(Note to viewers: This website scrolls images close up so that you can easily see the detail. If you click an image it is instantly confined to the size of your screen. Side arrows (or swiping) takes you from one image to another. Click on the "X" in the upper right corner to return to scrolling and text.)
Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. Lying at the heart of Europe, it is one of the continent’s finest cities and the major Czech economic and cultural centre. The city has a rich architectural heritage that reflects both the uncertain currents of history in Bohemia and an urban life extending back more than 1,000 years.
Prague is famous for its cultural life. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived there, and his Prague Symphony and Don Giovanni were first performed in the city. In addition, the lyric music of the great Czech composers Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, and Leoš Janáček is commemorated each year in a spring music festival. ...
Prague has a homogeneous population. There is a small Slovak community, but the overwhelming majority of residents are Czechs. The city has a number of demographic peculiarities stemming mainly from the effects of World War II; there are more women than men, and a sizable proportion of the female population is past the age of fertility. The natural rate of population increase is very small. A tendency toward small families is a reflection of both difficulties in housing and increased participation by both parents in the workforce. --Britannica
Of all of the places we visited on our "cities tour," Prague was the most crowded with tourists. In the heart of the architectural center of the city it seemed that the only local people were those working in restaurants, coffee houses, pubs and shops. The city center is full of architecture that is beyond beautiful. I was among the thousands of others that were mesmerized by the buildings around me.
The first two photos below are of Koruna Palace, designed in the late Art Nouveau style between 1912 and 1914. The allegorical figures representing guardians were sculpted by Vojtěch Sucharda.
Prague is a beer town. They are very proud of their beers and for good reason. I tasted several styles and all of them were superb.
Adria Palace was constructed between 1923 and 1925. The sculptural elements were crafted by Bohumil Kafka.
Local transportation.
Monument of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia on a Neo-Gothic pedestal. Created in 1848 by Ernst Julius Hähnel to mark the 500th anniversary of Charles University.
Charles Bridge is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century. ... As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This land connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe. --Wikipedia
The Old Town Bridge Tower construction began in 1357 AD, during the rule of the Emperor Charles IV. It was designed by the architect Petr Parléř.
More of Prague.
The Orloj is mounted on the southern wall of the city's Old Town Hall in the Old Town Square. The clock mechanism has three main components – the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; statues of various Catholic saints stand on either side of the clock; "The Walk of the Apostles", an hourly show of moving Apostle figures and other sculptures, notably a figure of a skeleton that represents Death, striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. --Wikipedia
When the clock is about to display the moving figures of Apostles the town square is so crowded that movement through the square is virtually impossible. It seemed that every tourist in town was squeezed into that relatively small space.
Butterfly Effect by David Černý, a tribute to Czechoslovak pilots that flew during World War II
The Head of Franz Kafka is a kinetic artwork created by David Černý. Forty-two rotating layers made from stainless steel move independently to reflect the surroundings.
Head of Franz Kafka by David Černý
Prague’s oldest continuously operating pub and medieval tavern is U Krále Brabantského (At the King of Brabant), which first opened its doors in 1375.
The Dancing House office building was designed by the Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in cooperation with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. It was completed in 1996. Inside are a series “The Swimmers,” an installation made up of thousands of strands of wire by Czech artist Veronika Psotková.
The Swimmers by Veronika Psotková located in the Dancing House
Museum Kampa is a private gallery, founded in Prague on February 26, 1999, by Meda Mládková as the home of the Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation collection. All the art in the museum is contemporary. On the image below you can see a wall sign advertising the one of the currently featured artists. I will show you his work.
Sculpture created by Veronika Psotvová
August 1968/1969 by Jiři Sozanský 2024 is a memorial to the victims of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia
Painter, draftsman, book designer, signatory of Charter 77, publicist, and curator Václav Sokol was born on September 19, 1938, in Prague. He grew up in a house in Břevnov with an original layout, built for the family by his father, an architect. ... Sokol studied at the School of Applied Arts (today known as Hollar Art School). --Museum Kampa
Spring Rain by Václav Sokol 2002
House in Rain by Václav Sokol 2015
Rowboat by Václav Sokol 2007
Church in the Village of Heiligenblut by Václav Sokol 2020
František Kupka was born in Opočno (eastern Bohemia) in Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic) on 23 September 1871. From 1889 to 1892, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.
Cosmic Spring-Creation by František Kupka 1919-1920
Study for the painting Ascending by František Kupka 1920-1922
From du bleu A III (Form of Blue A III) by František Kupka 1919-1924
Lines, Planes, Space by František Kupka 1913-1922
Distillation Apparatus (I'ambic) by František Kupka 1929
The Bookworm by František Kupka 1897
Venus by Valerian Karoušk 1970
Fragment (Pinwheel) by Jiři Novák 2008
One in a series of Babies (Miminka) created by David Černý
Václav Špála (24 August 1885 – 13 May 1946) was a Czech painter, graphic designer and illustrator.
Špála was born on 24 August 1885 in Žlunice. He studied at Prague Academy. He was a member of the group Tvrdošíjní ('The Obstinate') and exhibited with them. At the beginning of his career, his work was influenced by Fauvism, later by Cubism. From 1909 he was a member of the Manes Association. From 1911 he was also a member of the Group of Fine Artists in Prague, a group of young Czech modernists embracing cubism. --Wikipedia
Flowers in a jug by Václav Spála 1929
Various peonies in a jug, blue background, paintings (paler) by Václav Spála 1931
White peonies against blue, a jug from Modra on a Carpathian blanket by Václav Spála 1938
White peonies and one pink one, a yellow table blue background by Václav Spála 1930
Marigolds, blue background, no blanket by Václav Spála 1929
The Philosophical Hall in the Strahov Library in the Strahov Monastery was completed in 1797. The library of the Premonstratensian monastery at Strahov is one of the most valuable and best-preserved historical libraries in the Czech Republic – its collection consists of approximately 200,000 volumes. The oldest part of the library, the Baroque Theological Hall, was established between 1671 and 1674; the main Classicist vaults of the Philosophical Hall date from 1794 and are two stories tall. Both halls are dominated by ceiling frescoes by Siard Nosecký and Anton Maulbertsch.
In the basement there were works of art.
Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel, created about 1610
Extraction of the Stone of Madness by Marcellus Coffermans mid-16th century
Judith by Master IW around 1525
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert is a Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Until 1997, the cathedral was dedicated only to Saint Vitus, and is still commonly named only as St. Vitus Cathedral.
This cathedral is a prominent example of Gothic architecture, and is the largest and most important church in the country. Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, the cathedral is under the ownership of the Czech government as part of the Prague Castle complex. --Wikipedia
The Church of the Mother of God before Týn, or Church of Our Lady before Týn, is a Gothic church and a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic. It has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. The church's two towers are 80 meters high, and each tower's spire is topped by eight smaller spires in two layers of four. --Wikipedia
Next up, Istanbul
