Wednesday 5 November 2014

Once Upon a Time...in Prague by Savita Kalhan


The Astrological Clock
Everything about the origins of Prague, from the castles, the river, the cobbled streets of the old city to Charles Bridge, almost everything has a story, a myth or a legend associated with it.

 

Prague’s origins are said to go back to the 7th century and the Slavic Princess Libuše. Not only beautiful and wise, she also possessed prophetic powers. Libuše and her husband, Prince Přemysl, ruled peacefully over the Czech lands from the hill of Vyšehrad. According to legend, one day Libuše had a vision as she stood on a cliff overlooking the Vltava. She pointed to a forested hill across the river, and proclaimed: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars." She instructed her people to build a castle where a man was building the threshold (práh in Czech) of a house. "And because even the great noblemen must bow low before a threshold, you shall give it the name Praha." And so Prague was born.
The Old Square
Charles Bridge
The Arch to Charles Bridge


Wenceslas Square
 


 
St.Vitus Cathedral
 
 
 

I won’t recount all the myths and legends associated with the city, because there are so many. There are tales of tragedy, of love, of valour and of sacrifice. Here are but a few titles in case you wish to look them up.

The Iron Man, The Silver Fish, The Headless Templar, The One-Armed Thief, The Ghost of the Miller’s Daughter, The Begging Skeleton, Karbourek the Water Sprite, The Golem of Prague, The Murdered Nun, The Mad Barber, The Legend of Dalibor, Prophecies of the Clock.




Chair of Nails


Torture Chamber
 


Surreal urination at the Franz Kafka Museum...


Modern day declarations of love
If you run out of books...
Prague was a great source of inspiration to me. It was as if I were stepping back in time. Sadly I missed out on a Ghost Tour of this magical city. Oh well, I’ll just have to go back...


 
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Twitter: @savitakalhan

5 comments:

Sue Purkiss said...

It is the loveliest place! We went two years ago at the end of October, and it snowed. Very picturesque! Thanks for the reminder.

DavidKThorpe said...

Fantastic piece. Now I want to go there!

Savita Kalhan said...

It is the loveliest place, Sue, and I can just imagine it in the snow!
David, thank you. You must go there!

Penny Dolan said...

Sounds a wonderful and inspirational city!

maryom said...

It looks fabulous - like something out of a fairy tale.