Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Quarter end of the bridge on the right). John of Nepomuk was
a 14th-century priest to whom the queen confessed all her sins.
According to a 17th-century legend, the king wanted to know his
wife's secrets, but Father John duti-
fully refused to tell. He was tortured
and eventually killed by being tossed
off the bridge. When he hit the water,
five stars appeared. The shiny plaque
at the base of the statue depicts the
heave-ho. Devout pilgrims—from
Mexico and Moravia alike—touch the
engraving to make a wish come true.
You get only one chance in life for this
wish, so think carefully before you
touch the saint. Notice the date on the
inscription: This oldest statue on the
bridge was unveiled in 1683, on the supposed 300th anniversary of
the martyr's death.
The reason for John of Nepomuk's immense Baroque popular-
ity and 1729 canonization remains contested. Some historians claim
that at a time when the Czechs were being forcibly converted to
Catholicism, Nepomuk became the rallying national symbol (“We
will convert, but our patron must be Czech”). Others argue that
Nepomuk was a propaganda figure used by Catholic leaders to give
locals an alternative to Jan Hus. You'll find statues like this one on
squares and bridges throughout the country. The actual spot of the
much-talked-about heave-ho is a few steps farther away from the
castle—find the five points of the Orthodox cross between two
statues on the bridge railing.
Most of the other Charles Bridge statues date from the late
1600s and early 1700s. Today, half of them are replicas—the origi-
nals are in city museums, out of the polluted air. At the far end of
Charles Bridge, you reach the
Little Quarter.
For sights in this
neighborhood, see page 88.
sss
Jewish Quarter (Josefov)
Prague's Jewish Quarter neighborhood and its well-presented,
profoundly moving museum tell the story of this region's Jews.
For me, this is the most interesting collection of Jewish sights in
Europe, and well worth seeing. The Jewish Quarter is an easy walk
from Old Town Square, up delightful Pařížská street (next to the
green-domed Church of St. Nicholas).
As the Nazis decimated Jewish communities in the region,
Prague's Jews were allowed to collect and archive their treasures
here. While the archivists were ultimately killed in concentra-
tion camps, their work survives. Seven sights scattered over
