Neighbourhoods at a Glance - Prague and Czech Republic - page 130

DON'T MISS...
» Story of Prague Castle
» Lobkowicz Palace
» St Vitus Treasury
» Basilica of St George
» Golden Lane
PRACTICALITIES
» Pražský hrad
» OFFLINE MAP
» 224 372 423
» www.hrad.cz
» Hradčanské námĕstí
» grounds 5am-midnight Apr-Oct, 6am-11pm Nov-Mar; gardens 10am-6pm
Apr & Oct, to 7pm May & Sep, to 9pm Jul & Aug, closed Nov-Mar; historic build-
ings 9am-6pm Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar
» 22, 23 to Pražský hrad
First Courtyard
The First Courtyard lies within the castle's main gate OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE
MAP on Hradčany Square (Hradčanské náměstí), flanked by huge, baroque statues of
battling Titans (1767-70) that dwarf the castle guards standing beneath them. After
the fall of communism in 1989, then-president Václav Havel hired his old pal
Theodor Pistek, the costume designer on the film Amadeus (1984), to replace their
communist-era khaki uniforms with the stylish pale-blue kit they now wear, which
harks back to the army of the first Czechoslovak Republic of 1918 to 1938.
The changing of the guard takes place every hour on the hour, but the longest
and most impressive display is at noon, when banners are exchanged while a brass
band plays a fanfare from the windows of the Plečnik Hall OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE
MAP (Plečnikova síň; ) , which overlooks the First Courtyard.
Second Courtyard