Prague Castle Imperial Gardens and Belvedere Until the middle of the 15th Century Prague Castle was largely defended by it’s own high walls and a moat on the northern side. As new defences were installed over the next Century it enabled the Castle grounds to be extended to the north by about 300 metres. Part … Read More
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 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
Platyz Palace One of the joys of exploring Prague are the hundreds of accessible courtyards especially in the Old Town. The Platyz Courtyard is just one of them but of course, a courtyard just means it has a large building surrounding it which in this case is the Platyz Palace. On this post I’ll tell … Read More
Tyn Courtyard in Prague Old Town You’ll be introduced to the Tyn Courtyard during the Old Town and Jewish Quarter Walking Tour. It’s easily one of the most photogenic places in the city with its mix of architecture, cafes and bars. You might think that the current Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, being from … Read More
Little Square in Prague As the Old Town developed there was a conscious decision to maintain a large square that acted as a meeting place, a place of safety from fire and as a market square. On German language maps it’s called the “Grosse Markt” or the Big Market. Today we call this place the … Read More
Renaissance Prague Architecture The Prague Renaissance period saw a lot of social and technological change but it did not come with groundbreaking architectural design ideas as had been noted in the Romanesque and Gothic periods. It was more about artistic ideas and decorative styles to aesthetically improve the appearance of a building and not the … Read More
Wallenstein Garden and Palace The Wallenstein Garden takes it’s name from the adjacent Wallenstein Palace (now the home of the Czech Senate). As one of 4 or 5 families that supported the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand II during the 30 years war, the Wallensteins were gifted this land in the Lesser Town after the Catholics took … Read More
The Prague Rudolfinum The grounds of the Rudolfinum on the Old Town side of the riverbank have not always looked so grand. Previously the site had been a nitrate bed, a riding school, a prison and a saw mill before construction started on the current building in 1875. 50 years earlier a bank called “Bohemiche … Read More