On your vacation with Globus, travel to the political, economic, and cultural center of the Czech Republic to experience all that Prague has to offer. The incredible architecture and unforgettable views will make for a vacation of a lifetime.
Prague boasts one of the world’s more peculiar city mascots: a lumbering clay monster known as the Golem. The creature is ubiquitous in the Czech capital, endlessly cloned into cute souvenir figurines, while Golem lends his name to local hotels, clothing boutiques, hairdressers, and even rock bands. Oddly, few Czechs remember that the Golem originated as a dark legend, born of the violence of the late Middle Ages.
In the 1500s, the Christians of Prague began a series of murderous rampages (pogroms) against the Jews in the city’s Ghetto. Later, when remembering that bleak era, the beleaguered Jewish Czechs began telling the story of the magical Golem that came to their aid. It was said that a learned rabbi named Judah Loew ben Bezalel (who was a real historical figure) fashioned a towering, man-like figure from the mud of the River Vltava, and used his knowledge of the kabalah to animate it with life. EMET, the Hebrew word for truth, was engraved upon the Golem’s forehead, and it would patrol the Ghetto and protect its inhabitants from mobs at night. But with no mind of its own, the Golem was over-literal in interpreting orders and went on its own murderous rampage against innocent citizens, both Christians and Jews. The rabbi was forced to erase the letter E from its forehead, replacing it with MET, the Hebrew word for “death,” thus, breaking the spell. He then interred the Golem’s remains in the attic of the oddly named Old-New Synagogue.
Today, the synagogue still stands in the Ghetto, and the current chief rabbi of the Czech Republic says that he has never dared enter its sealed-off attic. Meanwhile, the grave of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, who died in 1610 at the age of 100, is still a revered pilgrimage spot in Prague’s Jewish Cemetery.
Miraculously unscathed by two world wars, Prague is an enormous open-air museum of European architecture, with superb examples of Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles all crowded into one fairytale space. But the city’s quirkiest building may be the Modernist edifice in the heart of the Old Town: the world’s first Cubist building, an avant-garde creation from the early 20th century called the House of the Black Madonna.
The poetic name comes from a 17th-century statue that was rescued from the previous house on the site and that is poised like a figurehead on one corner. Designed by artist Josef Gocár, the House was regarded as shockingly modern, even revolutionary, when it first opened as a department store in 1912—and it still seems so in Prague today.
For the last 10 years, this has been the home of the Museum of Czech Cubism, which is dedicated to the artistic movement embraced by Prague’s intellectuals. In its heyday, from 1912 to 1916, Cubism was hailed as a distinctively Czech artistic movement, and it is remembered as an emblem of a golden age, when Prague was one of the wealthiest cities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The building itself, of course, is the prime exhibit. Its façade, which looks smooth from a distance, is actually fractured through the inventive use of oblique planes. Large bay windows protrude in the manner of giant quartz crystals. The museum inside is suffused with nostalgia.
In addition to the museum is a Cubist gift store (Cubist lounge chairs, anyone?) and the world’s only Cubist eatery, the Grand Café Orient, which was a bohemian artist’s hangout before World War I. As you sip a coffee, waiters might quip that it was near Prague in 1843 that a certain Czech genius, Jakub Krystof Rad, invented the sugar cube. Cubism, it seems, was always in the Czech blood.
Every hour, hundreds of visitors gather in Prague’s Old Town Square to witness the tolling of the Astronomical Clock, when a sinister figure of Death emerges to pull the bell cord. It seems appropriate that the first doorway to the left of this gloomy edifice is the House of the Minute, the childhood home of Prague’s most famous literary son, Franz Kafka. In his short life, from 1889-1924, Kafka wrote some of our most gripping tales of paranoia and alienation. In the novel The Trial, a man is caught up in an mind-boggling legal system for an offense that is never named. In the novella Metamorphosis, a man wakes up in bed one morning and finds he has turned into a cockroach. The 500-year-old House of the Minute, with its elegant black-and-white façade, is where the writer spent the first seven years of his life, and where Kafka’s nightmarish imagination developed. The eldest child of a middle-class Jewish family, he was tormented by his overbearing father, who became a model for the menacing authority figures that tread through his fiction. Young Franz moved with his family to several other apartments in Prague (one is now the US Embassy building), and developed a love-hate relationship with his home city: He tried to live in Germany and Vienna, but was always drawn back by the beauty of Prague. And although Kafka does not name them in his fiction, the confusing alleys of the Old Town and its looming castle provide their distinctive atmosphere. Kafka died here at age 35 or tuberculosis and was buried in the Jewish Cemetery. Most of his work was published posthumously, to huge acclaim. Today, improbably enough, Kafka’s gaunt portrait is reproduced all over Prague on souvenir T-shirts, coffee mugs and key chains. But maybe he wouldn’t have disapproved entirely. Kafka also had a highly developed sense of black humor, and a Czech ability to laugh at the ironies of life.
On a vacation to the Czech Republic, Prague is a must see destination. Make sure to include these sights on a vacation to Prague!
Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge, also known as “Karlov Most,” is a fixture of Prague life and the connection between Prague’s Old Town and Prague’s New Town. It is decorated with statues and is popular among visitors for its food and souvenir vendors. The Bridge is crowded with locals and travelers from sun-up to sun-down.
Prague Castle
Leave several hours to explore this amazing architecture where visitors can watch the changing of the castle guard, view artwork from various centuries, and peer back into the time of medieval Czech Kings. Experience the Gothic beauty of the St. Vitus Cathedral and enjoy a classical music concert.
St. Vitus Cathedral on Castle Hill
This Gothic Cathedral boasts a beautiful rose window and stained glass designed by famous Czech artists. It has sculptures, paintings, and other artwork from famous and skilled Czech craftsmen. This is a free tour and is popular among the crowds for an excellent and memorable day trip.
Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square
This is one of Prague’s most popular sights as eager crowds enter to watch the clock’s mechanisms and see figures emerge from the clock upon the hour. The original parts of the clock date back to the 1400s, but the clock has been updated throughout the centuries. In Old Town Prague, people dine, shop, listen to music, and catch a seasonal festival on the historic square.
Municipal House in Old Town Prague
This profound architecture will be one that you will not want to miss. It is beautiful both inside and out. The terrific interior and exterior details were constructed by some of Prague’s leading artists at the turn of the 20th century.
An intriguing and unforgettable journey to the beautiful city of Prague awaits you and will not fail to disappoint you. Prague is the capital and also the largest and most populous city in the Czech Republic and home to thousands of visitors every year. Founded during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. If you are looking for an opportunity to engage yourself in the ancient European culture and endless monumental sites, then Prague is the vacation for you.
Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of twentieth century Europe. It has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its 1,100 year existence. The famous city boasts more than ten major museums, along with countless theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. Some of the main attractions that you may visit on your vacation are the Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge. Whether you are looking for long walks in the park or day trips to the museum, Prague has a venue for everyone.
The centre of Prague is characterized by winding alleys and an assortment of different ancient architectural discoveries. It represents a unique collection of historical monuments dominated by the Prague Castle which towers high above the city. You will want to be sure to book your tour to the Prague Castle as it is the largest coherent castle complex in the world. After you tour, make your way towards the core of the city situated on both banks of the Vltava River that welcomes tourists every year to an array of beautiful and unforgettable sites.
Don’t wait any longer to book your unforgettable vacation to Prague. You will not be disappointed with the memories you make and the experiences you will encounter throughout its many ancient monuments and breathtaking views. Start planning your amazing journey to the Prague today!
Miraculously unscathed by two world wars, Prague is an enormous open-air museum of European architecture, with superb examples of Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque and Art Nouveau styles all crowded into one fairytale space. But the city’s quirkiest building may be the Modernist, box-like edifice that can be found in the heart of the Old Town, in a laneway called Ovocný trh – the world’s first Cubist building, an avant-garde creation from the early 20th century called the House of the Black Madonna.
Designed by artist Josef Gočár, the House was regarded as shockingly modern, even revolutionary, when it first opened as a department store in 1912 – and it still seems so in Prague today. For the last 10 years, it has been the home of the Museum of Czech Cubism, which is dedicated to the artistic movement that was embraced by Prague’s intellectuals and extended to all forms of the visual arts – including interior design, architecture, graphic design and photography.
The House itself, of course, is the prime exhibit: Its façade, which looks smooth from a distance, is actually fractured through the inventive use of oblique planes. Large bay windows protrude in the manner of giant quartz crystals. (The House’s poetic name comes from a 17th century statue of the Black Madonna and child, which was rescued from the previous house on the site, and is still poised like a figurehead on one corner). The museum inside is suffused with nostalgia: In its heyday, from 1912 to 1916, Cubism was hailed as a distinctively Czech artistic movement, and it is remembered today as an emblem of a golden age, when Prague was one of the wealthiest cities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and its citizens enjoyed a creative renaissance. After the museum, visit the Cubist gift store (Cubist lounge chairs, anyone?) and the world’s only Cubist eatery, the Grand Café Orient, which was a bohemian artist’s hangout before the First World War. As you sip your coffee, waiters might quip that it was near Prague in 1843 that a certain Czech genius, Jakub Krystof Rad, invented the sugar cube. Cubism, it seems, was always in the Czech blood.
When you take a vacation to the Czech Republic, make sure to pause and take a few minutes to take in the sights that surround you in Prague.
Every hour, hundreds of visitors gather in Prague’s classic Old Town Square to witness the tolling of the Astronomical Clock, when a sinister medieval figure of Death emerges to pull the bell cord. It seems appropriate that the first doorway to the left of this haunted edifice is the Hause Minuta, or House of the Minute, the childhood home of Prague’s most famous literary son, Franz Kafka. In his short life, from 1889-1924, he wrote some of our most gripping tales of paranoia and alienation, including The Trial (where a man is caught up in an mind-boggling legal system for an offense that is never named) and Metamorphosis (where a man wakes up in bed one morning and finds he has turned into a cockroach).
This splendid Renaissance-era house, with its elegant black-and-white painted façade, is where the writer spent the first seven years of his life, and where his nightmarish imagination developed. The eldest child of a middle class, German-speaking Jewish family, he was tormented, according to his own account, by his father, “a huge, selfish, overbearing businessman,” who became a model for the menacing authority figures that tread through his fiction. Young Franz moved with his family to several other apartments in Prague (one is now the US Embassy building), and developed a love-hate relationship with his home city: He tried to live in Germany and Vienna, but was always drawn back by the eerie beauty of Prague. And although Kafka does not name the city’s monuments in any of his fiction, the winding alleyways of the Old Town, its shadowy plazas and looming castle, provide their distinctive atmosphere.
Kafka died here at age 35 or tuberculosis and was buried in the Jewish Cemetery; most of his work was published posthumously, to huge acclaim. Today, improbably enough, his gaunt portrait is reproduced all over Prague on souvenirs, T-shirts, coffee mugs and key chains. But maybe he wouldn’t have disapproved entirely. Kafka also had a highly developed sense of black humor, and a Czech ability to laugh at the ironies of life.
Continuing our post from Friday, here are a few more Prague must-see sights to make your vacation to the Czech Republic more memorable.
Prague Specialties
Local dishes to try include beef sirloin with cream sauce and dumplings, baked pork/duck/goose with red or white cabbage and dumplings, as well as Czech beer and the special herbal liquor Becherovka.
Hussite Sites
A walking route possibility is Hussite Prague—sites relating to the Hussite wars of the 15th century.
World Heritage Site
Prague’s city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ask your Local Host about visiting its many monuments.
