The Last Woman Hanged Every now and again I have to wait at a tram stop called Strossmayerovo namesti (Holešovice district) to take the short one stop journey to the Vltavska metro station. It’s a popular stop at the bottom of a hill named after a lady called Milada Horakova. I was researching a completely … Read More
Book Review – To the Castle and Back To the Castle and Back is Vaclav Havel’s semi-autobiographical work originally published in Czech in 2006 with the title “Please be Brief” and translated to English along with the new title “To the Castle and Back” by Paul Wilson in 2007. Vaclav Havel served three Presidential terms … 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
Museum of Communism 20 years ago I visited the old location of the Museum of Communism and found it quite uninspiring. Fast forward 20 years and the new location in V Celnice has a completely fresh outlook presented in a more understandable timeline with the majority of information about the exhibits translated into English. You … Read More
Nostalgic Tram 23 There’s a tram that I use several times a week if I’m travelling from to/from the IP Pavlova area of the city or if I’m heading to Prague Castle. Without realising it I have been travelling on what the Prague Integrated Transport system says is their official “Nostalgic Tram 23”. Since 1951 … Read More
U Železné Lávky – At the Place of the Iron Footbridge On the Prague Fords post I explained how present-day Prague developed and grew based on the ability to be able to cross here between both sides of the river for much of the year using a number of fords. Later there would be a … Read More
Jan Palach Square – Namesti Jana Palacha If ever there was a place in the city that highlights why names of locations change over the years it’s the current Jan Palach Square. The names used here include it’s location, its function, a prince, an empress, two composers, a communist name and a memorial. It’s a … Read More
Politics and History – Charter 77 You don’t have to spend too much time watching Czech news to learn that famous people have died. Sometimes however the name is followed by a simple phrase “Charter 77 signatory”. In our current time of being able to say pretty much whatever we like and not have to … Read More
Karlova – Charles Street Anybody who visits central Prague at some point in their trip will walk along the road called Karlova. It’s the road that links Charles Bridge with the Old Town Square. To be accurate, Karlova links the square on the Old Town side of the Charles Bridge (Křižovnické náměstí – the square … Read More
The WW2 Prague Uprising A frequent question on my walking tours is whether the centre of Prague was bombed during World War Two because it looks so old. I answer this question more fully on my World War Two Walking Tour but in summary, yes it was bombed but no the majority of any damage … Read More