Places to go in Prague
The differences between Catholics and Protestants reached a head in Bohemia with the succession to the throne in 1618.
The Catholic councillors had arranged for the Archduke Ferdinand, a determined persecutor of Protestants, to succeed King Matthias. To head this off, Count Thurn and the other Protestant nobles met to deal with the Catholic councillors who had been appointed by Ferdinand over their heads. Ulrich of Kinsky proposed that the royal councillors should be poniarded in the council chamber, but Thurn's suggestion, that they should be thrown from the windows of Hradcany palace, prevailed.
Early on the morning of the memorable 23 May, these representatives of Protestantism, their rapiers drawn, their breastplates gleaming in the sun, proceeded to the Hradcany. When they reached the council room what contemporary chroniclers refer to, with surprising understatement, as a 'stormy discussion' arose. Martinic and Slavata, the two Catholic councillors, were accused of being traitors and worthless disciples of the Jesuits.
What followed is perhaps best described in the words of the seventeenth-century historian Skala Ze Zhore: 'No mercy was granted them and they were both thrown dressed in their cloaks with their rapiers and decorations head-first out of the western window into a moat beneath the palace. They loudly screamed "Ach, ach owehl" and attempted to hold on to the narrow window-ledge, but Thurn beat their knuckles with the hilt of his sword until they were both obliged to let go.
This act of violence precipitated the Thirty Years War, which was to lay the country so completely to waste. From these tumultuous events, a few steps outside, behind the cathedral, lead to the Romanesque basilica of St George, its rather Dalmatian-looking towers dressed in an early Baroque facade. The towers date from the year 970 and the interior, which has also had to cope with Baroque additions, is a calm barn of a building with massive round piers and depressed arches. In the crypt the piers are shorter and thinner, with seventeenth-century vaulting, while the south entrance to the church boasts an undistinguished Renaissance gateway.
The National Gallery Prague
From St George's, the road descends to the right along the Jirska.
There may be some who will be tempted to return to the castle and wander among the paintihgs in the bleak white rooms belonging to the National Gallery, but though there is much here to match the treasures in Vienna or Budapest, at the end of the Jirska is the entrance to the palace gardens which, as well as offering memorable views, contain some of the most remarkable garden architecture erected anywhere this century.
Walking along, the eye is constantly amused by marble temples and obelisks, all beautifully finished, if rather monumental. Their strange Mediterranean forms are curious legacies of Plecnik's imagination, and they culminate in a dramatic flight of stairs, at the bottom of which rests a large water rbasin. The gardens and distant domes beneath are a happy contrast tp the long humourless barrack-like facades, which, save for the odd Etruscan gesture imparted to them by Plecnik, are almost impossible to admire.
Almost opposite the first entrance to the Hradcany, a cafe with a terrace of leafy trees will serve food and drinks. The impressive three¬storey palais facing this, with its three central bays raised over a Serlian arch, is the Archbishop's Palace, dating from the sixteenth century but clothed in the language of Louis Seize in the 1760s by Jan Wirch. The Hradcanske namesti behind is full of other impressive palaces, of which the Schwarzenberg's sgraffito rustication immediately catches the eye. It dates from the 1540S and has a rather Neapolitan swagger about it.
Inside is an interesting if propaganda-orientated collection of militaria. The courtyard in the summer, however, is the scene of hilarious medieval mimes involving impressive displays of swordsmanship and a dramatic skill which can keep spectators of any nationality on the edge of their seats. The shows are a thoroughly Bohemian affair, with the Czechs' natural talent for acting and clowning brilliantly exposed through a series of fortunately fairly simple plots.
At the centre of this square stands a rather dull Baroque monument to the Virgin Mary. Opposite the Palais Schwarzenberg is the modern art gallery housed in the Palais Stern beck, a picturesque building attributed to Martinelli and Alliprandi.
From here the Palais Martinic, with its seventeenth-century gables, leads the way to the narrow Kanovnicka which, passing a gate to the castle from which overgrown paths invitingly fall below, eventually leads to the Kapucinska, another precious gas-lit lane.
The Loreto Church Prague
The Loreto church in Prague is well worth a visit, and its facade is the work of the Dientzenhofers. Its long irregular facade is full of fantasy and is the perfect antidote to the monstrous pile of the Palais Cernin (1669-7) which towers opposite it. This wretched building, with its hideous gigantic order and relentless pediments, is predictably the work of Caratti. Though its garden front is relieved by two enormous Serlian arches, the entire structure is as irrelevant to its surroundings as a space-station would be to Venice.
Needless to say, those who commissioned it soon grew weary of being besieged by its earnestness and even before the collapse of the Habsburg empire it had been relegated to its only possible use, that of a barrack. But to return to the Loreto church. With what humour the Dientzenhofers must have relished creating a facade which in every way mocks the massive pedantry of Caratti. Inside, the church is a riot of Baroque stucco and frescoes, uninhibited in a way which only the temporary presence here of Christ's birthplace en route for Loreto could perhaps justify.
The Strahov Monastery Prague
Concealed behind the church however is even greater treasure, an imitation of the celebrated Santa Casa of Loreto executed between 1626 and 1631 by Giovanni Orsi and Andrea Allio, with well-proportioned twin Corinthian half-columns. From here, the Pohorelec leads past several late Renaissance buildings and the light Rococo Palais Kucera to the Strahov monastery, almost at the highest spot of the town and commanding exceptional views of the cathedral.
The abbey was founded in 1140. In the courtyard are the former church - the order has been suppressed - and the library, with an effete facade on the fringes of Neo-Classicism from the 1780s by Ignac Palliardi. The interior of the library and the former abbey garden would both merit two asterisks on a pre-war guide, although both seemed at the time of writing to be inaccessible, so that neither the magnificent stucco work of Orsi nor the beautiful bookcases of Palliardi could be as much as glimpsed. The gardens generally are less difficult to enter, but the splendid view of the cathedral from there is often denied by a shabby man in a blue suit, impossible even to bribe.
Returning to the Hradcany along the Uvoz, it is tempting to branch off to the right through the acres and acres of orchards which in season envelop the hillside, so that a few minutes' walk among them instantly banishes the city.
Those interested in ethnography should take these blossomed paths, for at the end of them is the Villa Kinsky, with a beautiful collection of ethnographic costumes, introduced by a taped commentary usually running slow and so presenting a lugubrious description of the museum's exhibits.
Prague architecture
But if architecture as well as nature is wanted, it is perhaps better to follow the U Prasneho mostu to the Marianske Hradby, at the northern end of which stands the exotic Belvedere, a harmonious Renaissance arcaded loggia erected in 1536 to the designs of one Paolo della Stella. An attractive Renaissance fountain stands in front of the arcades, whose gentle symmetry is brilliantly set off by the maverick roof, reminiscent in shape of a Turkish tent.
From this eccentric structure, various paths run through the former Chotek Gardens to a pagoda cafe where, overlooking the Moldau, with a cool breeze blowing, sunset over the golden city can be enjoyed as its melancholy beauty falls asleep in the glow of green gas-light.
The Catholic councillors had arranged for the Archduke Ferdinand, a determined persecutor of Protestants, to succeed King Matthias. To head this off, Count Thurn and the other Protestant nobles met to deal with the Catholic councillors who had been appointed by Ferdinand over their heads. Ulrich of Kinsky proposed that the royal councillors should be poniarded in the council chamber, but Thurn's suggestion, that they should be thrown from the windows of Hradcany palace, prevailed.
Early on the morning of the memorable 23 May, these representatives of Protestantism, their rapiers drawn, their breastplates gleaming in the sun, proceeded to the Hradcany. When they reached the council room what contemporary chroniclers refer to, with surprising understatement, as a 'stormy discussion' arose. Martinic and Slavata, the two Catholic councillors, were accused of being traitors and worthless disciples of the Jesuits.
What followed is perhaps best described in the words of the seventeenth-century historian Skala Ze Zhore: 'No mercy was granted them and they were both thrown dressed in their cloaks with their rapiers and decorations head-first out of the western window into a moat beneath the palace. They loudly screamed "Ach, ach owehl" and attempted to hold on to the narrow window-ledge, but Thurn beat their knuckles with the hilt of his sword until they were both obliged to let go.
This act of violence precipitated the Thirty Years War, which was to lay the country so completely to waste. From these tumultuous events, a few steps outside, behind the cathedral, lead to the Romanesque basilica of St George, its rather Dalmatian-looking towers dressed in an early Baroque facade. The towers date from the year 970 and the interior, which has also had to cope with Baroque additions, is a calm barn of a building with massive round piers and depressed arches. In the crypt the piers are shorter and thinner, with seventeenth-century vaulting, while the south entrance to the church boasts an undistinguished Renaissance gateway.
The National Gallery Prague
From St George's, the road descends to the right along the Jirska.
There may be some who will be tempted to return to the castle and wander among the paintihgs in the bleak white rooms belonging to the National Gallery, but though there is much here to match the treasures in Vienna or Budapest, at the end of the Jirska is the entrance to the palace gardens which, as well as offering memorable views, contain some of the most remarkable garden architecture erected anywhere this century.
Walking along, the eye is constantly amused by marble temples and obelisks, all beautifully finished, if rather monumental. Their strange Mediterranean forms are curious legacies of Plecnik's imagination, and they culminate in a dramatic flight of stairs, at the bottom of which rests a large water rbasin. The gardens and distant domes beneath are a happy contrast tp the long humourless barrack-like facades, which, save for the odd Etruscan gesture imparted to them by Plecnik, are almost impossible to admire.
Almost opposite the first entrance to the Hradcany, a cafe with a terrace of leafy trees will serve food and drinks. The impressive three¬storey palais facing this, with its three central bays raised over a Serlian arch, is the Archbishop's Palace, dating from the sixteenth century but clothed in the language of Louis Seize in the 1760s by Jan Wirch. The Hradcanske namesti behind is full of other impressive palaces, of which the Schwarzenberg's sgraffito rustication immediately catches the eye. It dates from the 1540S and has a rather Neapolitan swagger about it.
Inside is an interesting if propaganda-orientated collection of militaria. The courtyard in the summer, however, is the scene of hilarious medieval mimes involving impressive displays of swordsmanship and a dramatic skill which can keep spectators of any nationality on the edge of their seats. The shows are a thoroughly Bohemian affair, with the Czechs' natural talent for acting and clowning brilliantly exposed through a series of fortunately fairly simple plots.
At the centre of this square stands a rather dull Baroque monument to the Virgin Mary. Opposite the Palais Schwarzenberg is the modern art gallery housed in the Palais Stern beck, a picturesque building attributed to Martinelli and Alliprandi.
From here the Palais Martinic, with its seventeenth-century gables, leads the way to the narrow Kanovnicka which, passing a gate to the castle from which overgrown paths invitingly fall below, eventually leads to the Kapucinska, another precious gas-lit lane.
The Loreto Church Prague
The Loreto church in Prague is well worth a visit, and its facade is the work of the Dientzenhofers. Its long irregular facade is full of fantasy and is the perfect antidote to the monstrous pile of the Palais Cernin (1669-7) which towers opposite it. This wretched building, with its hideous gigantic order and relentless pediments, is predictably the work of Caratti. Though its garden front is relieved by two enormous Serlian arches, the entire structure is as irrelevant to its surroundings as a space-station would be to Venice.
Needless to say, those who commissioned it soon grew weary of being besieged by its earnestness and even before the collapse of the Habsburg empire it had been relegated to its only possible use, that of a barrack. But to return to the Loreto church. With what humour the Dientzenhofers must have relished creating a facade which in every way mocks the massive pedantry of Caratti. Inside, the church is a riot of Baroque stucco and frescoes, uninhibited in a way which only the temporary presence here of Christ's birthplace en route for Loreto could perhaps justify.
The Strahov Monastery Prague
Concealed behind the church however is even greater treasure, an imitation of the celebrated Santa Casa of Loreto executed between 1626 and 1631 by Giovanni Orsi and Andrea Allio, with well-proportioned twin Corinthian half-columns. From here, the Pohorelec leads past several late Renaissance buildings and the light Rococo Palais Kucera to the Strahov monastery, almost at the highest spot of the town and commanding exceptional views of the cathedral.
The abbey was founded in 1140. In the courtyard are the former church - the order has been suppressed - and the library, with an effete facade on the fringes of Neo-Classicism from the 1780s by Ignac Palliardi. The interior of the library and the former abbey garden would both merit two asterisks on a pre-war guide, although both seemed at the time of writing to be inaccessible, so that neither the magnificent stucco work of Orsi nor the beautiful bookcases of Palliardi could be as much as glimpsed. The gardens generally are less difficult to enter, but the splendid view of the cathedral from there is often denied by a shabby man in a blue suit, impossible even to bribe.
Returning to the Hradcany along the Uvoz, it is tempting to branch off to the right through the acres and acres of orchards which in season envelop the hillside, so that a few minutes' walk among them instantly banishes the city.
Those interested in ethnography should take these blossomed paths, for at the end of them is the Villa Kinsky, with a beautiful collection of ethnographic costumes, introduced by a taped commentary usually running slow and so presenting a lugubrious description of the museum's exhibits.
Prague architecture
But if architecture as well as nature is wanted, it is perhaps better to follow the U Prasneho mostu to the Marianske Hradby, at the northern end of which stands the exotic Belvedere, a harmonious Renaissance arcaded loggia erected in 1536 to the designs of one Paolo della Stella. An attractive Renaissance fountain stands in front of the arcades, whose gentle symmetry is brilliantly set off by the maverick roof, reminiscent in shape of a Turkish tent.
From this eccentric structure, various paths run through the former Chotek Gardens to a pagoda cafe where, overlooking the Moldau, with a cool breeze blowing, sunset over the golden city can be enjoyed as its melancholy beauty falls asleep in the glow of green gas-light.
Labels: Loreto Church Prague, Prague architecture, Strahov Monastery Prague
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