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SpotlightPrague’s Malá Strana cemetery: a burial ground that’s dying out
Cemeteries across the country will soon fill with flowers and burning
candles when on All Saints Day people visit the graves of their loved ones.
But in Prague, there is one burial ground where few visitors are expected.
The Malá Strana cemetery was only in use for about a century, and it now
stands out as a unique monument in the middle of the dynamically developing
district of Smíchov. A group of local enthusiasts have now got together to
save this unique part of the city’s heritage. More
SpotlightTeplá abbey seeks to make a comeback in straitened circumstances
The imposing Teplá abbey complex is sited around a dozen miles from the
spa town of Mariánské Lázně, in western Bohemia. Its story is one of an
enterprising religious community that was the main force in developing the
whole region, its destruction under Nazism and then Communism and its
tentative comeback today on the back of tourist income. More
SpotlightSt. Martin in the Wall
I had never really been inside or had a proper look around, but I was sure
the small church of St Martin in the Wall would have an interesting story,
if for no other reason than its ancient appearance and peculiar name. Just
off the central Národní třída is a classic Prague alleyway that’s
tucked away from the shopping boulevard, neatly dividing the centuries from
one another, and there you’ll find it. One of the oldest churches in the
city, St Martin in the Wall is one of those relatively few landmarks whose
story can transport you all the way back through the ages to the beginnings
of the Czech metropolis. More
SpotlightPetschek’s Palace, once the headquarters of the Nazi secret police
If you’re not looking for it then you’ll probably overlook the rather
nondescript building of the Ministry of Industry, near the top of
Prague’s Wenceslas Square. If, however, you are one of the few who read
Prague’s street-side memorial signs, you get the full impact of what the
dirty grey, rough-hewn building called Petschek’s Palace means to modern
Czech history: “In the time of the Nazi occupation,” it reads, “this
building housed the torture chambers of the Gestapo. Fighters for the
freedom of our country fought, suffered and died here. We will never forget
their memory, and will be loyal to their legacy. PEOPLE, BE AWARE”. More
SpotlightKozel Chateau
One of the best kept secrets among Czech castles and historic sites is the
gorgeous Kozel Chateau founded in the late 18th century in western Bohemia.
Founded by nobleman Jan Vojtěch Černín, a member of Emperor Joseph
II’s court, the stone residence served an as exquisite hunting chateau
and today is one of the best examples of Classicist architecture in
Bohemia. The site is surrounded by fine lawns, a beautiful park and forests
perfect for visits in the spring and summer. What’s more, Kozel is only
an hour or so away from Prague and just minutes from nearby Pilsen. More
PanoramaNational Heritage Institute: many of the country’s gems still undiscovered by foreign tourists
The National Heritage Institute which is responsible for the protection and
preservation of the country’s historical monuments has over 100 palaces,
castles and manor houses in its care. Over the past 20 years it has worked
hard to restore many of those long-neglected buildings to their former
glory and today they represent the best part of the country’s national
heritage. Regrettably, many of those outside Prague remain undiscovered by
foreign tourists. Tomáš Brabec of the National Heritage Institute says
this is something that the institute is trying hard to change. More
Czech HistoryThe Clementinum, the Baroque pearl of Prague
Standing in the centre of the Clementinum – if you can locate such a
thing in the labyrinth – you are surrounded by around a millennium of
history and millions of volumes of books inside one of the most beautifully
preserved masterpieces of Baroque art the city of Prague has to offer. This
is the seat of the Czech National Library and the whispering and rustling
that echoes through its grand halls add perfectly to its natural
mysteriousness. More
SpotlightBlatná Castle
The summer months are here and with it tourists visiting many of the
country’s most notable castles and chateaux. But one site you might want
to consider visiting, somewhat off the beaten path, is Blatná Castle in
southern Bohemia, some 95 kilometres south of the capital. It’s not an
understatement to say Blatná Castle is something out of a fairly tale,
overlooking a surrounding moat and deer park. Blatná is the location we
visit in Spotlight today. More
PanoramaPrague’s Golden Lane to reopen to visitors
It’s one of the most Romantic places in the Czech capital. With its
charming row of tiny houses built in the Mannerist style Prague’s Golden
Lane attracts visitors from near and far. Painters strive to capture its
old-world charm and tour-guides elaborate about the colourful personalities
that once inhabited them – alchemists who tried to turn stone into gold
or make youth elixirs, Franz Kafka who reportedly resided there for a time,
or fortune-teller and astrologer Magdalena Prusova also known as Madame de
Thebes who was killed by the Gestapo because she foretold the end of
Nazism. More
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