Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
below Prague Castle. Dienzenhofer's son, Kry s tof, added the 78m-high (256-ft.) dome
during additional work completed in 1752.
Malostranské nám. 1, Praha 1. & 257-534-215. www.psalterium.cz. Daily 9am-5pm (4pm in winter); concerts are
usually held at 5pm. Admission 50Kc ($2/£1) adults, 25Kc ($1/50p) students. Concerts 390Kc ($16/£8). Metro: Line A
to Malostranská.
Staré Mêsto (Old Town)
Estates' Theater (Stavovské divadlo) Completed in 1783 by wealthy Count
F. A. Nostitz, the neoclassical theater became an early symbol of the emerging high
Czech culture—with the Greek theme Patriae et Musis (the Fatherland and Music)
etched above its front columns. In 1799, the wealthy land barons who formed fief-
doms known as The Estates gave the theater its current name.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart staged the premier of Don Giovanni here in 1787
because he said that Vienna's conservative patrons didn't appreciate him or his passion-
ate and sometimes shocking work. They also wanted mostly German opera, but
Praguers were happy to stage the performance in Italian. “Praguers understand me,”
Mozart was quoted as saying.
Czech director Milo s Forman returned to his native country to film his Oscar-win-
ning Amadeus, shooting the scenes of Mozart in Prague with perfect authenticity at
the Estates' Theater.
Ovocn; trh 1, Praha 1. & 224-901-448. www.nd.cz. Metro: Line A or B to M*stek.
Old Town Hall (Staromêstská radnice) & Astronomical Clock (Orloj)
Crowds congregate in front of Old Town Hall's Astronomical Clock (orloj) to watch
the glockenspiel spectacle that occurs hourly from 8am to 8pm. Built in 1410, the
clock has long been an important symbol of Prague. According to legend, after the
timepiece was remodeled at the end of the 15th century, clock artist Master Hanu s
was blinded by the Municipal Council so that he couldn't repeat his fine work else-
where. In retribution, Hanu s threw himself into the clock mechanism and promptly
died. The clock remained out of kilter for almost a century.
Staromêstské nám., Praha 1. & 724-508-584. www.pis.cz. Admission to tower 50Kc ($2/£1) adults; 40Kc ($1.65/£1)
students, children under 10, and seniors. Mar-Oct Mon 11am-6pm, Tues-Sun 9am-6pm; Nov-Feb Mon 11am-5pm,
Tues-Sun 9am-5pm. Metro: Line A to Staromêstská.
Josefov
Within Josefov, you'll find a community that for centuries was forced to fend for itself
and then experienced horrific purges under Nazi occupation in World War II.
Although more than 118,000 Jews were recorded as living in the Czech lands of
Bohemia and Moravia in 1939, only 30,000 survived to see the end of the Nazi occu-
pation. Today, the Jewish community in the entire country numbers about 3,000 peo-
ple, most of whom live in Prague.
The Jewish Museum in Prague (www.jewishmuseum.cz) is the name of the organ-
ization managing all the Jewish landmarks in Josefov. It provides guided package tours
with an English-speaking guide as part of a comprehensive admission price. The pack-
age includes the Ceremonial Hall, Old Jewish Cemetery, Old-New Synagogue, Pinkas
Synagogue, Klaus Synagogue, Maisel Synagogue, and Spanish Synagogue. From April
to October, tours leave on the hour starting at 9am with the last tour at 5pm, but there
must be at least 10 people in a group. Off season, the tours are between 9am and
Kids
Search WWH ::




Custom Search