Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Standing outside the Daliborka tower is the modern bronze sculpture
Parable with a Skull
, by Jaroslav Róna (who also created the Franz Kafka
Monument in Josefov). Supposedly inspired by one of Kafka's charac-
ters, it shows a prostrate human figure bearing a giant skull on its back.
(You may see homeless people in Prague begging in this traditional but
submissive and rather despairing pose.)
ROYAL CROWN OF BOHEMIA
The royal crown of Bohemia was created for Charles IV in 1346 using gold from the
ducal coronet once worn by St Wenceslas. It is studded with 18 sapphires, 15 rubies,
25 emeralds and 20 pearls; some of the stones are 7cm to 10cm across and weigh 60
to 80 carats. The cross on top is said to contain a thorn from Christ's crown of thorns -
it bears the inscription 'Hic est spina de corona Domini' (Here is a thorn from the Lord's
crown). The crown, along with the rest of the crown jewels, is kept locked away in the
Coronation Chamber above the Chapel of St Wenceslas in St Vitus Cathedral.
St George may be most familiar as the patron saint of England, but he was also
an important royal saint in Bohemia. George's legendary slaying of the dragon
came to represent the triumph of Christianity over paganism, a symbol eagerly
adopted by devout monarchs, including Vratislav I, the founder of the Basilica of
St George.
George Street & Around
George St (Jiřská) runs from the Basilica of St George to the castle's eastern gate.
Golden Lane
The picturesque alley known as
Golden Lane
(Zlatá ulička; admission with Prague Castle
tour ticket; 9am-6pm Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar)
runs along the northern wall of the
castle. Its tiny, colourful cottages were built in the 16th century for the sharpshooters
of the castle guard, but were later used by goldsmiths. In the 19th and early 20th cen-
turies they were occupied by artists, including the writer Franz Kafka (who frequently
visited his sister's house at No 22 from 1916 to 1917).
The cottages have been restored to show a variety of former uses. One is a gold-
smith's workshop, another a tavern, and one the home of celebrated Prague fortune-
teller Matylda Průšová, who died at the hands of the Gestapo during WWII; Kafka's
sister's cottage is now a bookshop. The most evocative is No 12 at the far eastern end,
