Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog

Friday, September 26, wasonly my third full day in the Czech Republic, and I already felt I was full ofthe beauty of the country, having only been sightseeing around Prague. This day,we finally headed out of the city on the two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to ČeskýKrumlov.

With a population of 13,000,Český Krumlov is located in the southwest corner of the Czech Republic. Most ofthe buildings in Old Town, as well as those of the Castle, date from the 13ththru 17th centuries and are built in the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles.

The Vltava River winds its way around the town. The Castle Complex is on the north side of the river, while the historic Inner Town is within one of the horseshoe curves of the water flow.  

But my goodness, otherthan that information I gleaned off of Wikipedia, I’m not sure what else tosay. It’s a beautiful town straight out of the tales of kings and knights inshining armor and damsels in distress, and of course, a wizard. Only saw all ofthose characters in my imagination. But just look at the pictures and your mindwill take off as well.  

One unique thing about thecastle is that instead of water, there are bears in the moat. The rulers of thecastle wanted to be associated with the powerful Orsini family – whose name isa pun on the Italian word for bear - orso. So they built the moat for bears,which still live there, one male and two females. 

The large brown bear once lived throughout the region but were hunted to extinction in the wild in the area of present-day Czech Republic in the 17th and 18th centuries. A few still live in the wild in Slovakia. There is controversy about these bears living in the moat, and there is talk about moving them to an animal sanctuary where they can live a bear life instead of pacing within these cement walls.

But let’s get back to cheerful, fanciful buildings.

And the last of the summer flowers

Prague is known as the“city of a hundred spires”, but it also boasts old and fascinating towers. Atone time there were thirteen tower gates forming a fornication around Old Town.Only a few of them are left, but luckily for the photograph-crazed tourist likeme, there are many more towers around town.

Here are the ones Icaptured on my recent trip.

Powder Tower Gate is thefirst one I found, totally unintentionally while my friend and I were wanderingaround our very first day.

Completed in 1475, the Powder Gate Tower, which supposedly had been used at one time to store gunpowder, is still the starting point for the Coronation Route to Prague Castle. For nearly 400 years, 19 rulers have taken the route to the castle starting here.

The Old Town Bridge Tower is one of the most beautiful Gothic gateways in the world. Situated on the east end of the Charles Bridge, the tower was commissioned by Emperor Charles IV in the mid-14th century. Like the Powder Gate Tower, it was part of the coronation procession, as new Czech kings passed over the bridge on their way to the castle.

You can climb the 138 steps to the top, for a breathtaking view, but we didn’t realize until we got to the top, that we were supposed to pay, so we weren’t allowed unto the viewing platform. We had to make due with views out the windows.

On the other end of the Charles Bridge are the Lesser Town Bridge Towers – yes, two of them, each built in a different style, with a gate between them leading into Lesser Town.

The smaller tower is Romanesque, dating from the 12th century; its current Renaissance appearance dates to 1591. The taller Late Gothic tower is from 1464 and is more similar to the Old Town Bridge Tower.

And I had to include this picture of it because the bird in the picture looks so cool. 

Then there is the Old Town Hall Tower, which I told you about already last Wednesday.

Back on the other side of the river is Prague Castle, which will get a whole day to itself on this blog. But since I am on towers today, I thought I’d share this one. The Mihulka Powder Tower was built at the end of the 15th century as part of the new castle fortifications. During the time of Rudolf II, an alchemist’s laboratory was located here; later it was a gunpowder store and a dungeon. I had no clue what this picture was of until I starting researching towers of Prague.

Next week, I’ll swing back to the castle, but on Friday’s post I’ll take you to the most medieval and enchanting of towns. 

The Charles Bridge is a medievalstone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava River. Construction began in 1357under King Charles IV and wasn’t finished until the early 15th century.Originally called Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge, it has been called "CharlesBridge" since 1870.

This picture is taken fromthe tower on one end of the bridge. More on the towers of Prague next time.

The Bridge is 1,693 feet long and nearly 33 feet wide, with 16 arches. It is decorated by 30 statues, most in baroque-style and originally erected between 1683 and 1714. Now all of them have been replaced by replicas and the originals are stowed away somewhere for safe keeping.

I know that I shared that information on a previous post, but you probably forgot or missed that post all together. In any case, here is new information, on as many of those statues as I could figure out.

 

Statue of St. Cyril and St. Methodius is of the Saints Cyril and Methodius who were missionaries who introduced Christianity to the Slavs. They were also the creators of the Glagolitic alphabet, which allowed Slavic nations to write the words of their new language. This statue was sculpted by Karel Dvořák between 1928 and 1938, and was erected by the Ministry of Education.

St. Francis Xavier's statue is a 1913 replica by Čeněk Vosmík of Ferdinand Brokoff's original 1711 sculpture. The statue depicts an Indian and a Japanese prince being baptized by the saint, along with a Moor in chains and a Tatar.

Statue of St. Francis Borgia was commissioned by the imperial Burgrave František z Colletů in 1710. The sculpture shows St. Borgia, a Jesuit priest, with two angels.

St. Vitus is portrayed standing on a base in the shape of cave, from which lions crawl up. The Saint is was a Roman aristocrat who was martyred for his faith. The statue was sculpted by Ferdinand Brokoff in 1714.

St. Cajetan, founder of the religious order of Theatins, is shown here holding a book and standing before an obelisk representing the Trinity. This statue was sculpted by Ferdinand Brokoff in 1709.

This statue is the largest and most expensive sculpture on the bridge, designed in 1714. It honors Saints John of Matha and Felix of Valois who were the two founders of the Trinitarians, the order that supervised buying back and redeeming of Christians in captivity under Turks. St. Ivan is incorporated into the group because he is the patron saint of Slavs. The base depicts a cave in which three chained Christians are praying to the Lord for salvation.

I’m not Catholic so myknowledge of saints is pretty minimal, but my goodness, there are a lot of them,who lived some crazy lives. And there are 24 more sculptures on the bridge! Butthey were all pretty amazing.

Even though we stayed in ahotel in Prague every night we were in the Czech Republic, we only spent twoand a half days bombing around that city seeing all the sites. I’ve shared afew of those places already, but today it’s going to be a little bit ofeverything.

First here are a few totally random buildings. I just thought they were all so cool. So ancient looking and like something out of a fairy tale.

The building below is called the Rudolfinum and was first opened in 1885. Since 1946, it has been the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Golden Stag statue is a decorative statue from 1726. It depicts Saint Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, looking at the golden stag. The story goes that Saint Hubert, while he was hunting, had a vision of a stag with Jesus on the cross between its antlers.

St Nicholas Church in Lesser Town. On Wednesday, I shared a picture of St Nicholas Church in Old Town. It gets confusing; I don’t know how the tour guides keep it all straight.

And the confusion continues. This is the New City Hall in Old Town. It was built between 1908 and 1911, but it didn’t take on all of the government offices until 1945, when the Old Town Hall in Old Town suffered major damage during a fire. (I showed you a picture of that also on Wednesday.)

The Prague Municipal Library. Since 1998, just inside the building there is a book tower called the Idiom, a column of 8,000 books by the Slovak artist Matej Kren. People stand in line outside just to step inside and catch a glimpse of it.

The Maisel Synagogue is located in the former Jewish quarter of Prague and was built at the end of the 16th century in the Gothic Revival style.

Just a block and a half down the street from there is the Old Jewish Cemetery. Because it is so small, they had to bury the caskets on top of each, which meant the headstones had to be stacked next to each other too. It is also why the ground in the cemetery is so much higher than the surrounding streets. The line to get in was two blocks long and there is an admission fee, so I didn’t get to see it. Look up pictures of it on-line; it looks very sad to me. Click here to read what Wikipedia has to say about it.  

Most of the cities andvillages we visited while in the Czech Republic had a town square. It’s such agreat idea, a centrally located place in town where residents can gather tospread information, host celebrations, or set up tents to hawk their wares.  

That first day we spent inPrague, my friend and I wandered all over the city, including the Old TownSquare. Prague actually has many districts, but tourists are most familiar withOld Town, Lesser Town, New Town, the Castle Quarter, and the Jewish Quarter.

So what did we see in thatsquare?

The Town Hall, on the southwest corner of the Square, was established in 1338 as the seat of the Old Town's local government. 

The eastern neo-Gothic wing of the Town Hall was destroyed during the Prague Uprising on May 8, 1945, and was never rebuilt. The oldest part of the building is the southern wing with a beautiful tower with a bay-window chapel and a unique astronomical clock.

St. Nicholas Church is on the northwest corner. It was built between 1732-1737 on the site of a Gothic church from the 13th century which was also dedicated to Saint Nicholas.

On one end of the middle of the Square is the Jan Haus monument. Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague, who criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church.

.

Hus was ultimately condemned by the Council of Constance and burned at the stake in 1415. The inscription on the statue reads, “milujte se praudy kazdemu”, which translates to “love each other truly”.

On the other end is the Mariánskýsloup or Marian column, a religious monument consisting of a column toppedwith a statue of the Virgin Mary. The original column was erected in 1650,shortly after the end of the Thirty Years' War. It was demolished in November1918, when the Austria-Hungary empire fell. In 2020, the column wasreconstructed.

I wanted to save the astronomical clock, on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall, for last. The first recorded mention of the clock was in October 1410. Around 1490, the calendar dial was added and the clock facade was decorated with gothic sculptures.

When it chimes every hour between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., each of the 12 apostles appear in the little windows at the top. 

Most of the cities andvillages we visited while in the Czech Republic had a town square. It’s such agreat idea, a centrally located place in town where residents can gather tospread information, host celebrations, or set up tents to hawk their wares.  

That first day we spent inPrague, my friend and I wandered all over the city, including the Old TownSquare. Prague actually has many districts, but tourists are most familiar withOld Town, Lesser Town, New Town, the Castle Quarter, and the Jewish Quarter.

So what did we see in thatsquare?

The Town Hall, on the southwest corner of the Square, was established in 1338 as the seat of the Old Town's local government. 

The eastern neo-Gothic wing of the Town Hall was destroyed during the Prague Uprising on May 8, 1945, and was never rebuilt. The oldest part of the building is the southern wing with a beautiful tower with a bay-window chapel and a unique astronomical clock.

St. Nicholas Church is on the northwest corner. It was built between 1732-1737 on the site of a Gothic church from the 13th century which was also dedicated to Saint Nicholas.

On one end of the middle of the Square is the Jan Haus monument. Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague, who criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church.

.

Hus was ultimately condemned by the Council of Constance and burned at the stake in 1415. The inscription on the statue reads, “milujte se praudy kazdemu”, which translates to “love each other truly”.

On the other end is the Mariánskýsloup or Marian column, a religious monument consisting of a column toppedwith a statue of the Virgin Mary. The original column was erected in 1650,shortly after the end of the Thirty Years' War. It was demolished in November1918, when the Austria-Hungary empire fell. In 2020, the column wasreconstructed.

I wanted to save the astronomical clock, on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall, for last. The first recorded mention of the clock was in October 1410. Around 1490, the calendar dial was added and the clock facade was decorated with gothic sculptures.

When it chimes every hour between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., each of the 12 apostles appear in the little windows at the top. 

I’m going to try to postabout my trip on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so that I can finish sharingabout it before the Christmas season. I don’t know though. I have over a thousandpictures to wade through, and we saw so much history, some of which I haveresearched already, but it’s different once it’s seen. Know what I mean?

Okay, but I should justjump in and stop boring you.

We arrived in Prague late Tuesday afternoon and had the entire day Wednesday to explore on our ownbefore the official tour started on Thursday. A couple of months ago, I was lookingup things to do and discovered some river cruises which sounded interesting. Ibooked the Devil’s Channel Cruise for 12:30 that day.

The weather was somewhatdecent, cloudy and a little cool, but not too bad, so we left the hotel earlyand wandered all over the Old Town until our cruise.

The cruise boat company’swebsite described our trip as a 50-minute fairy tale cruise through thepicturesque Devil's Channel, one of the most romantic cruises in Prague. You’llbe surrounded by beautiful medieval homes that seem to grow right out of thewater, listen to the clatter of the mill wheel as in days gone by, upon your boat,the ecological friendly Elvíra.  

The cruise was nice, theyoung gal navigating and narrating was friendly and funny. I can’t remembermuch of what she said; I just took my usual excessive number of pictures. And we saw more of the river than just the Devil's Channel. 

I do know that the picture below is of the Charles Bridge. It’s a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the VltavaRiver, connecting the Old Town and Lesser Town. Construction began in 1357under King Charles IV, but it wasn’t finished until the early 15th century.Originally called Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge, it’s been called "CharlesBridge" since 1870. 

It is open to pedestrian trafficonly, is 1,693 ft long, nearly 33 feet wide, and has 16 arches. I’ll share morepictures and explanations about it on upcoming blog posts.

The other thing I will bewriting about a lot is Prague Castle. It is the largest ancient castle in theworld, occupying an area of almost 750,000 square feet or 17 acres. There areactually many larger castles around the world, but they don’t carry the “ancient”designation; I haven’t really figured out the difference yet. But you can seethe castle complex, high on a hill overlooking Prague, from nearly any point inthe city with a view. There will be many more pictures of it! 

But I like the simplethings too, like wildlife. We saw some mallard ducks and a few swans.

Then these little critterswhich looked like a beaver or muskrat, but are called a nutria. Cute but they werelittle beggars on the beach.

I’m going to try to postabout my trip on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so that I can finish sharingabout it before the Christmas season. I don’t know though. I have over a thousandpictures to wade through, and we saw so much history, some of which I haveresearched already, but it’s different once it’s seen. Know what I mean?

Okay, but I should justjump in and stop boring you.

We arrived in Prague late Tuesday afternoon and had the entire day Wednesday to explore on our ownbefore the official tour started on Thursday. A couple of months ago, I was lookingup things to do and discovered some river cruises which sounded interesting. Ibooked the Devil’s Channel Cruise for 12:30 that day.

The weather was somewhatdecent, cloudy and a little cool, but not too bad, so we left the hotel earlyand wandered all over the Old Town until our cruise.

The cruise boat company’swebsite described our trip as a 50-minute fairy tale cruise through thepicturesque Devil's Channel, one of the most romantic cruises in Prague. You’llbe surrounded by beautiful medieval homes that seem to grow right out of thewater, listen to the clatter of the mill wheel as in days gone by, upon your boat,the ecological friendly Elvíra.  

The cruise was nice, theyoung gal navigating and narrating was friendly and funny. I can’t remembermuch of what she said; I just took my usual excessive number of pictures. And we saw more of the river than just the Devil's Channel. 

I do know that the picture below is of the Charles Bridge. It’s a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the VltavaRiver, connecting the Old Town and Lesser Town. Construction began in 1357under King Charles IV, but it wasn’t finished until the early 15th century.Originally called Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge, it’s been called "CharlesBridge" since 1870. 

It is open to pedestrian trafficonly, is 1,693 ft long, nearly 33 feet wide, and has 16 arches. I’ll share morepictures and explanations about it on upcoming blog posts.

The other thing I will bewriting about a lot is Prague Castle. It is the largest ancient castle in theworld, occupying an area of almost 750,000 square feet or 17 acres. There areactually many larger castles around the world, but they don’t carry the “ancient”designation; I haven’t really figured out the difference yet. But you can seethe castle complex, high on a hill overlooking Prague, from nearly any point inthe city with a view. There will be many more pictures of it! 

But I like the simplethings too, like wildlife. We saw some mallard ducks and a few swans.

Then these little critterswhich looked like a beaver or muskrat, but are called a nutria. Cute but they werelittle beggars on the beach.

Well, hello there. Here Iam, finally back from my trip to the Czech Republic, with around 1,500pictures, nine journal entries in my Google Drive, a pile of receipts, a headfull of foreign languages, memories of bus rides and too much time in five differentairports, and so much more.

I drove into my own yardat 8 am yesterday, having run on four hours of sleep in the previous 24 hours,but I powered through the day, hoping that would allow me to sleep last night.Well, I got close to six hours.

But enough about me; youwant to hear about my trip. But not today. Please don’t ask me to actuallystart writing about all the stories already today.

Nope, all you get today isa teaser of what’s to come. Random pictures.

All the stories and somany more pictures to follow.

Well, hello there. Here Iam, finally back from my trip to the Czech Republic, with around 1,500pictures, nine journal entries in my Google Drive, a pile of receipts, a headfull of foreign languages, memories of bus rides and too much time in five differentairports, and so much more.

I drove into my own yardat 8 am yesterday, having run on four hours of sleep in the previous 24 hours,but I powered through the day, hoping that would allow me to sleep last night.Well, I got close to six hours.

But enough about me; youwant to hear about my trip. But not today. Please don’t ask me to actuallystart writing about all the stories already today.

Nope, all you get today isa teaser of what’s to come. Random pictures.

All the stories and somany more pictures to follow.