Prague: From Old Town Square To Prague Castle

Submitted by: Petr H

Prague is a popular tourist destination, particularly for its well-preserved historical centre. The best known landmarks of Prague are Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Lesser Quarter, and Prague Castle. You can take a pleasant walk to see all of them, and much more.

Old Town Square is the centre of Prague Old Town, the picturesque historical district of the city. Make sure you are at Old Town Square on whole hour, in order to be able to watch a small performance of the Astronomical Clock (called Orloj in Czech) at Prague Old Town Hall. It is usually better to come at least several minutes in advance if you want a good position, because the place is overcrowded on every hour during the day. Although the Orloj is the best known attraction, Prague Old Town Square has several other interesting buildings and landmarks.

One of the dominant features of the square is Tyn Church (often incorrectly referred to as Tyn Cathedral, which it s not). This church has been the spiritual centre of Prague Old Town for centuries. For example, the powerful Czech reformist Hussite movement (in the 15th century) had its roots in Tyn Church. Jan Hus (John Hus), who eventually got burnt at stake for heresy for his revolutionary ideas, has a large monument in the middle of Old Town Square, just a few steps from Tyn Church.

There is another church in the opposite corner of Old Town Square St. Nicholas Church. Not least, if you walk around Old Town Square, every single one of the historical houses can be considered a landmark by itself and could tell a long story if it could talk.

From Old Town Square, the most typical tourist track goes to Male Namesti (Little Square), which is only some 150 metres away and has a beautiful fountain in the middle. From Male Namesti, you continue to Karlova Street (Charles Street), the shortest path to Charles Bridge. Karlova Street has numerous restaurants and souvenir shops and it s totally dominated by tourists but it is still a very nice walk with a Middle Ages feel.

At the end of Karlova Street you will see a tall tower, which is the entrance to Charles Bridge. The over 600-year-old stone bridge has two towers, one on each end (at first they seem absolutely identical, though they are not). Charles Bridge is one of the legendary highlights of every visit to Prague. It has (mostly Baroque) statues along the balustrades on both sides. Like the houses in Prague Old Town, each of the statues could tell a story of its own the statues represent mostly saints, patrons, and remarkable people of Czech history. Charles Bridge is also the place where you can see the typical panorama of Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral on the hill above the river.

At the end of Charles Bridge (don t forget to look at Kampa Island and the mysterious Certovka – Devil s – Channel on the left), you are already in Lesser Quarter (Mala Strana), another beautiful historical district, famous mostly for its palaces and churches – the church of Our Lady Victorious with Infant Jesus of Prague and Saint Nicholas Church (yes, there are two famous Nicholas churches in Prague, one at Old Town Square and the other at Lesser Quarter Square).

In Lesser Quarter, the “Golden” tourist path continues through Mostecka Street and Lesser Quarter Square to Zamecke Schody (Castle Stairs). This section is the most physically demanding of the whole trip, as you are now climbing to the Prague Castle hill.

The walk from Old Town Square to Prague Castle can takes as little as 20 minutes, but be prepared to spend multiples of this time if you ve never been to Prague before. You ll need time to admire beautiful townhouses, churches, and statues, visit souvenir shops, and take advantage of many places with yet another opportunity for “the best” photo of Prague Castle. A realistic estimate is 2-3 hours for this trip.

About the Author: For more tips on activites in Prague you can visit

pragprague.com/

, where you will also find more details about all the places mentioned in this article. The website also contains a photo gallery at

pragprague.com/prague-pictures/

.

Source:

isnare.com

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