Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
then take on a more thematic tone with one or two exceptional items, such as the Vyšehrad
Codex, an illuminated manuscript made for the coronation of Vratislav II, first king of Bo-
hemia, in 1086, and the zlatá bula Sicilská (Golden Bull of Sicily), a decree issued by the
Holy Roman Emperor in 1212, which made the title of Czech king hereditary. Also look out
for the section on King Otakar Přemysl II, a monarch many Czechs regard as their greatest
home-grown ruler (as opposed to the foreign Charles IV), the historically charged chain mail
and helmet that may have belonged to sv Václav, the grave robes of several Přemyslids and
the very impressive grave jewels of the Habsburgs.
Sv Jiří
Daily: April-Oct 9am-5pm; Nov-March 9am-3pm • Accessible only with
Prague Castle tickets
Don't be fooled by the russet-red Baroque facade of the
BasilicaofsvJiří
, which dominates
Jiřské náměstí; inside is Prague's most beautiful Romanesque building, meticulously
scrubbed clean and restored to re-create something like the honey-coloured stone basilica
that replaced the original tenth-century church in 1173. The double staircase to the chancel,
a remarkably harmonious late Baroque addition, now provides a perfect stage for chamber
music concerts. The choir vault contains a rare early thirteenth-century painting of the New
JerusalemfromRevelation-nottobeconfusedwiththeverypatchysixteenth-centurypaint-
ing on the apse - while to the right of the chancel, only partially visible, are sixteenth-cen-
tury frescoes of the
burial chapel of sv Ludmila
, grandmother of
St Wenceslas
, who was
murderedbyherdaughter-in-lawin921,thusbecomingBohemia'sfirstChristianmartyrand
saint. There's a replica of the recumbent Ludmila, which you can inspect at close quarters,
in the south aisle. Also worth a peek is the Romanesque crypt, beneath the choir, which con-
tains a macabre sixteenth-century green wax statue of Vanity, whose shrouded, skeletal body
is crawling with snakes and lizards.
Zlatá ulička (Golden Lane)
Daily: April-Oct 9am-5pm; Nov-March 9am-3pm • Accessible only with
Prague Castle tickets
As you head away from the basilica along Jiřská, a small lane on the left leads to the
Zlatá
ulička
, a seemingly blind alley of miniature cottages in pastel colours, built in the sixteenth
century for the 24 members of Rudolf II's castle guard. The contrast in scale with the rest of
theHradmakesthisbyfarthemostpopularsightintheentirecomplex,andduringtheday,at
least, the whole street is mobbed. The lane takes its name from the goldsmiths who followed
(andmodifiedthebuildings)acenturylater.Bythenineteenthcentury,ithadbecomeaslum,
attracting artists and craftsmen, its two most famous inhabitants being Jaroslav Seifert, the
Czech Nobel-prize-winning poet, and
Franz Kafka
. Kafka's youngest sister, Ottla, rented
no. 22, and during the winter of 1916 he came here in the evenings to write short stories.
Finally, in 1951, the Communists kicked out the remaining residents and turned most of the
houses into souvenir shops for tourists. The souvenir shops are now morphing into a kind
