Walking Tour - Prague

One of the wonderful things about Prague (and there are many)is the fact that nearly everything you might want to see is within walking distance of the town center. So a walking tour led by a local seemed to be a great way to start our day. After breakfast, of course.

While waiting for the tour to begin, we wandered around Old Town Square checking out the old and beautiful architecture.

We also had a closer look at the astronomical clock.

The Prague Orloj (astronomical clock) is a medieval clock that was first installed in 1410. this makes it the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. In some ways the orloj is considered a primitive planetarium, displaying the current state of the universe. The description on all the information being displayed is quite extensive and interesting. The outermost ring even has a space for each day of the year. This is one of those things that you never tire of staring at. It is simply fascinating.

Our walk started on a street near our hotel that led us to Charles University. Founded in 1348, Charles university is one of the oldest universities in Europe in continuous operation. There are now many buildings but this is one of the oldest.

Next door is the Prague Opera House. It was the location of the premier of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovani in 1787. It is considered one of his most important works and is part of the operatic repertoire even today. The inside of the opera house was not on tour, but you may have seen it in the movie Amadeus.

From there we walked on to Wenceslas Square. This area is more of a boulevard than a square and has been the sight of many historical events including the proclamation of the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918, Nazi demonstrations, the Prague Uprising in 1948 and the takeover by the Soviets at the end of World War II.

Next we walked through one of the original gates that protected the city.

It was time for a break and we headed to a small brew house where we tasted the local specialty. We even passed a fire juggler along the way.

The young girl I am drinking with is Clara. She is a student from Brazil who is studying in London. She was taking a multi-city tour of the continent for her birthday. 

We noticed as we walked around that many of the local businesses use celebrities in their names. There was the Bond Cafe.

And the James Dean Cafe.

Our tour then headed into the Jewish quarter. This area was rebuilt in the 1800's replacing the old homes and is very impressive today. It was not always so.

 One of the most famous residents of the Prague Jewish Quarter was Franz Kafka. There is a very interesting statue honoring him.

Near this statue is the Spanish Synagogue. It is the site of the oldest synagogue in Prague but the original was demolished in 1867 and replaced by the Spanish Synagogue. It is said that the architecture was a tribute to the Moors who lived side by side with the Spanish Jews.

There were some very interesting facades along the way.

On a high hill there is a huge metronome in tribute to Mozart. We were told it replaced a 30 meter statue of Stalin that was erected during the Soviet occupation. It was quickly blasted away after.

In the midst of this area is the Old-New Synagogue. We were told that it is the oldest active synagogue in the world. It was completed in 1270 and is one of Prague's first Gothic buildings.

Next to the Old-New Synagogue is the Jewish Town Hall. It is noted for its clock which is numbered according to the Hebrew alphabet and the hands run counter-clockwise. Oh, and the small hand indicates minutes while the longer hand gives the hour. It's a true talent to tell time on this clock. To keep it simple, there is a traditional clock on the upper tower.

One of the most interesting sights in the Jewish Quarter is the cemetery. During former times when the Jews were confined to the Quarter, there was only a small area set aside for a cemetery. When it was filled the grave stones were lifted and a layer of soil was added for a new layer of graves. The old stones were put in place and new ones were added. This happened until there were 12 layers of graves and over 300,000 souls buried in this space. It is quite elevated and quite hidden from general view.

At the end of the tour we were by the Jewish museum where records are kept of all the families lost in the Holocaust. We were told that until she visited this site, Madeline Albright (former US Secretary of State) had no idea her ancestors were Jewish.

The tour was three hours of exploration and history and it was a great way to learn about this beautiful place.