Archive: Travel | Monuments Monuments
The 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
Blatná 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
Prague’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
Veltrusy Chateau
In this edition of Spotlight we visit Veltrusy Chateau, a gorgeous summer
estate found north of the Czech capital. Founded in the 1700s by Czech
nobleman Václav Antonín Chotek, Veltrusy is far from an obvious
destination, but is well-worth a day-trip. The castle grounds boast a 300
hectare park along the Vltava River, with numerous paths leading among
ancient trees to pavilions, a bridge or two and various monuments. Then of
course, there is the chateau itself, highly valued as a gem of Baroque
architecture. More
The Ungelt, and a thousand years of multicultural Prague
In the jumble of alleyways that is Prague’s Old Town, if you look
carefully, you’ll make out the form of the ancient fortress of Ungelt,
built over with baroque and renaissance facades, but still standing after
1000 years. This is the customs house of Ungelt, where foreign merchants
came to store their wares, and a reminder that Prague has always been a
cosmopolitan, multinational city ever since its earliest days. More
Tyršův dům – Home of the Sokol movement
In today’s Spotlight Radio Prague visits an early Baroque palace known as
Michnův palác in the historic quarter of Malá strana. Built in the 16th
century, it first belonged to the Micha family before it became munitions
factory in the mid-1700s. In the early 20th century, after the founding of
Czechoslovakia, it was sold to the patriotic Sokol sport and gymnastics
organisation, which renovated it and named it Tyršův dům (or Tyrs’
House) after its main founder. More
Znojmo Castle
One of the most beautiful towns in Moravia and historically an important
location in the Czech Republic is Znojmo - a town whose foundations date
back to the 11th century. For centuries Znojmo guarded the regions of
southern Moravia, part of an elaborate chain of defending castles along
the Dyje River and the border with Austrian lands, developing from a
promontory fort to medieval stronghold and local seat of administration
for the Přemyslids - the first line of Czech kings. By the mid 1200s
Znojmo was dominant, complementing neighbouring castles at Bítov and
Vranov. More
The history and mysteries of Zbiroh Chateau
Zbiroh Chateau has stood on its hill between the Křivoklátské and Brdy
Forests since the 12th century, a beautiful thing, wistfully recalled in
the famous melody by Václav Vačkář, “A Memory of Zbiroh”. Until
recently, memories of Zbiroh were just about all anyone had, because the
chateau and its many treasures and mysteries were strictly sealed off for
most of the 20th century. The memory of its illustrious history is only
resurfacing today. More
Guided tours with a difference highlight another face of Prague
Guided tours with a difference have been launched in Prague – instead of
highlighting the attractive cultural monuments favoured by the usual tour
guides they put the spotlight on those examples of urban blight,
dilapidation and thoughtless construction. And the ugly face of the
capital’s development provides no shortage of routes. More
The Jewish Quarter in Třebíč
The historic Moravian town of Třebíč, some 140 km south east of Prague,
is known for having perhaps the best preserved Jewish quarter in the
country. In 2003, the town’s Jewish heritage sites, together with the
Catholic basilica of St Procopius, were added to the UNESCO List of World
Heritage. More
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