Take a look at the city that stole my heart.
I typically fall in love with places a little closer to the Mediterranean, such as Arles and Nice in Southern France, Seville and Caceres in Spain and all of Italy (except for the Amalfi Coast, it’s overrated). Prague is the first city north of the Alps that I absolutely adore in the same way I adore a Southern European city. Don’t get me wrong. I loved every place I went to on this trip (maybe not Berlin), but Prague truly blew me away. I can’t say exactly why I loved Prague so much. I just did.
Prague, Czechia, started in the 9th century when the first castle was built where Prague Castle is today. The older sections of Prague survived WWII in pretty good shape (Maybe that is why I love Prague). It’s the largest city in Czechia, and the capital, but it was so easy to get around by foot. The city center, or Old Town, is mostly pedestrianized. Honestly, it was so nice not to have to constantly dodge traffic (looking at you Vienna and Berlin). Without vehicles for the most part and countless historical buildings, the city center retains a lot of its Old World charm.
I spent three days in Prague. Honestly, it was not enough.
My first morning in Prague was a wet Sunday morning. The church bells were ringing when I got to Old Town Square, the most iconic square in Prague. It was fantastic.
Jana Irving On my way to Old Town Square, I passed this lovely Art Nouveau hotel entrance.
Jana Irving One of two medieval towers that I passed multiple times a day, the Powder Tower (Prašná brána).
Jana Irving Nearby is this crazy Art Nouveau building, the Municipal House (Obecní dům), a theater.
Jana Irving Prague gets adorable very fast.
Jana Irving Lovely pedestrian zone.
Jana Irving A lot going on with this building.
Jana Irving When I reached Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí), the church bells were ringing.
Jana Irving That crazy building does really blend in, though.
Jana Irving Just a lovely square.
Jana Irving The whole square is just amazing.
Jana Irving Our Lady before Týn (Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem). The entrance to the church is through one of the archways in the buildings in front of it. Quite unusual.
Jana Irving Prague has done a really good job fairytaling this all up. I love it. I will be returning back to this area a few more times.
Jana Irving I don’t think I have ever seen a dark-colored Art Nouveau building before.
Jana Irving My first goal of the day was the Jewish Museum of Prague, a perfect choice for a Sunday morning. The Old-New Synagogue (Staronová Synagoga) isn’t a part of the museum, but it almost next door. It is the oldest synagogue in Europe that is still active at 700 years old.
Jana Irving Next door to that is the Jewish Town Hall (Židovská radnice), a meeting place for Jewish residents since 1586.
Jana Irving I started my tour of the Jewish Museum at the Ceremonial Hall. It was once used by the Prague Burial Society for ritual washing of the dead and a meeting place. It became part of the Jewish Museum in 1926.
Jana Irving It was pretty fancy inside.
Jana Irving The Jewish Museum is made up of four synagogues with exhibits, a cemetery, the Ceremonial Hall and a gallery. The Klausen Synagogue (Klausová Synagoga) was finished shortly before 1700 in the Baroque style.
Jana Irving The now Neo-Gothic Maisel Synagogue (Maiselova synagoga) It was originally a Renaissance era building, but it burned down, so it got replaced by this Neo-Gothic building.
Jana Irving So very Neo-Gothic.
Jana Irving The Pinkas Synagogue (Pinkasova Synagoga) is very sobering. The walls are inscribed with the names of 80,000 Jews that were victims of the Holocaust in Czechia.
Jana Irving The Old Jewish Cemetery (Starý židovský hřbitov) was founded in the early 15th century.
Jana Irving Space was scarce in the cemetery, so people were buried on top of other people. Hence, why there are so many tombstones here.
Jana Irving So many tombstones.
Jana Irving A few are a bit larger than others, but most were simple.
Jana Irving The last synagogue is the Spanish Synagogue (Španělská synagoga), named for its Moorish design.
Jana Irving It is quite something.
Jana Irving So outlandish. I love it.
Jana Irving Love!
Jana Irving Prague is full of pointy towers, normally found on churches, on any random building.
Jana Irving I love the fact that there is a shopping mall hiding behind this facade. It has a really good food court.
Jana Irving I didn’t feel like spending the afternoon in a museum, so I found a cemetery.
Jana Irving Olšany Cemetery (Olšanské hřbitovy) is the largest cemetery in Prague. It is actually a total of 12 cemeteries in one.
Jana Irving The first cemetery here started in 1680 for plague victims, since it is outside of the old city walls.
Jana Irving 230,000 people are buried here, with 65,000 grave sites and 6 columbariums and counting. Olšany is still an active cemetery.
Jana Irving There is seriously Art Nouveau everywhere in this city.
Jana Irving Not sure who he was but I like his tomb.
Jana Irving Many different faiths have their own section of the cemetery. The Jewish section here is not as crowded.
Jana Irving Jerusalem Synagogue (Jeruzalémská synagoga), another Art Nouveau building. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open.
Jana Irving Henry’s Tower (Jindřišská věž), which was just down the street from my hotel.
Jana Irving I had a bit more daylight, so I went for a wander. The grand building at the end of the plaza is the Národní muzeum, a grand museum that I didn’t have time for.
Jana Irving The gorgeous Our Lady of the Snows (Kostel Panny Marie Sněžné).
Jana Irving Just look at that cuteness.
Jana Irving There’s Henry’s Tower again.
Jana Irving The cute plaza that my hotel was on. Did I hear trams all the time? Yes, but I got used to it.
Prague is amazing. This was just one day of exploration. More to come!
Check my next update where I discover more amazingness in Prague!
or
Start at the beginning of this adventure in Zurich!
Thanks so much for these posts. I try to read each one. I always feel just like I’m right there.