Part 74: Castle Hill May 4, 2013

The next morning, I set off in the rain to visit Prague’s Castle.  After getting off of Tram, I began to climb a lot of stairs up the hill.  The castle complex is huge and consists of several royal palaces, a cathedral, a church, and towers.  I started out walking along the Golden Lane. 
 

The Golden Lane extends along a wall of the fortress and consists of tiny houses that were originally built for the castle guards in the 16^th century.  It was named the Golden Lane after goldsmiths moved in during the 17^th century.  People lived in the houses up until just after WWII when the houses were declared unfit for habitation.  They have since been restored and house a lot of gift shops, but some show how life was for the people that lived there over the years, including Franz Kafka.  Just up the stairs over the houses there is also an extensive display of armor. 

From there I wandered through the Daliborka Tower with its cages and dungeons before heading back inside the main part of the castle complex.  I went into a very Hapsburg-y building that had been the Institute for Noble Women.  It showed their living conditions and explained that the purpose was to educate noblewomen that were less fortunate than the truly wealthy.  The most interesting part was a mousetrap from 200 years ago.

After that, I went to St. George's Basilica and Convent.   This convent was the first established in Bohemia and now houses a collection of paintings, which are worth a walk through.  The church dates from the 12^th century and houses the grave of St. Ludmila, King Wenceslaus’s mother. 

After St. George’s I took in the mosaics and gold leaf on St. Vitus Cathedral.  The cathedral was started in 1344 and was finished in 1929.  The guidebook I had pointed out that you can see carvings of the decidedly 20^th century architects carved above the doorways.  The inside has great stained glass, some impressive tombs, and a closed (sigh), crypt.  Most famous, is the Chapel of St. Wenceslas, where "good King Wencelas" eternally "looks out."  I also climbed the 287 steps up the tower to take in the view of Prague. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I wandered out the main gate and through the nice buildings and palaces and monasteries on top of the hill over to Petrin Hill with its replica of Eifel Tower from 1891.  The tower is shorter than the one in France, unless you count the hill, which they do, of course. 

Castle Hill is full of history, buildings, tombs, and towers.  There are little exhibits and shops that pop up around every corner.  It is not a castle in the traditional sense, but a complex fortress that spans 1,000 years.  My little blog post hardly does it justice, but I hope it gives you a general idea.