St Vitus Cathedral, Prague - Gargoyles

Gargoyles of Prague Cathedral

gar⋅goyle

1.	a grotesquely carved figure of a human or animal.

2.	a spout, terminating in a grotesque representation of a human or animal figure with open mouth, projecting from the gutter of a building for throwing rain water clear of a building.

In the intricate design of St Vitus Cathedral, gutter spouts are given their traditional disguise as gargoyles. Gargoyle is a name most often applied to medieval architecture. The practice of disguising water spouts appears to have originated in Egypt and been used in Greek temples as well. This practice was contnued until the early eighteenth century when downpipes came into use. St. Vitus uses gargoyles in classic medieval style.

The Old-New Synagogue, Prague

The Old-New Synagogue is the oldest site in Prague's Jewish Town. It is also the oldest active Synagogue in Europe. It has been the main synagogue for the Prague Jewish community for over 700 years. An old legend has it that in the attic lives the Golem, an artificial creature made of clay by the Rabbi Loew. The Golem was made to protect the Jewish community from threatened destruction by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in the late 16th century. And, as the tale goes, the Golem lies in wait in case need should arise again.

Mucha Window of St Vitus Cathedral, Prague

Mucha Stained Glass Window of St Vitus Cathedral, Prague

The windows in St Vitus are amazing. Below are pictures of the exquisite Alfons Mucha window.
Alfons Mucha was one of the founders of what was originally called the Mucha Style and later became known as Art Nouveau. This Mucha window was designed in the early 1930's.

Prague, Czech Republic - Haven for Classic Cars

On my trip to Prague I was surprised to see so many Classic Cars tooling around town. Some were used for tours and others just seemed to be part of the local charm. Here's a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Czech Crown Jewels and The Story of Prague Castle

From the Pictured Brochure:

The Story of Prague Castle

The Thousand Year History of the Place where Czech Statehood Unfolded

The Story of Prague Castle - The Exhibition

Old Royal Palace (Gothic Floor)
April - October (Summer Season) 9am to 6pm
November - March (Winter Season) 9am to 4pm
Duration of visit about 1 hour 30 minutes

The exhibition is divided into two parts.

The first of these chronologically presents the major representatives of the Czech state, the key events and building development of the Prague Castle complex from prehistory to the present. This also includes interactive programmes with visualizations of the building development of the castle complex in nine stages and a wealth of information about the given periods, including brief summaries of well-known historical events in Europe, the Bohemian lands and Prague Castle itself.

The second part the Stories, develop certain themes linked with Prague Castle: The Story of Bohemian Patrons, The Story of the Church and Cathedral, The Story of Burials, The Story of Residences, The Story of Heating, The Story of Banquets, The Story of Coronations.

The Story of Prague Castle - The Film

There is also a Film: Prague Castle Through The Ages which shows daily in both Czech and English. The documentary presents the hidden corners of the castle in a montage of unusual perspectives on architecture, artworks and old prints. The mindsets of those who built and ruled the castle are presented through quotations from historical chronicles and manuscripts.

Screening Times (as of October 2008)
Czech Version: 9:00am, 10:30am, noon, 1:30pm, 3pm
Additional summer screening: 4:30pm
English Version: 9:45am, 11:15am, 12:45pm, 2:15pm
Additional summer screenings: 3:45pm and 5:15pm

The film is shown in the room above the Gothic floor - access from the Riders' Staircase, running time of 40 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I loved this exhibition, although I did not see the documentary. Prague castle is littered with history and it was grand to have it all laid out so comprehensively in one place. Of course, my main fascination is always with the crown jewels. So I particularly enjoyed seeing the Bohemian crown jewels. Recommended. Especially if you like bling. Stop by the official Story of Prague Castle website for more info.

St Vitus's Cathedral - Tomb of St Wenceslas

The Tomb of St Wenceslas - St Vitus Cathedral

Pictured to the left: St Wenceslas and St Vitus by Bartholomaeus Spranger c 1600

Known as Good King Wenceslas, St Wenceslas was murdered by his brother on September 28, 935. The date of his death is now his Holy Day on the church calendar to mark his sainthood. He was hacked to pieces by his brother Boleslav at the urging of their mother Drahomíra. The murder of St Ludmilla, Wenceslas' grandmother was also planned by Drahomira. St Wenceslas is the patron saint of the Czech Republic and the Czech people.

Wenceslas became the ruler of Bohemia after his fathers death in 921. Circa 925 the Rotunda of St Vitas cathedral was comissioned by Wenceslas. The consecration of the completed cathedral occured in 1929, nearly 1,000 years after Wenceslas began building.

After his death, Wenceslas's murderer and brother Boleslav became the ruler of Bohemia. Several years later Boleslav regretted his deed and had Wenceslas' body exhumed and moved to the St Vitas Cathedral. The tomb of St Wenceslas is housed in the most beautiful side chapel, the altar of which is decorated with precious stones. The walls of the chapel are decorated with scenes from the life of Christ. The Tomb of St Wenceslas has become somewhat of a pilgrimage site and is quite crowded.

Pictured Above The Tomb of St Wenceslas

Cesky Krumlov - UNESCO World Heritage Site Plaque

This just touched my heart. Cesky Krumlov is a perfectly preserved wonder and I am grateful that the people there care enough to keep it up.


The text of the plaque is:

In the year 1992 the historical town center of Cesky Krumlov was added to the UNESCO List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Thus, the skills, feelings and love which our ancestors put into building this town over the past eight centuries have been duly recognized. It is our duty to enhance those values with equal love and preserve them for future generations.

Cha Cha Changes - The Rule of the Travel Road

Yep, the only constant is change itself. The biggest fact of life on the traveling road: what ever your plan - Things Will Change. Alot of things will change. And that's the joy of traveling, being willing to do things different, do altogether different thing, roll with the punches and have fun while you're doin it.

Ahhhh, the tickets have been purchased. Its amazing how life can change so much with one little click of the mouse. Well, actually this time it was one little phone call. So now its real. No dreaming of getting back on the road and thinking of million places I may want to go someday. No. Now its real. Now its time to get focused researching where I really want to go. Lisbon is out, London is in, and its time to get cracking on finding all the culture, adventure, food, exploring and fun to be found in Austria and the Czech Republic.

When in Greece last year, we went to Rhodes for a few days - Amazing!!!! I'll post some pix from that in the next few days just for the fun of it. The Palace of the Grand Masters, the walled city of Old Town Rhodes, the Mosque of Suleiman, the Street of the Knights, it was like stepping into the past and walking thru medieval times. Ok, well, just as far as the architecture goes. The city was a bustling, exotic mix of shops, restaurants and people. Beautiful sparkling jewelry, unique items and stacks upon stacks of bright colored carpets called my name. I had heard of World Heritage Sites before that. Now that I've been its my new addiction(well, after National Parks). So I'm excited to be able to see so many more World Heritage sites on this trip.

Take a peek at the full list of World Heritage Sites. Its organized by country and includes both natural and cultural sites. There are 878 amazing sites of our human culture to explore all over the world. Find your call to adventure today.