Top 10 Prague
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EYEWITNESS TRAVEL TOP10 PRAGUE Ř ÁC ÍŽSKÁ Pomník Palác Golz- Kinských Jana Husa Golz-Kinský Palace 10 Jan Hus Dům U Kamenného Unmissable museums & galleries SELO Monument House at the Ungelt Kostel sv. Mikuláše Stone Bell Týn Courtyard Church of St Nicholas 10 VA Best restaurants & cafés Staromĕstské Námĕstí Kostel Panny Marie U RADNICE před Týnem 10 Old Town Church of Our Lady before Tý Most fun places for children Square Staroměstská radnice Štorchův Dům 10 Old Town Hall Storch House Haunted sites in the medieval city ŽELE Á ům U Minuty V ZN 10 tth Mi t Greatest Czech writers & composers 10 Best hotels for every budget 10 Sights in the Jewish Quarter 10 Liveliest bars & clubs 10 Monuments from the Communist era 10 Insider tips for every visitor YOUR GUIDE TO 10THE 10 BEST OF EVERYTHING TOP 10 PRAGUE THEODORE SCHWINKE EYEWITNESS TRAVEL Left View from Petřín Hill Right Holocaust Memorial Wall, Pinkas Synagogue Contents Contents Prague’s Top 10 Prague Castle 8 Produced by Sargasso Media Ltd, London Reproduced by Colourscan, Singapore Printed and bound in China by Leo Paper St Vitus’s Cathedral 12 Products Ltd First American Edition 2003 11 12 13 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Old Town Square 14 Published in the United States by DK Publishing, 375 Hudson Street, New York, Charles Bridge 18 New York 10014 Copyright 2003, 2011 © Dorling Kindersley Limited, London The Loreto 20 Reprinted with revisions 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 Old Jewish Cemetery 22 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or National Gallery 26 introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or St Agnes’s Convent 28 otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. Pulished in Great Britain Wenceslas Square 30 by Dorling Kindersley Limited. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Petřín Hill 32 ISSN 1479-344X ISBN 978-0-75666-945-4 Moments in History 34 Within each Top 10 list in this book, no hierarchy of quality or popularity is implied. All 10 are, in the editor’s opinion, of roughly equal merit. Museums and Galleries 36 Places of Worship 38 Parks and Gardens 40 House Signs 42 The information in this DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide is checked regularly. Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is as up-to-date as possible at the time of going to press. Some details, however, such as telephone numbers, opening hours, prices, gallery hanging arrangements and travel information are liable to change. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this book, nor for any material on third party websites, and cannot guarantee that any website address in this book will be a suitable source of travel information. We value the views and suggestions of our readers very highly. Please write to: Publisher, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, Dorling Kindersley, 80 Strand, London, Great Britain WC2R 0RL, or email: [email protected] Cover: Front – Corbis: Eye Ubiquitous/Paul Sehult bl; Hemisphere Images: Maurizio Borgese main. Back- DK Images: Nigel Hudson tr; Peter Wilson tl; Rough Guides/Eddie Gerald tc; Spine: DK Images: Rough Guides/ Eddie Gerald b. 2 Contents Left Communist Memorial, Wenceslas Square Right Modern Bohemian crystal Writers and Composers 44 Around Town Film Locations 46 Old Town 72 Communist Monuments 48 Malá Strana 80 Eccentric Prague 50 Prague Castle and Haunted Prague 52 Hradčany 90 Children’s Attractions 54 Josefov 98 Shops and Markets 56 New Town 104 Prague Dishes 58 Greater Prague 114 Bars and Kavárnas 60 Restaurants 62 Streetsmart Performing Arts Venues 64 Practical Information 132 Clubs 66 Places to Stay 142 Festivals 68 General Index 148 Left The Loreto Right St Wenceslas mural, Storch House Key to abbreviations 3 Adm admission charge Free no admission charge Dis. access disabled access PRAGUE’S TOP 10 Prague’s Highlights 6–7 PRAGUE’S TOP 10 Prague Castle 8–11 St Vitus’s Cathedral 12–13 Old Town Square 14–17 Charles Bridge 18–19 The Loreto 20–21 Old Jewish Cemetery 22–25 National Gallery 26–27 St Agnes’s Convent 28–29 Wenceslas Square 30–31 Petřín Hill 32–33 Top 10 of Everything 34–69 Prague’s Highlights At the geographical heart of Europe, Prague’s beautiful cityscape has been carved and sustained by a variety of emperors, artists and religious communities, from the Gothic exuberance of its castle and cathedral, to the dignity of the medieval Jewish Cemetery, and the 19th-century opulence of the “new” town. Under Communist rule, Prague was off the tourist map, but since 1989 the city has seen a surge of visitors eager to take in this spectacular city. ! Prague Castle The hilltop fortress A ÁNSKÉ HRADBY O V MARI TK of the Přemyslids is J ELENÍ CHO Královská zahrada Royal Gardens home to the head of U BR U U SKỲCH KASÁREN the Czech Republic. B R Hradčany U S N Spend a day exploring KLÁROV IC E Á SK the castle’s many JN LDŠ T E Prague’s Top 10 Prague’s Top A KANOVNICKÁ V impressive palaces, U K Á A K S S churches, galleries Á HRADČANSKÉ N R E E NÁMĔSTÍ T N E L and gardens (see TOMÁŠSKÁ Vojanovy sady N ERUDOVA pp8–11). KÁ MALOSTRANSKÉ Vojan Park RETÁ NS LO ÚVOZ NÁMĚSTÍ MOSTECKÁ KARMELITS Malá Strana KÁ Little Quarter Kampa Kampa Island ÚJEZD Petřínské sady Petřín Park ŘÍČNÍ St Vitus’s @ VÍTĔZNÁ Cathedral most Legií The glory of the castle complex, St Vitus’s took 400 yards 0 metres 400 more than 600 years to build. Visit the beautiful chapels adjoining the cathedral, or its crypt to see the tombs of Bohemia’s Holy Roman Emperors (see pp12–13). $ Charles Bridge Linking the city across £ Old Town Square the River Vltava, it can be Prague’s central square has been a market difficult to appreciate the since the Middle Ages, and was witness to the beautiful carved statues of rise and fall of numerous regimes and no shortage former citizens, due to the of bloodshed. The city has few charms finer than incessant crowds and watching the moon rise between the towers of trinket stalls. But it’s worth the Church of Our Lady Before Týn (see pp14–17). the effort (see pp18–19). 6 Sign up for DK’s email newsletter on traveldk.com % The Loreto ^ Old Jewish Pilgrims have Cemetery visited this Baroque The jumble of tombstones shrine to the Virgin in this tiny graveyard give Mary since the 17th some indication of the century. Visitors can number of bodies buried 10 Prague’s Top see priceless here. Prague’s Jewish ornaments in its community lived and wor- treasury (see shipped in the surround- pp20–21). ing ghetto (see pp22–5). 1km Letenské sady E Švermův NE Š Letná Park B E most A A R D E D V NÁBŘE ŽI LU DVÍK A Í Čechův U E Ž R ANTIŠK SVOBODY BŘ most F A REVOLUČNÍ N Á N PAŘÍŽSKÁ DUŠNÍ a U MILOSRDNÝCH v a t l SKÁ CK Á V U AL NI D ŠT KE A HA SO U P DVORA O Josefov U OBECNÍHO T S I L Jewish Quarter . 7 DLOUHÁ REVOLUČNÍ KOZÍ 1 Í Mánesův ŠIROKÁ PAŘÍŽSKÁ Í Č most OŘ NA P KAPROVA DLOUHÁ V CEL NICI National RADNICE Á & K STAROMĚSTSKÉ É Ř S U CELETNÁ PLA T N NÁMĚSTÍ HYBERNSKÁ Gallery OVOCNÝ KŘIŽOVNICKÁ TRH One of the first Karlův KARLO V A Nové Mĕsto Functionalist most HUSOVA Staré Mĕsto New Town buildings in Í Old Town RYTÍŘSKÁ NA PŘÍKOPĚPANSKÁ EŽ Ř Europe, the NÁB Trade Fair Palace BETLÉMSKÉ NA PERŠTÝNĔ NÁMĔSTÍ PERLOVÁ O JINDŘIŠSKÁ POLITIC now houses the 28. ŘÍJNA ANOV T KÝCH VĔZŇŮ National E JU VÁCLAVSKÉ SM Í N N OD NÁMĚSTÍ Gallery’s NÁR GM SPÁLENÁ A collection of NN NÁRODNÍ O modern and Í V Ž A A E VODIČKOVA Ř contemporary B Á N art, including 14 Nové Mĕsto O V Picassos (see pp26–7). O New Town K Y R A S A St Agnes’s M * Convent Prague’s oldest Gothic building is now home to the National Gallery’s collection of medieval art and remains a monument to its founder, a Přemyslid princess who gave up a life at court to pursue her faith (see pp28–9). Wenceslas ( Square From its origins as a ) Petřín Hill humble horse market, Perched above Malá Wenceslas Square has Strana, the forested Petřín grown into a modern Hill is criss-crossed with business centre. footpaths, giving visitors Monuments on the some of the finest views in square remind visitors the city. The old Ukrainian of its role in the church is wonderfully nation’s tumultuous romantic (see pp32–3). history (see pp30–31). 7 Prague Castle Crowned by the distinct spires of St Vitus’s Cathedral (see pp12–13), Prague Castle (Pražský Hrad) is the metaphorical and historical throne of the Czech lands. Prince Bořivoj built a wooden fortress here in the late 9th century, establishing the hilltop overlooking the river as the Přemyslid’s dynastic seat. The castle later became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the castle was rebuilt in the 16th century, resulting in the glorious Renaissance edifice seen today. Today it is home to the President of the Czech Republic.