A Visit to Prague Castle

That was already my second visit in Prague last summer 2011. This city  is the beautiful capital of Czech Republic.   My first visit was in 2009 when we had a bus trip from Germany to Prague.  That was quite a long trip for almost 4 hours considering that buses only runs 100 km per hour plus stop-over. We thankful that we made it safely.

One of the sights we visited was the Prague Castle or the Pražský hrad in Czech language.  It is interesting to know that Prague Castle is the biggest castle in the world (according to Guinness Book of Records the biggest ancient castle)  at about 570 metres in length and an average of about 130 metres wide.

It is an  honor  to visit the biggest castle twice. Sad to say, I was not able to go inside the museums of this castle. Probably in my next visit.

A fountain at the courtyard of Prague Castle. I was there!

The royal guards at the entrance of the  Prague Castle during my second visit last summer 2011.

The Prague Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defense towers. Most of the castle areas are open to tourists.

The Moldau River in Prague, Czech Republic

This river is called Moldau in German language. It is called Vltava in Czech. It is so far the longest river in Czech Republic. It is 430 km long, running north from its source in Šumava through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague (Praha), merging with the Elbe (Labe) at Mělník.

I had a sight to this river during our trip to Prague last September 2008. Just like other major cities in Europe, Prague is also a very interesting city to visit and explore.

taken during our visit last September 2008. I wish to visit Prague again in the future.

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Czech Republic

Let's go travel again in Europe. I am trying to remember our trip to Prague, Czech Republic last three years ago. It was a very short trip but at least we were able to see a lot in this city. Prague is the capital and largest city of Czech Republic.

One of the sights we visited was the Cathedral of St. Vitus. It is a Roman Roman Catholic cathedral and has an excellent example of Gothic architecture. It is located within Prague castle. Its full name is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral. The present day Gothic Cathedral was founded on 21st of November, 1344, when the Prague bishopric was raised to an archbishopric.

St. Vitus Cathedral is situated entirely within the Prague Castle complex.
This was taken during our trip last September 2008.

My Euro Travel in Prague, Czech Republic

It's time to visit and see Europe again! I guess, it is favorable to visit again the capital city of Czech Republic. Prague is also its largest city. It has been a political, cultural and economic center of Europe particularly eastern Europe for the over 1,100 years of its existence. It is one of the beautiful cities I had visited in Europe.

Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites which makes it one of Europe's most visited cities. It has also a good economic standing. Here are some images I took during our visit last 2008.

The building with two towers on the background is the Church of Our Lady before Týn or simply called as the Týn Cathedral. It is located on the Old Town Square, between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge.

The Astronomical Clock at the Old Town Hall

Prague's Old Town Square is often bursting at the seams with tourists in the summer. Featuring various architectural styles including the gothic Týn Cathedral and baroque St. Nicholas Church, the square is an oasis for travelers wearied by Prague's narrow streets. Among many churches, tourists may find the Astronomical Clock on this square, while the tower at the Old Town Hall offers a panoramic view of Old Town.

The Vltava River that flows along Prague. It is called in German as Moldau.

Walking Around in the Old Town of Prague

Prague is one of the most interesting cities I visited in Europe. It is the capital and the largest city of Czech Republic. It is more than two years now since I had the chance to see this city. We had a one day bus trip here and I agree that it is not enough to see everything in Prague in just a day. I need cards direct to turn the images I took in Prague into postcards. I have been planning for this for some time but it seems that I always forget it.

Prague has a lot to see and to offer. Some of its sights include the Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, the Astronomical clock on Old Town Square, its Old Town, the Dancing House and some other more. You will surely enjoy this city once you visit it.

one of the busy streets in the Old Town of Prague. taken during our visit last September 2008.

My Euro Travel in Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is the capital city of Czech Republic. One of the most interesting sights you can experience here is a visit in Prague Castle. This is where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. According to the Guinness Book of Records it is the biggest ancient castle with about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. It is also considered to be one of the biggest castle in the world. Here is one of the images I took from this castle during our bus trip last September 2008.

a pyramid like monument located at the back of the castle near the Royal Garden.

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic

Let's go travel Europe again! I am done sharing some places from Germany, Paris, London, Austria and etcetera. I guess this time, let's go to Prague again. I shared some images from Prague, Czech Republic in my previous entries here. I am sharing today about St, Vitus Cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. We had a visit in this capital city of Czech Republic last September 2008. This Cathedral is located within Prague Castle. It is a Gothic architecture and considered to be the biggest and most important church in this country.

I am not so sure if we will be visiting this church again this coming summer. We will see and of course I will share about it here. Here is the south view of St. Vitus Cathedral taken during our visit last 2008. Feel free to click the image for a bigger view.
St. Vitus, The Gothic Cathedral

The present day Gothic Cathedral was founded on 21st of November, 1344, when the Prague bishopric was raised to an archbishopric. Its patrons were the chapter of cathedral (led by a Dean), the Archbishop Arnost of Pardubice, and, above all, Charles IV, King of Bohemia and a soon-to-be Holy Roman Emperor, who intended the new cathedral to be a coronation church, family crypt, treasury for the most precious relics of the kingdom, and the last resting place cum pilgrimage site of patron saint Wenceslaus. The first master builder was a Frenchman Matthias of Arras, summoned from the papal palace in Avignon. Matthias designed the overall layout of the building as, basically, an import of French Gothic: a triple-naved basilica with flying buttresses, short transept, five-bayed choir and decagon apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. However, he lived to build only the easternmost parts of the choir: the arcades and the ambulatory. The slender verticality of Late French Gothic and clear, almost rigid respect of proportions distinguish his work today. wikipedia

My Euro Travel in Prague Castle, Czech Republic

Let's go travel again. I already shared some pictures from Prague in this blog before. I am not so sure if I already shared these pictures below. This time let's know a bit history of Prague Castle in Czech Republic. We had a trip there last September 2008. It was quite an interesting trip knowing the history of this castle and the different sights in this capital city of Czech Republic. I guess pictures tell a thousand words, so better browse down and see it.

The towers of St. Vitus Cathedral which is located inside Prague Castle complex.

The history of the castle stretches back to the 9th century (870). The first walled building was the church of Our Lady. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were founded in the first half of the 10th century. The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century. In the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style and the castle fortifications were strengthened. In place of rotunda and basilica of St. Vitus began building of a vast Gothic church, that have been completed almost six centuries later. During the Hussite Wars and the following decades the Castle was not inhabited. In 1485, King Ladislaus II Jagello began to rebuild the castle. The massive Vladislav Hall (built by Benedikt Rejt) was added to the Royal Palace. There were also built new defence towers on the northern side of the castle. A large fire in 1541 destroyed large parts of the castle. Under the Habsburgs some new buildings in renaissance style appeared here. Ferdinand I built Belvedere, summer palace for his wife Anne. Rudolph II used Prague Castle as his main residence. He founded the northern wing of the palace, with the Spanish Hall, where his precious artistic collections were exhibited. The Second Prague defenestration in 1618 began the Bohemian Revolt. During the subsequent wars the Castle was damaged and dilapidated. Many works from the collection of Rudolph II were looted by Swedes in 1648, in the course of the Thirty Years' War. The last major rebuilding of the castle was carried out by Queen Maria Theresa in the second half of the 18th century. Ferdinand V, after abdication in 1848, chose Prague Castle as his home. continue reading here

a pyramid-like monument located at the back of the castle facing the city

striking a pose near the guard at the castle's entrance. He looks very serious.

The Astronomical Clock in Prague Czech Republic

I never thought that the astronomical clock mounted on the wall of the Old City Hall of Prague is one of the famous attraction of this city until our travel guide mentioned about it. Thanks to him if not, I might miss taking pictures of this. We visited this city last September 2008 and it was truly very interesting. Here is my below showing some evidence that I was there.

thanks to dear HB for taking this picture. that is also the reason why you do not see him together with me in my travel images because he is my photographer. Thanks mein Schatz!

The Prague Astronomical Clock or Prague Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The Orloj is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square and is a popular tourist attraction.

The Orloj is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.

HISTORY
The oldest part of the Orloj, the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, dates back to 1410 when it was made by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel, the latter a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University.

Later, presumably around 1490, the calendar dial was added and clock facade decorated with gothic sculptures.

In 1552 it was repaired by Jan Taborský, clock-master of Orloj, who also wrote a report on the clock where he mentioned Hanuš as maker of the clock.

The Orloj stopped working many times in the centuries after 1552, and was repaired many times. In the 17th century moving statues were added, and figures of the Apostles were added after major repair in 1865-1866.

The Orloj suffered heavy damage on May 7 and especially May 8, 1945, during the Prague Uprising, when Germans directed incendiary fire from several armored vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun to the south-west side of the Old Town Square in an effort to silence the provocative broadcasting initiated by the National Committee on May 5. The hall and nearby buildings burned along with the wooden sculptures on the Orloj and the calendar dial face made by Josef Mánes. The machinery was repaired, the wooden Apostles restored by Vojtěch Sucharda, and the Orloj started working again in 1948, but only after significant effort [1].

There exists a good deal of misinformation relating to the construction of the Orloj . For a long time it was believed that the Orloj was constructed in 1490 by clockmaster Jan Růže (also called Hanuš) and his assistant Jakub Čech. Another fictitious story involves the clockmaker Hanuš being blinded on the order of the Prague Councillors. more infos here

Prague, Czech Republic

I am just sharing this photo taken during our visit in Prague, Czech Republic last September 2007..here is a little info about Prague courtesy of Wikipedia.

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavní město Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City.

Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. The city proper is home to more than 1.2 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million.

Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. According to Guinness World Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" (Praga mater urbium, or "Praha matka měst" in Czech)", "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city".

My Euro Travel in Prague, Czech Republic

Let's go travel again! This is one of the pictures I just browsed in my files. I randomly select it for my entry today. This was taken during our visit in Prague, the capital city of Czech Republic last September 2008. I am trying to remember now if that tower is one of the bridge towers of the Charles Bridge. Don't you know that Prague is also the biggest city of Czech Republic? Yes, it is. Just have fun watching my photos here! Feel free to browse my categories in my sidebar for more pictures!

My Euro Travel in Prague, Czech Republic

Let's go travel again. This time I bring you to Prague, the capital city of Czech Republic. It was over a year now that we visited this city and I love it. I love especially the historical sights here. The first photo was taken in Charles Bridge in Moldau River. The second one was in the Old City where you always see narrow streets. Just browse my category if you wish to see more photos. I am signing-off now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Visit to Prague, Czech Republic

Good evening guys! How are you doing? I hope everything is doing fine to all of you. I am not really feeling good right now. I have a migraine again. I hope this will be better soon. I am just sharing this photo below which was taken last year in September in Prague, Czech Republic. We had a short trip there and it was great. Another thing which I also want to share a bit is about website optimization. I guess not all people know about this but if you are a blogger you might probably know some knowledge about SEO or Search Engine Optimization.

I have been blogging for some years now. At the very beginning, I also don't have any idea about SEO. By surfing the net and what I also read in different blogs, now I realized the important of SEO to my websites. I believed this is more important especially for businesses who want to promote their products and services through internet . It is one of making their business more visible to customers and shoppers. One way of promoting your website in the internet is through the use of great SEO software. With this software, you can drive more traffic to your websites, thus more visibility for people who need your products and services. It also means more money! Good luck to your business and have fun viewing the photos here!

Franz Kafka Museum in Prague, Czech Republic

We had the chance to visit the Kafka Museum in Prague, Czech Republic during our trip last September 2008. The picture you see below was taken in the entrance to the Franz Kafka museum. This museum was dedicated to his work in this city. Franz Kafka who was born in July 3, 1883 was one of the major fiction writers of the 20th century. He is most famous with his works such as The Trial and "The Metamorphosis".

Just type his name on any search engine and for sure you will find a lot of interesting information about this writer. Here is my photo for you today! have fun viewing!

My Euro Travel in Prague, Czech Republic

How about a tour this time in Prague, the capital city of Czech Republic? This is a bird's eye view of Prague City which was taken as we were in Prague Castle. Some parts are quite foggy because according to my hubby, most house owners here are using coal for heating. It is almost a year since our last visit in Prague. That was only a day trip but we have seen a lot of sights and interesting places. We are still planning to visit this city in the future when finances are better. For now we always go for sightseeing trip every weekend to some cities near our place. Have fun viewing photos in this site!

The Tower of St. Vitus's Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic

These are the towers of the St. Vitus's Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a gothic cathedral located in Prague Castle compound. We took this photo during our visit last year in September. Here are some information about this historical architecture in Prague.

"Saint Vitus's Cathedral (Czech: Katedrála svatého Víta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral. Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings, this cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and is the biggest and most important church in the country.

The present day Gothic Cathedral was founded on 21st of November, 1344, when the Prague bishopric was raised to an archbishopric. Its patrons were the chapter of cathedral (led by a Dean), the Archbishop Arnost of Pardubice, and, above all, Charles IV, King of Bohemia and a soon-to-be Holy Roman Emperor, who intended the new cathedral to be a coronation church, family crypt, treasury for the most precious relics of the kingdom, and the last resting place cum pilgrimage site of patron saint Wenceslaus. The first master builder was a Frenchman Matthias of Arras, summoned from the papal palace in Avignon. Matthias designed the overall layout of the building as, basically, an import of French Gothic: a triple-naved basilica with flying buttresses, short transept, five-bayed choir and decagon apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. However, he lived to build only the easternmost parts of the choir: the arcades and the ambulatory. The slender verticality of Late French Gothic and clear, almost rigid respect of proportions distinguish his work today. read more here

Let's go to Prague, Czech Republic This TIme

Good morning everyone! I am just sharing this picture which was taken in Prague, Czech Republic last year. This was taken near the tower of the famous and historical Charles Bridge in this city. We had a short trip there last year and it was really a nice experience. Anyway, anybody who is looking for tv stand out there? I guess you know where to find good ones. I really have to sign-off for now. It's time for backpacking for our weekend escapade again! more updates when I come home! I also want to wish everyone a great start of the month! Stay healthy and happy all the time!

My Euro Travel in Prague, Czech Republic

Let's go travel again! I'll let you have a virtual travel and see the capital city of Prague, Czech Republic. It was a nice sunny Autumn time as we visited this beautiful city. We just had a one day trip there which seems not enough to see all the sights but we managed to see most of the interesting ones. Some of it are the Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, the Old Town Square, Town Hall Tower with its famous astronomical clock and a lot more. We enjoyed the trip we had last year in Prague. Enjoy viewing the photos here.

this was taken near the famous Charles Bridge

The Historical Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic

I can compare Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic to the famous bridge in Wuerzburg, Germany wherein you can see religious statues on the side of it. It was interesting how they made it at the time it was constructed. As we went walking on the bridge, you can see people selling memorabilias of Prague and people who are also selling different paintings of the city.

This photo was taken in one of the towers of Charles Bridge..there were a lot of people here during our visit..

Charles Bridge-20th century to present

In the beginning of the 20th century, Charles Bridge saw a steep rise of heavy traffic. The 15 May 1905 was the last day of the horse-line on the bridge, as it was replaced with an electric tram until 1908 and with buses afterward. At the end of World War II, a barricade was built in the Old Town bridge tower gateway. A capital repair of the bridge took place between 1965 and 1978, based on a collaboration among various scientific and cultural institutes. The stability of the pillars was reassured, all broken stone blocks were replaced, the asphalt top was removed and all traffic has been excluded from the Charles Bridge since then, making it accessible by pedestrians only. The repair cost 50 million crowns.

During the 1990s, some people started criticizing the previous reconstruction of the bridge and proposing a new one. As of the beginning of the new millennium, most of the experts appeared to agree that the previous reconstruction had not been flawless but disputed the need for further interference with the bridge. However, after the disastrous floods of 2002 (which itself caused only minor harm to the bridge), it was decided that repair and stabilization of the two pillars (number 8 and 9) on the Malá Strana side of the Bridge would happen. These are the only river pillars that have not been repaired after the 1890 floods. The floods intensified the voices of the supporters of an overall bridge reconstruction and, as of 2005, the current repair of the pillars is considered as the first phase of the reconstruction, which will concentrate especially on building a new hydroisolation system protecting the bridge. The whole reconstruction will be done gradually without needing to close the bridge and is scheduled for the period 2007–2010. source: wikipedia

My Euro Travel in Prague, Czech Republic

We visited Prague, the capital and largest city of Czech Republic last September 27, 2008. It was only a one day trip but a great one because we saw a lot in Prague. I am still hoping to be backed there next time and spend maybe some days to discover more the place. below is a little information about Prague.

Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. The city proper is home to more than 1.2 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million.

Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" (Praga mater urbium, or "Praha matka měst" in Czech), "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city".
this photo was taken at the Garden of the Prague Castle. you can see here the whole city..but the time that we went there, it was quite foggy..or maybe the smokes that are coming from the chimneys because most people there use coals for heating during winter. It was a great experience visiting the capital city of Czech Republic.