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bronze detail on a st vitus cathedral door showing the relics of st vitus being carried to the new rotunda

ST Vitus

St Vitus – The Boy Saint Before you read about ST Vitus Cathedral it’s worth telling you something about the legend of ST Vitus himself because although he is patron saint of Prague, he was not Czech. So let’s just agree on who he was and how a piece of him ended up here in … Read More

the neo-renaissance sophies palace building on slavonic island in prague

Slavonic Island and Sophies Palace

Slavonic Island and Sophies Palace If you visit the Dancing House then when you look down into this part of the river you’ll see a weir. You may think that this is a fairly recent thing to control the river but actually there has been a weir here for at least 600 years. It’s a … Read More

prague tourism sign posts in the new town

Prague Tourism Sign Posts

Prague Tourism Sign Posts In the age of Google Maps you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical sign posts planted in the ground is all a bit 1990s. But once you get used to what they show you they are a useful aid to exploring the city especially if your data connection breaks. So you’re … Read More

upward shot of the neo-renaissance Prague National Museum on Wenceslas Square with fountain in foreground

Prague National Museum

Prague National Museum, Architectural and Cultural Icon I could tell you that it is a neo-Renaissance building that opened in 1891 but as thousands of other sites will tell you the same thing wouldn’t you like to hear something new like how the museum ended up being built here, what it replaced, why in the … Read More

Scene picture of Prague ST Nicholas Church Old Town viewed from the little park

ST Nicholas Church Old Town

St Nicholas Church Old Town Some buildings in Prague are so old that nobody is really sure exactly how old they are. St Nicholas Church Old Town is one of them. The best we can say is that the original church is “likely” to have been built in the 12th Century but the oldest documented … Read More

the interior of the baroque st james basilica in prague with marble columns and decorated knave

ST James Basilica

St James Basilica If you have come from the Old Town Square and you’ve walked through the Tyn Courtyard then as you emerge onto the street at the far end (Mala Stupartska) you’ll see the church 30 metres to your left. The church, to be accurate it was made a “Basilica Minor” in 1976, has … Read More

17th century baroque style troja chateau with roses in foreground

Troja Chateau

Troja Chateau In Czech it has the name “Zámek” which usually means it’s a castle so some people call it Troja Castle. But when you see pictures it looks more like a chateau or a villa so again some people call it Troja Chateau or Troja Villa or Troja Palace. For me it’s Troja Chateau. … Read More

prague jan hus monument with flowers, blue sky and st nicholas church in the background

Jan Hus Monument

Jan Hus Monument The period from 1850 to 1918 is known as the Czech National Revival. All aspects of “what it was to be Czech” from an ethnic, cultural, political and religious point of view were being investigated and highlighted. Famous Czechs of the past were being honoured and by the early 20th Century it … Read More

prague metronome in silhouette against a sunny blue sky

Prague Metronome

Prague Metronome In 1891 Prague hosted the World’s Fair (what would become called EXPO) in the Prague 7 Exhibition Grounds. One of the structures built for that fair was the Little Eiffel Tower. For the 100th anniversary of that event the Society for the Czechoslovak General Exhibition returned to the same place and commissioned another … Read More

prague astronomical clock face and instruction on how to tell the time

How to Tell the Time on the Astronomical Clock

How to Tell the Time on the Astronomical Clock When you look at the Astronomical Clock in Prague it’s like a mass of numbers, lines, colours and moving parts. So to make it less complicated I’m going to explain to you how to read the current time and how to understand Old Czech Time as … Read More