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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

1842 map of prague jewish ghetto showing the locations of the nine largest synagogues

The Prague Jewish Ghetto Destruction

The Prague Jewish Ghetto Destruction On this post I’ll seek to give you an overview of the timeline and decisions taken which eventually led to the destruction of the Prague Jewish Ghetto. Before the year 1437 Jewish citizens in Prague could live wherever they wanted and there is ample evidence to show that they had … 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

external view of the prague jewish ceremonial hall museum in josefov in neo-romanesque style

Jewish Ceremonial Hall

The Old Jewish Ceremonial Hall in Prague, there’s more than one! This building in Josefov is strongly linked to something called Chevra Kadisha and I’ll explain more about them below. Both the Old Ceremonial Hall and the adjacent Klausen Synagogue deal with Jewish customs and traditions. The Old Jewish Ceremonial Hall story is described on … Read More

prague neo-gothic bethlehem chapel with two saddle roofs against a blue sky

Bethlehem Chapel

Bethlehem Chapel As well as the Bethlehem Chapel there are a few other reasons for visiting this area. You may be interested in Jan Hus hence you want to explore a place where he once preached. You may be looking for a good location for eating outside or you might be looking for a recommended … Read More

Prague Meridian marker plate in both czech and latin

Prague Meridian

Prague Meridian Time has always been important to the residents of Prague and they even have their own “Old Czech Time”. But long before pocket watches became fashionable people knew what time it was or at least they knew when it was noon. The Prague Meridian is an invisible line but it’s also marked in … Read More

on the bethlehem chapel in prague, eight stainless steel plates with letters cut into them are projecting the words za pravdu onto the wall using sunlight

Za Pravdu

Za Pravdu – Amazing Art There are many busts, statues, pictures, drawings and memorials in the city associated with Jan Hus. Probably the most striking of these is actually invisible for most of the year but if you are in Prague at a certain time of the year and you get good weather then make … Read More

tall bronze statue of jan hus on prague old town square with blue sky background

Jan Hus

Famous Czechs – Jan Hus This will be the first of five posts which will eventually give you a rounded view of Jan Hus, how to interpret his monument, where he preached and why plus a clever piece of art. But first you should understand who he was and hence WHY he is one of … Read More

black and white picture of the ocean liner ss patria in 1918 with three funnels plus fore and aft masts

SS Patria Disaster

SS Patria Disaster A trans-Atlantic liner called the SS Patria sank on 25th November 1940 at the port of Haifa in what was then Palestine. You’re thinking what the hell as this got to do with Prague? Well for me it all started with a photo. In 2015 I was preparing to start my Walking … Read More

two offset renaissance style buildings with red tiled roofs called pinkas synagogue

Pinkas Synagogue

Pinkas Synagogue, a National Holocaust Memorial Sometimes you can look at a building and have an idea of what came before a certain time and what came after. This post about the Pinkas Synagogue can also be broken into two parts. Before and after World War Two. The Pinkas Synagogue is on the route of … Read More