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two men disguised as chimney sweeps either side of a huge pair of red shorts

A Pair of Red Shorts

A Pair of Red Shorts Every now and again there has to be a line drawn and some consequences dished out. This is a true story about an outlandish protest and an equally outlandish but ultimately petty response. This post will help you understand why sometimes you see a pair of red shorts hanging above … Read More

prague old town square late baroque style kinsky palace, a four floor building with stone archways joined by a first floor balcony and 2 roof level porticos

Kinsky Palace

Prague Kinsky Palace, National Gallery Location The Kinsky Palace is the largest single building on the Old Town Square. Before you say “that’s not true, what about the churches and the Old Town Hall?”. Well the Old Town Hall is 4 buildings joined together, the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn is set back from … Read More

faces of jan palach and josef toufar on a wall with the dates of their death

Story of a Photograph

Story of a Photograph I never know where I’ll be drawn next when I’m writing about Prague. This was supposed to be a religious persecution post, but it took a few turns and left me with a big surprise at the end. It started with a picture I took years ago of an empty building … Read More

detail showing names and roles of people executed on june 21st 1621 on prague old town square

Prague Old Town Square 1621 Memorial

Prague Old Town Square 1621 Memorial As you wander around the city you’ll pass various memorials to people and events. On the Old Town Square you’ll find the 1621 memorial. Actually you are more likely to walk over it first. It might look old but in reality it only goes back to renovation work done … Read More

map showing dispositions and locations of opposing forces at the battle of white mountain during the thirty years war

Thirty Years War

Thirty Years War Before you read this post take a few minutes to read about the Prague Defenestrations and specifically the third one. This sets the political tone. You might think that this is just history but in fact it has a direct impact on your tourism today. Look in your guidebook and it will … Read More

illusion art of man pushing another man out of a window

Prague Defenestrations

Prague Defenestrations Defenestration comes from the German word for window i.e. Fenster. the act of throwing someone or something out of a window. expulsion, riddance, ejection, exclusion – the act of forcing out someone or something; Oxford English Dictionary The First and Second Prague Defenestrations As far as throwing people out of windows goes then … Read More

george of podebrady 15th century prague old town coat of arms on the outside of the old town hall

Prague Coat of Arms

Prague Coat of Arms There’s always history in a coat of arms and it’s often changed through the years but normally it’s a family coat of arms. In this case I’ll walk you through the origins of the Prague Coat of Arms, how things have changed over the years and why we’ve settled on the … Read More

milada horakova prague memorial adjacent to the parliament building

Milada Horakova

Milada Horakova The story of a brave and honest woman who chose to fight. Born on Christmas Day 1901 in what was then called Royal Vinohrady, Milada Horakova was an active demonstrator against the Austro-Hungarians in the first world war. So much so that she was initially banned from her Grammar school but later completed … Read More

Jan Palach, ICON

The Story of Jan Palach – Always Remembered Every January 16th thoughts will turn to an event which happened on this day in 1969. The story must begin in the January of 1968 with the election of Alexander Dubcek (pronounced “doobcheck”) as Communist Party leader. He was a reformer who set about introducing reforms and … Read More

1989 Memorial Plaque to the Czech Velvet Revolution

The Czech Velvet Revolution

Velvet Revolution The Path Less Travelled You’ll have read that the Velvet Revolution started on International Students Day i.e. November 17th 1989 but, it started well before that. Actually you have to go back 50 years to understand that the students were protesting on an anniversary and go back another 20 years to explain why … Read More