Saturday, December 31, 2011

Spanish Synagogue

Prague's first synagogue, known as the Old School, once stood on this site. The present building was built in 1868  and is the newest of all the synagogues here.



Its Moorish design and hence its name



Rich stucco decorations on the walls




It now houses a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the Jews of  Bohemia


Saturday, December 24, 2011

Franz Kafka

This sculpture  was erected  in memory of Franz Kafka (1883-1924)  in  a little square in Dusni Street in between a Catholic church (Church of the Holy Ghost) and a synagogue (Spanish Synagogue).




Kafka's works include The Trial, The Castle and The Metamorphosis. His complex and impersonal stories are so unique that his name inspired an adjective - Kafkaesque.


Church of the Holy Ghost

This church was built in the 14h Century as part of a convent of Benedictine nuns. As it was on a Monday and all churches in Czech Republic  are closed on Monday,  we were unable to see the church. Our intention was to see the Jewish Museums which are closed on Saturday.



Statue of St John Nepomuk




The Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

On our 3rd day in Prague, we started by visiting the Jewish Quarter, also known as Josefov,  a former Jewish ghetto. The name Josefov was derived from Emperor Josef II who improved the lives of the Jews. Here, the mystical Golem and the spirit of Franz Kafka live on.




The Jewish Museum is a complex of buildings consist of the cemetery, ceremonial hall and the synagogues.


End of day 2

We had our dinner at this restaurant near Staromestska metro Station before going back to the hotel.







Church of Our Lady of the Snow

Charles IV founded his church to mark his coronation in 1347. It was meant to be the second largest religious monument after St Vitus Cathedral but was not completed to that scale.




29 m high altar



The highest church in Prague with a 33 m high vault




Thursday, December 22, 2011

Church of St Nicholas (Little Quarter)

Building of this church began in 1793 and only completed in 1761, after a delay of 50 years. It is the acknowledged masterpiece of of father-and-son architects by Christof and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, Prague's greatest proponents of High baroque, although neither lived to see the completion of the church.





A copper statue of St Nicholas surmounts the High Altar



One of the statues of Church Fathers



The Celebration of the Holy Trinity fills the high dome








This is the best Baroque church in Czech Republic and one of the best in central Europe.


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Wallenstein Palace

Albrecht von Wallenstein built this palace between 1624 and 1630. His  intention was to overshadow the Prague Castle. Wallenstein purchased 23 houses, 3 gardens and a kiln and had them demolished to build the palace. It is now the Senate of the Czech Republic.




The Grotesquery is a strange imitation of the walls of a limestone cave



The Sala Terrena is where Wallenstein  dined