Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
parliament crowded into this room until the late 1990s to elect the
Czechoslovak (and later Czech Republic) president. (The last three
elections happened in another, far more lavish hall in the castle.)
Look up at the flower-shaped, vaulted ceiling.
On your immediate right, enter the two small Renaissance
rooms known as the
“Czech Office.”
From these rooms (empty
today except for their 17th-century porcelain heaters), two gover-
nors used to oversee the Czech lands for the Habsburgs in Vienna.
In 1618, angry Czech Protestant nobles poured into these rooms
and threw the two Catholic governors out of the window. An old
law actually permits defenestration—throwing people (usually bad
politicians) out of windows when necessary. Old prints on the wall
show the second of Prague's many defenestrations. The two gov-
ernors landed—fittingly—in a pile of horse manure. Even though
they suffered only broken arms and bruised egos, this event kicked
off the huge and lengthy Thirty Years' War.
Look down on the chapel from the end, and go out on the
balcony for a fine Prague view. Is that Paris' Eiffel Tower in the
distance? No, it's Petřín Tower—a fine place for a relaxing day at
the park, offering sweeping views over Prague (see page 96).
As you exit through the side door, pause at the door to con-
sider the subtle yet racy little Renaissance knocker. Go ahead—
play with it for a little sex in the palace (be gentle).
Across from the palace exit is the...
Basilica and Convent of St. George (Bazilika Sv. Jiří)
—Step
into the beautiful-in-its-simplicity Basilica of St. George to see
Prague's best-preserved Romanesque
church. Notice the characteristic dou-
ble windows on the gallery, as well as
the walls made of limestone (the rock
that Prague rests on). In those early
years, the building techniques were
not yet advanced, and the ceiling is
made of wood, rather than arched with
stone. St. Wenceslas' grandmother, St.
Ludmila, who established this first
Bohemian convent, was reburied here
in 973. Look for Gothic frescoes depicting this cultured woman (to
the right of the altar space). The Baroque front—which dates from
much later—was added on the exterior at the same time as the St.
John of Nepomuk chapel (through which you exit the church). The
scary-looking bones under the chapel altar are replicas—neither
St. John's nor real.
Today, the
convent
next door houses the National Gallery's
collection of 19th-century Czech paintings (150 Kč, Tue-Sun
10:00-18:00, closed Mon).
