Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Left
Loreto
Right
Belvedere, Royal Gardens
Prague Castle and Hrad
≤
any
F
OUNDED BY PRINCE BO
Ω
IVOJ IN THE 9TH CENTURY
, Prague Castle and
its attendant cathedral tower above the city from the long hill known as
Hrad
≤
any. The surrounding town was founded in 1320, becoming home to
servants' hovels and, after the cataclysmic fire of 1541, grand palaces.
Baroque and Renaissance reconstructions in the area created much of what
visitors see today. The Loreto shrine to the Virgin Mary demonstrated the
growing importance of Prague to the Church. At the castle, primitive
defences were removed, making room for gardens, parade grounds and
other needs of a modern empire. When the Habsburgs removed the imperial
seat to Vienna, Hrad
≤
any seemed to become preserved in time, saving it
from the ravages of war and modernization. The area abounds with
interesting sights for art and history lovers, as well as romantic hidden lanes
and parks - in short, a total expression of the
Czech nation's shifting epochs and politics.
Sights
1
Prague Castle
2
St Vitus's Cathedral
3
Loreto
4
Royal Gardens
5
6
Nov† Sv∂t
7
Monument to Victims of
Police Torture
8
Old Castle Steps
9
Hrad≤anské nám∂stí
New Castle Steps
0
Radnické schody
Golden Lane
v
Chotkovy
Sady
v
v
4
v
Královská zahrada
Royal Gardens
Hrad≤any
8
6
2
1
7
D
q
Malostranská
Ji≈ní zahrady
South Gardens
Vald√tejnská
Zahrada
Wallenstein
Garden
HRAD≥ANSKÉ
NÁM∑STÍ
5
9
0
3
Vojanovy sady
Vojan Park
LORETÁNSKÉ
NÁM∑STÍ
MALOSTRANSKÉ
NÁM∑STÍ
v
BΩETISLAVOVA
S K
500
250
yards
0
metres
250
500
90
