This was our first stop on a Eastern European Viking river Cruise. Prague city, the capital of the Czech Republic has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1992. The city is truly an architecture wonderland where one can find throughout the city Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo architecture. There are even spots within Prague, such as the Old Town Square, where you can see several different styles of architecture directly next to one another. Our visit in Prague was way to short but while in the city we visited so many of the historical sites including the Prague Castle, the Lobkowicz Palace, Lesser Town, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, the Prague astronomical clock, the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral and the Jewish Quarter too. And everyday we were there we enjoyed the local cuisine, most especially the Goulash and the Nakládaný Hermelín (pickled cheese), which I plan to make at home. It is actually not pickled but rather a cheese similar to Camembert cheese that has been marinated in olive oil with various delicious spices. Anyway, it was a favorite of mine.
The city has a complex and rich history dating back to the 5th Century when the city was first settled. In the 9th century, the city became the seat of a Bohemian royal dynasty, the Přemyslid dynasty, which ruled over the Czech lands for many centuries. In the 14th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV made Prague his imperial capital. In 1787 Mozart first came to Prague and where he gave the premiere concert of his Symphony in D major, which is now also called the “Prague Symphony”. While in Prague we were fortunate to attend a concert in that very same building. During World War I, the city was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which then collapsed at the end of the war when the country of Czechoslovakia was formed, with Prague becoming the capital city of that new country. Nazi Germany occupied Prague during WWII and many of the cities’ Jews were sent to concentration camps. After the war, the city became part of the communist bloc and was subject to the Soviets. After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 Czechoslovakia freed itself from communism and the Soviets.
There is lot of history in such a small place and thank goodness these beautiful building were not destroyed by the Nazis or the Soviets as was true in other places. We felt so fortunate to get to experience so much of it and hear the stories in the actual locations where so much history was made, both the good and the bad. It is a fascinating place yet during our visit we felt like we hardly scratched the surface. Here are a few of the pictures I took in this fascinating city.
                       
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