OLD TOWN PRAGUE

                                   A Beautiful Ancient City

       Crooked 11^th century roads wind around ancient Bohemian architectural relics. The town square is the oldest in Europe and the town hall dates to 1338 and today  is used only for ceremonial purposes. In front of the town hall sits the 1410 astronomical clock which attracts

large crowds on the hour when the clock chimes (9AM to 9 PM). Various characters appear representing the miser, vanity and skeleton. The clock also shows the year, month, day and hour, the rising and setting of the sun and moon and the signs of the zodiac.  We made a point of being on the square, to join the gathering crowd, later in the day. It was worth the effort!

      The Charles Bridge dominates the city. The 1700-foot bridge with 16 arches ends (or starts) at Old Town. Thirty 17^th century sculptures top each of its supports. On the other end of the bridge is Lesser Town. The first bridge was a wooden one and was destroyed by a flood. The second bridge was built of stone (then called Judith Bridge), but also was destroyed by floods.  The 3^rd and present bridge, built in 1357, is of stone and concrete. The pedestrian part of it becomes an art gallery on certain days, and is a good place to find a nice souvenir painting. Charles‘s mother was Czech and there is a larger than life statue of him on the Old Town side. The bridge has been called the Charles Bridge since 1870.    

      Surrounding Charles Square is a Jesuit complex with five different architectural styles.  The tower gate was part of an 11-meter high fortification wall of the medieval city. Above the arch of the gate are three statues: one of Charles IV, one of St Vitus and one of Prince Wenceslas. Below the statues is a lion, the symbol of Bohemia.

      The gate on the Lesser Town side was finished a century later and  has two towers.

      New To The 14^th century Cathedral of Our Lady of Tyn is also on the square. It is a very different style and once you’ve seen it you’ll always remember it.  Established in 1348 it was built around Old Town that today is the industrial and commercial center of Prague with public buildings, banks and museums. The 1630 Wallenstein Palace now houses the Senate of the Czech Republic.

      The city is full of castles, palaces, and churches. There are too many for me to try to list here, and It would be hard to see them all, but each can make his own decision on which ones to visit.