borders and byways: Prague 2, October 26, 2017

October 26, 2107 Prague 2 Day 25 of trip

Good breakfast and then set out for the Prague Castle. Unfortunately, I got on the wrong tram line. I did not realize the mistake until we did not make the turn to go through Republic Square. We got off and then got back on in the other direction to go to the Jerusalem Synagogue which is in a residential neighborhood a few blocks from Wenceslas Square.

Unlike the synagogues in the Jewish Quarter (I planned to go there but there wasn’t the time) this is an active synagogue, albeit with a small congregation. It is very colorful on the outside and is a weird combination of Moorish and Viennese Art Nouveau architecture. There was an exhibit on Czech American Jewish relations in which one of the pictures showed several visiting American rabbis. One of them was the rabbi in the Bronx who officiated at my bar mitzvah. This synagogue was recently restored and was built in 1905-06 to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph’s rule, who was relatively liberal and tolerant of Jews.

We then boarded the Green Line Metro again and rode three stops across the river to get to Prague Castle. The Castle is up on a hill and dominates the Prague skyline. Rather than climb the steps and experience a 30-minute climb, we boarded the #22 tram, but we initially went in the wrong direction. After reversing direction, we got off at Prazsky Hrad, (“Prague Castle”) across from the Castle’s main entrance.

The Prague Castle is not just a castle, it is a sprawling complex that encompasses a wide range of buildings, institutions comprising Czech power and sights. For more than 1000 years the leaders of most Czech institutions have ruled from this complex. It was almost overwhelming and hard to figure out which things to see and which tickets to purchase. We had to decide among the top church, the former royal palace and an assortment of art and history museums.

Entering the complex through Castle Square we observed the hourly changing of the guard by very stiff soldiers. We proceeded through several large stone gateways passing through the first courtyard until we emerged into the large second courtyard.

We purchased a limited combination ticket and passing on the St. Vitus Treasury, we went into St. Vitus Cathedral. This is the Czech national church where kings were crowned, royalty buried, and the crown jewels were kept. The ubiquitous St John of Nepomuk has his tomb here. There are two soaring towers and a nave that goes on forever. The main attraction here is the Mucha Stained Glass window, created in 1931 which tells the story of the Czech people and nation.

After exiting the cathedral, we entered the vast third courtyard and were greeted by a granite obelisk. It was built in 1928 to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia but broke in transit. Perhaps fitting since the nation only lasted 75 years before it split into two countries.

On the right side of the courtyard is the Old Royal Palace. We had decided to pass that and instead entered the Story of Prague Castle Exhibit located in the cellars of the Palace. This was a terrific exhibit not only of the history of the castle, but also of its kings and more broadly the history of the Czech and Bohemia nations. Plus, it had good English descriptions. The next stop was the Basilica of St George. This is one of the oldest structures in the castle dating back to the 12^th century and was originally constructed in 920 by Wenceslas’s dad. Opposite this structure was the Institute for Noblewomen established by Maria Theresa to educate aristocratic, but impoverished woman.

After passing some residences for soldiers and craftsmen, we entered Golden Lane. This is a picturesque, winding crooked street with lots of little houses that formerly housed servants. Kafka briefly lived here, and they were occupied until WWII when the Germans took over. Now they contain displays of the “olden” days with medieval torture, metal working and pub exhibits. There were also lots of gift shops.

We were then funneled down a tight, stepped corridor and through a fortified door that spilled us out onto a scenic rampart with a commanding view of the city. A good picture spot. Then we walked down a very long stairway to a tram stop which took us back across the river to Republic Square. There we had some beer and sausages from street vendors before going to the Museum of Communism.

It is housed in new quarters on the second-floor nest to a MacDonald’s. It tells the story of communism in Czechoslovakia from its origin, the dream, the reality the nightmare and finally the Velvet Revolution which wiped it out. As you get off the escalator that takes you to the entrance to the museum’s exhibit, you are greeted by a giant Red Star. The exhibit starts in 1918 with a brief description of the establishment of Czechoslovakia largely through the efforts of Tomas Masaryk (there is a statute of him in Washington DC.) and his friendship with Woodrow Wilson and its weak and divided structure encompassing many minorities including lots of Germans. That lead to the Munich Agreement (the Czechs call it the Betrayal) whereby Britain and France abandoned Czechoslovakia to Hitler who ultimately overran the entire country (except for some small portions that were given to Hungry by Hitler and grabbed by Poland.) Communism came after WWII when Czechoslovakia was “liberated” by the Red Army (although Patton’s US Army initially occupied the western part of the country and could have taken Prague but was held back in deference to our Russian allies per the Yalta Agreements.). The communists won a plurality in the 1946 elections and two years later pushed the foreign minister out a second story window and the democrats out of office. Rigged elections were then held and the country became a one-party state. There were exhibits on communist economics, “they pretended to pay us, and we pretended to work”, propaganda posters, everyday life under communism and a spooky interrogation office. There were lots of protests and a big exhibit on the Velvet revolution. I found it to be a very interesting exhibition and we stayed until closing at 8.

Then we walked over to a restaurant near the Estates Theater. It was in a basement and we had a heavy Czech meal. Took the tram back to the hotel.