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| 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.
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| The Old Square |
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| Charles Bridge |
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| The Arch to Charles Bridge |
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| Wenceslas Square |
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| 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.
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| Chair of Nails |
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| Torture Chamber |
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| Surreal urination at the Franz Kafka Museum... |
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| Modern day declarations of love |
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| 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...
My website
Twitter: @savitakalhan
5 comments:
It is the loveliest place! We went two years ago at the end of October, and it snowed. Very picturesque! Thanks for the reminder.
Fantastic piece. Now I want to go there!
It is the loveliest place, Sue, and I can just imagine it in the snow!
David, thank you. You must go there!
Sounds a wonderful and inspirational city!
It looks fabulous - like something out of a fairy tale.
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