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Published: November 10th 2010
The first reaction I got from anyone when I told them I was going to Prague was, “Oh man, Prague was one of my favorite cities.” It seems as though I should have listened to all of these accumulated voices, since I wish I had planned to stay a bit longer and get a better sense of the city. Prague's draw is that it has extensive history (both distant and recent) and manages to highlight this, while also generating a very hip, modern, and young feel. To be able to experience all of this, I definitely regret not having enough time. That being said I still feel as though I was able to get a taste of what Prague has to offer.
The Czech Republic (as it is now known) has had a long history of being in the middle of many conflicts. In terms of an analogy, I like to think of them as the favorite toy that a bunch of quarreling kids wants to have. They seem to keep getting passed around by whoever has the most power at the time. This is, of course, a very simplified generalization, but it makes me laugh to picture many young
Wenceslas Statue and National Museum
If you look closely, you can see light spots on the National Museum, from where Soviet bullets struck the buildingkids with crowns on, trying to take the favorite toy for themselves. Some of those wearing the crowns and holding on to this toy have been: King Wenceslas (yes, that guy from the Christmas carol), the Hapsburg Empire (and Holy Roman Empire), Hitler and the Nazis, as well as Stalin (and future Russian leaders). Happily, the Czech Republic now has self-rule and is able to control its own future. What is even better, is that they have been able to take this power and thoroughly increase the quality of life of their people, with Prague leading the way.
To explore Prague, I primarily took a long walking tour of the city. I have developed somewhat mixed feelings on walking tours, because they do certainly give you a great overview of the city and history, but lack the depth of exploring and digging into certain sights. I enjoyed my Prague tour, but sadly, I didn't have enough time to really go back and get the depth that I wanted. The first stop on the tour was the famous Wenceslas Square. The highlight of the square is, unsurprisingly, a large statue of King Wenceslas on a horse. The square itself, is
most famous as a meeting place for Czech citizens when protesting against perceived injustices. It was in this square that Russian tanks rolled through as a show of force to keep the population in fear. Luckily, the strength of the Czech citizens was stronger than the steel of the tanks and massive demonstrations were also held in this square to protest the Russian occupation. The first president (Vaclav Havel) was one of the leaders in these protests and is famous for giving speeches from one of the balconies overlooking the square.
Another major site in Prague in the castle (I know, big surprise). What is unique about Prague castle, is that the president actually still lives at a villa right next to the castle. Supposedly (according to our guide), we saw the first lady drive by in a car while we entered the castle grounds. Sadly, we did not spend too much time at the castle and only went in to the St. Vitus Cathedral briefly. As mentioned before, this is where walking tours can be a negative, because I certainly could have spent much more time in this area. That being said, the castle was certainly stunning, but
even more impressive was the view overlooking the city.
The most famous sight of Prague is the Charles Bridge (Karluv Most). This was started under the direction of one of the most admired rulers of the region, Charles IV, who ruled from 1346-1378, but was not completed until the beginning of the 15th century. After navigating many small streets in the old town, you come out to see the bridge, which has both an extraordinary 360º view of Prague, as well as the benefit of being lined with fantastic sculptures of patron saints. On the bridge (alongside hordes of people) there are many artists, musicians, and, of course, people selling touristy souvenirs. I loved one group of performers, so I thought I would record it and share it with you here:
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After wandering around the walking tour, I went off on my own to find a place that I was very interested in seeing: The Museum of Communism. Found in a very nondescript area (it took me a lot of searching), I finally found it in what felt like a back alley. I am very glad that I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed their portrayal of
the Czech Republic under Soviet rule. They had great statues of communist leaders, propaganda posters, and loads of information on how the population lived under communism. One crazy bit of information that I learned here, was that on the Prague hillside, there was once the largest statue ever devoted to Stalin, which stood 30 meters (~ 100 ft) tall! The statue was created for Stalin's 70th birthday, but was completed two years after his death. In addition, it was only one year later that Nikita Kruschev unveiled all the atrocities committed by Stalin. To add to this crazy situation, the statue stood in Prague for another six years before it was blown up by dynamite. Therefore, for those six years the people of Prague had to view Stalin overlooking them from the hillside, having known what horrible things he had done to the people of the USSR.
Another room of the exhibit, was set up to resemble a interrogation room. Under Soviet rule, citizens were made to persecute each other for activities that went against the communist line. There were approximately 200,000 citizens spying for the secret police in the late eighties! On record, there were 257,864 people sentenced
for political crimes and 178 executions. It is believed that these numbers are inaccurate and it was much more. Certainly, this museum explained why the Czech people were so motivated to fight for their freedom from the Soviet Union. An example of their devotion, is a man named Jan Palach, who was so devoted he doused himself in gasoline in front of the statue of King Wenceslas and lit himself on fire, later dying of the wounds. There is now a monument to him, and others that died fighting against communism in Wenceslas Square.
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Dana
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Babies!
I took a picture next to one of those babies when they were next to the modern art museum. They have stamped in faces... slightly terrifying! Hope you had a great time there! I loved it!