DAY 17: Prague, Revisiting Old Town

Monday, 15 SEPTEMBER 2014 [Revisiting Staré Město] 

While Malá Strana or Little Quarter had its many charms, there was still much that I had not seen at Staré Město, Old Town, so this day was allocated fully to the latter. 

The first few locations on the list were those close to the Vltava - (revisiting) Old Town Bridge Tower, Křížovnické square, the Clementinum and Rudolfinum.

At Křížovnické náměstí (square) - view of the Old Town Bridge Tower and monument to Charles IV. The crowds were not yet here

White building in centre - (Church of Saint Salvátore). At left - Church of Saint Francis of Assisi

Křížovnické square - one of the busiest areas in Praha during the tourist seasons due to its location right next to the Charles Bridge and in the route from the Old Town square. At this square are the Church of Saint Salvátore, Church of Saint Francis of Assisi and the monument to Charles IV. 

From what I can gather, the Kostel Nejsvětějšího Salvátora (Church of Saint Salvátore, or Most Holy Saviour) is located at the site of a previous Gothic Dominican church. In the 16th century, this was rebuilt as the main church of the Jesuits who had also made the group of buildings next to it (collectively the Clementinum) a Jesuit college, one of the largest in Europe at the time. The church is considered one of the early Baroque building gems in Praha. The statues on the church facade are by Jan Jiří Bendl whom as I had learnt in previous days' tours around Praha, was the creator of the original Saint Wenceslas equestrian statue, among other works. 

Kostel svatého Františka z Assisi (Church of Saint Francis of Assisi) is also a Baroque era church built in the late 17th century and has the second largest pipe organ in Praha. You will often see tickets being sold to organ concerts at the entrance.

The Klementinum (Clementinum), comprising of a group of Baroque style buildings was established as a Jesuit college in 1556. With a combined area of 20,000 square metres (2 hectares), it is the second largest complex of buildings in Praha after the castle complex and includes the library, residential buildings, churches and college. The Jesuits were here until the latter half of the 18th century when it was turned into a library, legal depository and observatory. In 1990, it was made the National Library of the Czech Republic. A historical timeline of the Clementinum can be found at its webpage. 

Within the complex are three places of interest and one of these provides a superb aerial view of Praha's historical centre. More on these later.

An entrance to the Clementinum, on Křížovnická street

From Křížovnické square facing away from the Charles Bridge, go left into Křižovnická and take a 5 to 7 minute brisk walk along this street. At the end of the street is Náměstí Jana Palacha (Jan Palach square) and north of the square is the Rudolfinum. To the left of the square is Mánesuv most (Manes bridge) which connects to Malá Strana. There is a clear view of Prague Castle from here.  

Jan Palach was a student who five months after the Soviet invasion (August 1968) of the then Czechoslovakia, immolated himself in protest against the clampdown of political liberalisation (Prague Spring) that had been going on in the country. There is also a memorial to Jan Palach on the walkway in front of the National Museum in New Town. 

View of Rudolfinum from Jan Palach square

The Rudolfinum was built in the late 19th century in a neo-Renaissance style, i.e. in  the same style as the National Theatre. It was named after Crown Prince Rudolf of the Austro-Hungarian empire and intended as an art gallery/cultural centre. For two decades after independence, it was used as a parliament building for the House of Commons. It is now the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, used as a concert hall for classical music performances and also a gallery featuring contemporary art. From pictures available on the internet, the interior of the Rudolfinum, in particular the Dvořák Hall, is quite grand and worth a look. 

One of the pillars in front of the Rudolfinum

Great view of Prague Castle from this area

Opposite the Rudolfinum was the Uměleckoprůmyslové muzeum v Praze (Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague), a museum dedicated to local arts and crafts and also from other European countries. The categories of exhibits include glass, ceramics, clocks and watches, graphic art & photography, jewellery, toys and furniture. There are also non-permanent exhibitions by contemporary design students or well-known artists. The museum was closed as it was a Monday, otherwise I would likely have spent a few hours there. Information about the museum and exhibits can be found here. The building housing the museum is another neo-Renaissance example, built in the late 19th century. It is on 17. listopadu (17 November) street named after the starting date of the Velvet Revolution (or perhaps another 17 November incident in 1941 where Nazis closed Czech universities and arrested many students).

The museum is scheduled for renovations from January 2015 to the second half of 2016 and will be closed during this period.

Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (opposite the Rudolfinum)

From the Rudolfinum, I decided to head back to the Clementinum to catch the hourly guided tour of its three key attractions. The route taken was Kaprova street turning right (just before halfway along Kaprova) into Valentinská street and from here left into Platnéřská street and into Mariánské náměstí (Marian square). Entered the Clementinum from Marian Square, directly opposite the building Nova Radnice or the new city hall.

After walking inside the open space in the Clementinum complex for about 3 minutes, I came across a couple of booths selling tickets to a baroque/classical music performance to be held at the Clementinum later that evening. As they were offering a 150 Czk discount to the regular price, I bought a ticket without hesitation. Distracted from the purchase, I bone-headedly exited the complex still in search of the area of the Clementinum where I could join the tour. From here I walked into Seminářská street and then into the super-busy Karlova street and landed back at Křižovnická street, where I thought the entrance would be. But that one was closed and I effectively made another round of the complex exterior and decided to retry the entrance at Marian square, with time fast running out to catch the 11:00 tour. This second time around, I spotted the entry - which was right next to where the ticket sellers were .... DUH ... but glad to have made it just in time.

Below are some photos taken while searching for the entrance to the Clementinum's attractions.

Dům U Modré štiky ("House at the Blue Pike") - corner building at intersection of Karlova (Charles) and Liliová streets. The first cinema in the country, Bio Ponrepo, was set up here with the first (short) film screened in September 1907 

Karlova (Charles) street. In Praha, always look up for interesting building facades: house signs, murals, statues

Do occasionally look down as there might be interesting items to spot such as this gas utility metal cover with Praha coat-of-arms



Karlova street - walked the full length of the Clementinum perimeter in search of the tour's starting point

Back at the Křížovnické square, which had few people only an hour and 15 minutes before this photo was taken at 10:45

Paid the 220 Czk entry fee for a one hour guided tour in English. The three attractions at the Clementinum were the Astronomical Tower, the Hall of Mirrors and the Baroque Library and the guide brought us through all three. Photographs were prohibited throughout except at the viewing platform of the tower. However, as I would find out later when attending the music performance in the Hall of Mirrors, visitors were unaware of this prohibition or ignoring it and were snapping away, many using flash too.

The Hall of Mirrors. This was a chapel built in the early 18th century decorated in Baroque type statues, wall panels, and ceiling frescoes. A unique feature were the numerous mirrors on the ceilings. I spotted only one church organ but there were supposed to be two, and one was said to be played by Mozart on his visits to the Clementinum. Managed to sneak a photo or two of the hall during the evening concert, not during the morning guided tour.

Part of ceiling in Hall of Mirrors, Clementinum

The Baroque library, located in the centre of the Clementinum, was a stunner with two stories of ceiling-high shelves that could accommodate 20,000 books, with some books dating to the 16th century ... except that the shelves were mostly empty as the books had been sent out of the country to be scanned and eventually made available electronically. The dozen or so celestial and terrestrial globes were also fascinating (well, based on the banner providing information on them). Our view of the Baroque library was only from the entrance and in a dimmed setting so we could not see it in all its splendour or take a closer look at say the globes.  

From the library, we made way to the Astronomical tower, which was used for climate measurements and astronomical observations. I may be wrong, but it would have been the place where astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Keppler worked when they were in Praha. My memory of the astronomy section is hazy and most of what I recall is about climbing the narrow and quite steep metal spiral staircase to the observation platform at the top. Think it was 170+ steps. Anyway, the reward was well worth it as the view was superb. I will go as far as to say that the view from the tower at the Clementinum is the best amongst all the towers (compared to the Powder Tower, Old Town Square Tower, or the one at the Church of Saint Michael in Little Quarter) as it provides great views of Old Town, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle and Little Quarter. 

Metal plaque showing landmarks and their order

Everyone who's been to Praha will surely know the two churches and the two towers seen here ..

Church of Saint Jilji (foreground), Church of Our Lady of the Snows (partly visible near the horizon at left)

Absolutely love the view - Strahov Monastery and Prague Castle on the horizon, Charles Bridge and the towers at Malá Strana/Little Quarter at centre left and the red roofs of Little Quarter

View to the north: Hanavský pavilon (left) and Metronome (right) at Letná Park on the horizon. Rudolfinum partly visible. Hmmm, instead of spires, we have plenty of satellite dishes here

With the climb down from the Astronomical Tower, the tour of the Clementinum was complete.

Exiting the Clementinum at Marian Square, I next headed to the nearby Městská knihovna v Praze (Municipal Library of Prague) with a Cubist structure and 6 naked statues on the facade - to see a tower of books in the interior. The tower was created by Matej Krén in 1998 and nicknamed IDIOM. Mirrors placed strategically inside create an illusion of a never ending stacking of books.

Tower of books

On the same street (Platnéřská) as the Municipal Library was La Bottega di Finestra*, an Italian deli/eatery which also sold produce, breads, cured meats and cheeses. Decided to have lunch here. There were on offer main meals and many choices of soups, sandwiches and desserts. I opted for the sandwiches and desserts. Prices were reasonable and service top notch. I should have bought one of their imported cheeses or, ham (Prosciutto cotto made without preservatives), but did not. (* There is a La Finestra restaurant a few doors away)

Entrance of La Bottega di Finestra

Salmon bruschetta

Lemon meringue

After taking my time over lunch, the next target destination was the Staroměstská radnice or Old Town Hall to get to the top of the tower for more aerial views of Praha. Entry fee was 110 Czk. Unfortunately, the place was jam packed with visitors! I picked a really lousy time to visit. While it was possible to walk up the tower using the sloped walkways/"stairs" (a great photo here), I opted to take the single elevator which was interesting in itself.

This is not a rocket launcher but the elevator 'shaft' in the Old Town Hall

The elevator could only accommodate 7-10 people so it took a little while before my turn. Once at the top, we had to queue up, with said queue spanning the entire observation area. There was an officer from the town hall who periodically rapped on the windows to have visitors move along. Below are views from the Old Town Hall taken while being ushered on ... probably best to avoid coming here between late morning and 3pm during peak touring months.

The queue went around the entire Old Town Hall observation platform. The lady with sunglasses would frequently knock on the windows to have visitors move forward

Palác Kinských (Kinský Palace) and Dům U Kamenného zvonu (House at the Stone Bell)

Pařížská (Paris street)

Prašná brána (Powder Tower). In the background on the hill is Národní památník na Vítkově (National Monument in Vitkov) with the equestrian statue of Jan Žižka, the Hussite warrior

View of the area where the crowds observe the Astronomical Clock

Just messing with the camera

On the way out of the Old Town Hall, I bought a large leaflet with explanations on how to read the Astronomical clock and which also contained names and pictures of all the statues tied to the clock. 

Window at Old Town Hall (near Astronomical Clock) with the coats of arms of Praha and Bohemia

Dům U Minuty (House at the Minute)

The above building is a landmark at the edge of the Old Town Square. Some articles I've seen state that House at the Minute (which also meant 'at the dimunitive') was so-named due to the small portions of tobacco sold here at one time. Remade into a Renaissance style house in the 16th century, it is interesting for its sgrafitto decorations on the facade depicting various emperors of the Habsburg empire and, also known as a residence, for a time during the late 19th century, of the writer Franz Kafka. The lion statue seen in the corner is a remnant of an earlier era of the house, when it used to be called 'At the White Lion'.

For about 45 minutes, I simply sat at the side of the Town Hall watching the crowds roll by - before wandering about the Old Town searching for interesting sights missed during earlier walks there.  

Nice street signs around Praha



Another view of the Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem (Church of Our Lady Before Týn)



At one corner of Týnská street (facing Western entrance of the Týn church), the House at the Golden Ring - is said to have  interesting interiors including barrel vaulting (Romanesque or Gothic?) on the first floor and 15th century wall paintings. It now houses at an art gallery displaying 20th century and contemporary art by well known Czech artists. I should have gone in for a look ...

Dům U Zlatého prstenu (House at the Golden Ring)

On Týnská street ..

Building at the end of Týnská street (near Malá Štupartská street) with 3-fishes house sign




Stumbled upon a couple of interesting facades above entrances to the Kostel sv. Jakuba Většího (Church of Saint James the Greater) on Malá Štupartská street. The church has an interesting history (including an unintentional(?) premature burial of a count) and is said to have a beautiful interior. I did not enter the church. I also missed the nearby Ungelt or Týn Couryard, which used to be meeting place of merchants from various continents in the Middle Ages - lots of history here and the site of a possible restless spirit. Oh well, can't see em all ... 

Below, pub & restaurant with a bright exterior, and a very old pub too. If I could drink, would probably have popped in for a glass.

On Malá Štupartská street

After window shopping at Celetná street, I eventually strolled to the Cubist style Dům U Černé Matky Boží (House of the Black Madonna) housing the Grand Café Orient. The Café opened in 1912 was closed not long after in the 1920s and reopened only in 2005. Since I was feeling peckish, decided to have some food and drink here. 

In spite of being next to the super busy tourist route, patrons seemed to be all or mostly locals. The seats on the balcony outside were mostly occupied. Nice ambience, good food (salads, sanwiches, desserts) and courteous wait staff. Ordered a cake, roast beef & salad and a double ice-cream.

Balcony seats, overlooking Ovocný trh ("fruit market") and Celetná street

Interior of Grand Café Orient

Spacious interior with unique decor. Supposed to be Cubistic, but I can only pick out the ceiling lamps

The banana split's supposed to be the focus here - the camera preferred the no-smoking sign ;)

After the café, headed to Náměstí Republiky (Republic square) to take daytime photos of the landmarks there. Also admired several majestic buildings along the way.

5-star Paris Hotel built in 1905. Beautiful Art Nouveau interior. Room prices start from 'just' RM650 during winter months

The other side of the Municipal House much less frequented by tourists

Next, headed to the outside of Kotva department store (Kotva = Anchor in Czech) located right next to the Municipal House and on Republic Square. Built in the 1970s, it is made up of many interlinked hexagonally shaped buildings. From the top down, it is indeed very unusually shaped. This, for me, was one of the most interesting modern structures in the city. 

  

Kotva - Unusually shaped department store

The Palladium with an attractive facade, is one of the largest malls in the Czech Republic and located opposite of Kotva. It opened in 2007 and has about 200 (the number is on the facade..) shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and offices(?). Lengthwise, the mall stretches from the square to the just after the trams & buses only section of Na Poříčí street. The location of Palladium is not without historical interest. Excavations made before building of the mall revealed traces of a medieval era settlement. For about 200 years until the 1990s, it was used as army barracks - the facade seen today is retained from the barracks. More information here.

[Just as comparison for those residing in Klang Valley, Malaysia, the Palladium has a let-table floor area of 420,000 square feet. In contrast, 1 Utama, Mid Valley, Sunway Pyramid and Berjaya Times Square have floor space of 5.0, 4.5, 4.3 and 3.4 million square feet respectively i.e. 8 to 12 times the size of Palladium. These are just 4 of the largest, there are dozens of others. We are absolutely overwhelmed with malls...]

 

Palladium

Republic Square

 

Powder Tower and Municipal House

It was almost time for the evening performance at the Clementinum but I had time for one more stop - at a shop selling chocolates on Husova street.
 

Quite a wide selection of chocolates, some with unusual flavours - mostly imported

Arrived early for the musical performance at the Clementinum's Hall of Mirrors but most of the other audience members were even earlier thus, I had to get a seat quite far back. The evening's programme was a violin-organ "best of" performance of baroque and classical compositions by Bach, Pachebel, Mozart, Dvorak and a few other composers whom I cannot recall. The pieces were performed I believe by a violin quartet with organ backing (was not given the brochure and with a seating position at the back, meant the musicians were largely out of sight to me). To my untrained ear, the performances were good and there were only a few moments during the 55 minute performance where the music/playing failed to capture my attention. The performance ended before sundown and before leaving, I took a few quick snapshots of the Hall of Mirrors, Felt a bit guilty but well... 

In the Hall of Mirrors - after the musical performance

Mirrors mirrors

The 10 minute walk across Charles Bridge back to the hotel was a very pleasant one. The weather was also very fine throughout making it a very memorable day for me.

Crossing Charles Bridge on the way to the hotel - wonder why the birds were so excited

NEXT: Day 18, More of the Old Town, but not before taking a ride on a SEGWAY