Prague Castle and Hradcany - part II

The second part from the series of articles about Prague Castle. The first one is here.

Old Royal Palace (Starý Královský Palác)
Dating from 1135 it is one of the oldest parts of the castle. It was the seat of Bohemian princes but from the 13th to the 16th century it was the king's palace. Vladislav Hall (Vladislavský sál), in the centre of the palace, was used for banquets, councils, coronations and in bad weather, jousting. The other parts are the Rider's staircase (Jezdecké schody), a place where all the Czech presidents have been sworn, Ludvík Wing famous for the defenestration of 1618, New Land Rolls Room, the old map repository for land titles and All Saints' Chapel.

Mihulka Powder Tower (Prašná věž)
This tower was built at the end of the 15th century originally as a part of the castle's defences, later it was a workshop of a cannon and bell-maker. During Rudolf II's reign (1576 – 1612) the tower became a laboratory for alchemists and then it was used as a gunpowder store until 1754. Today it is a museum of alchemy, bell- and cannon-forging and Renaissance life in Prague Castle.

Convent of St George (Klášter Sv. Jiří)
Established in 973 by Boleslav II it was Bohemia's first convent. In 1782 it was converted into barracks, in 1962 – 74 reconstructed and today as a branch of the National Gallery it houses an excellent collection of Czech Renaissance and baroque art.

Basilika of St George (Bazilika Sv. Jiří)
Founded by Prince Vratislav I in the 10th century it is the best preserved Romanesque church in Prague, the fasade is baroque from the 17th century though. There are tombs of Přemysl royalty. The acoustics make it a good venue for classical concerts.

Royal Garden (Královská zahrada)
This garden was created in 1535 for Ferdinand I. It is a highly recommended place for a stroll especially in spring. The Lions Court is where the Emperor Rudolf II had his zoo. There is also the bronze Singing Fountain and the azalea and tulip garden where tulips were first aclimatised to Europe before being taken to Holland.

Ball-Game House (Míčovna)
It is the most beautiful building of the Royal Garden where the Habsburgs played an early version of badminton. When the game went out of fashion it was converted into stables and today it is open only for exhibitions.

Summer Palace - Belvedere (Letohrádek Kralony Anny)
It is the most authentic Italian Renaissance building outside Italy. It was built from 1538 to 1564 for Ferdinad's beloved wife Anna. It houses temporary modern art exhibitions.
Riding School (Jízdárna)It was built at the end of the 17th century and since the end of the 1940s it has served as a gallery for temporary modern art exhibitions.

To be continued...

Prague Castle and Hradcany - part I

Prague Castle is the most popular sight visited in Prague. It is the largest ancient castle in the world (570 m long, on average 128 m wide, area 7.28 hectares). Constructed in the 9th century by Prince Bořivoj, the castle transformed itself from a wooden fortress surrounded by earthen bulwarks to the imposing form it has today. Rulers made their own additions so there is a mixture of styles. Prague castle has had four major reconstructions, but it keeps its classical facelift it took on in the 18 century during the reign of Maria Theresa. The castle has three courtyards and it has always been the seat of Czech rulers as well as the official residence. Allow at least half a day (it does not include time for museum visits) if you want to examine it in depth.

Chapel of the Holy Cross (Kaple sv. Kříže)
The Chapel of the Holy Cross was designed in the second half of the 18 century and remodeled in the mid-19 century. It was once a treasury of St Vitus Cathedral. There are cult objects, such as relics, busts, crucifixes, shrines, vestments, monstrances, bibles, plaques, paintings, jewels, gold- and silver-plated weapons.

Picture Gallery of Prague Castle (Obrazárna Pražského hradu)
Created in 1965 the gallery houses paintings from the 16th – 18th centuries. The highlights include Titian's The Toilet of a Young Lady, Rubens' The Assembly of the Olympic Gods and Guido Reni's The Centaur Nessus Abducting Deianeira. There are also sculptures, paintings by Czech Baroque artists and many of Rudolph's II (Emperor, 1575 – 1611) best paintings.

Imperial Stables (Císařská konírna)
There are temporary art exhibits.

The Spanish Hall (Španělský sál) and Rudolf Gallery (Rudolfova galerie)
are amongst buildings that have been converted for state purposes. They are open to the public only once a year in early May).

St Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála Sv. Víta)
The cathedral's foundation stone was laid in 1344 by Emperor Charles IV. The first architect was Matthias of Arras, after his death Petr Parler took over and completed much of the structure in late-Gothic style. Over the following centuries renaissance and baroque details were added and the job was completed in 1929. The most beautiful of numerous side chapels, Parler's Chapel of St Wenceslas, houses the crown jewels and the tomb of “Good King” Wenceslas. There are many superb exaples of 20th century Czech stained glass and marvellous pieces of art, for example a wooden relief by Caspar Bechterle that shows the escape of Frederik of the Palatinate from Prague in 1621, and wooden Crucifixion by František Bílek The Royal Crypt contains the remains of Charles IV, Wenceslas IV, George of Poděbrady and Rudolf II. There are excellent views from the Great Tower on a clear day.

To be continued...

Hervis Prague Half Marathon

Yesterday Prague belonged to Hervis Prague Half Marathon. This event is the first from a series of runners competition which are oganised under the brand Prague International Marathon (aka PIM).

Prague Half Marathon´s path went through historical part of the city. It is very attractive not only for runners but also for visitors of Prague. They root for all for participants of the run and it doesn´t matter whether they fight for the first place or just run because of having fun of it.

The winner of yesterday's run was Patrick Ivuti (Kenya). His time was 1:01:00. The second place was taken by Jacob Yator (Kenya) and the third place by Stephen Kibiwott (guess... Kenya again). Almost 5.500 participant took this half marathon!

Next event will be Garnier Junior Marathon (March, 29th), but the most important run is Volskwagen Prague Marathon which will happen May 13th. If you would like to run it, you can register on-line here. See you there ;)

Prague - the capital of the Czech Republic

Welcome to a blog about Prague, the cappital of the Czech Republic!

Where is it? ;) Czech republic is placed in the centre of Europe and is bordering with these countries: Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria.

Prague is in the approximate centre of the Czech Republic. The city has more than 1 million citizens and its area is almost 500 square km.

Prague is a destination of many tourists, more than 70% of foreign visitors of the Czech Republic visit Prague as their main destination. This blog should provide you with basic info about Prague, its sightseeings, possibilities of spending free time there... Enjoy it ;)