t make anybody’s top ten list of things to do in Prague. That’s a shame because you will have missed out on seeing a quite bizarre yet striking piece of architectural art. It’s acquired the name of the Prague Book Tunnel but read on to … Read More
Gothic Prague Architecture – The Old Lady of Architecture Humanity has always sought out ways to improve and the Gothic Prague period was no exception. It took basic rules of Romanesque design and applied the latest building techniques. This resulted in construction of some of the most iconic buildings still visible in Prague and includes … Read More
Romanesque Prague Architecture (or Norman) If you are from England then you can see examples of Romanesque architecture in most major cities. It’s just that we don’t call it Romanesque, we call it “Norman” so you are in the period roughly between 800 and 1150. Signatures of Romanesque Prague architecture (which can also be called … Read More
Prague Art Nouveau – A New Kind of Art Prague has become synonymous with Art Nouveau even though in my experience people, at first glance, get Secessionist and Art Nouveau mixed up. In general, on the external side you can spot Prague Art Nouveau by looking for organic decorative features. Trees, flowers, branches/vines and fruit … Read More
Secessionist Prague Architecture What you now have to realize is that the last thousand years of design and architecture has been dominated either by Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance or Baroque, each holding for no less than 200 years apiece. That’s a lot of history and religion. Note that I now run a Prague Architecture Tour for … Read More