Is Prague a sin city?
13 days ago (Filed under: Culture )
Prague is definitely a very beautiful town. It has amazing history, beautiful monuments, fascinating streets, cool pubs with delicious beer, many art galleries, lovely parks, as well as good public transport and lots of shops… an ideal place for a visit. But is Prague a perfect city? Definitely not, as any other one, it also has its mistakes. Notoriously known are Prague taxi drivers, who often try to dope you and ask you to pay them more money then you should according to official price lists. But you may read warnings about them in many Prague tourist guidebooks. Then there are also pickpockets – the warnings about them hang in Prague public transport – buses, trams and metro trains as well – both in Czech and English language. Maybe you already have noticed “Better safe then sorry” as says the English version of yellow-red warning sticker in the public transport. So those are two main “little sins of Prague”, about which you should be informed before your arrival and be aware of them. But such things happen not only here, but also in many other cities. So only them cannot make Prague to be a sin city.
The problem is that in the town are occurring other filths – there are casinos and winning automats and there are brothels as well as street prostitution and drugs. It should be said, that those are not the problem only of Prague but of a whole Czech Republic. But this blog is mainly about Prague, which is also the most attractive location for tourist out of the whole Czech Republic, so lets stay here. Because of the casinos and prostitution my ex-boyfriend once called Prague a sin city. So lets have a closer look on the situation of Prague in those fields.
The true is that there are so many casinos and “hernas” with winning automats as almost in any other place, so Prague is sometimes even called as “Las Vegas of Europe”. The casinos and winning automats are pretty big problem, because many people can became addicted to them, and according to the latest researches, one addicted person can be a troublemaker for up to 12 people in his/her surrounding. Hazard addiction can obviously cause not only personal problems, but also family crises. This is mostly the problem of winning automats, which are also installed in many Czech pubs. “Ordinary people” do not visit casinos that often, as it often requires a bit better clothing and “style”. But many Prague casinos are said to be “laundries of dirty money”, and that they are owned by mafia. The true is that in many other countries the gambling is either illegal or they do not have at least so many gambling places as there are here.
And about the prostitution, as the so called “the oldest job”, it probably exists almost anywhere. Famous is a way of the Netherlands, where they made it even legal. So they at least forced them to pay taxes and prostitutes have to go for medical check-ups. In the Czech Republic, the prostitution is officially illegal, but everyone knows it exists here. There are brothel houses which may look as a cabaret from outside, but when you walk inside, you are pretty sure what is the place actually is. And there are also those infamous street prostitutes, who are often not Czech, but (often illegal) immigrants from other post-communistic countries. Not so long ago, there was a big affair with them, as they were often aggressive to men and tried to force them to use their services. But police took over them and the situation is much better now.
So is Prague a sin city? A bit yes, but it also has such beauties, that it would be a pity not visit it just because it, because Prague is definitely worth of seeing.
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A tip for a trip outside of Prague – Brno
19 days ago (Filed under: Advice )
Brno is, with its population of approximately 367 000 of inhabitants, the second biggest city in the Czech Republic. It is the unofficial capital of Moravia, there are important universities, the seat of the Czech highest court, and there is a lot to see for tourists. Lets have a brief look what.
There is the old castle Spilberk in the city center, close to the main train station. Spilberk was founded by the Czech king Premysl Otakar II. in the middle of 13th century. Czech kings used it from time to time, in 1337 the castle became the home of Blanka of Valois, the first wife of the famous king Charles IV., after she was forced to leave Prague. Soon after that, the castle became the resident place of Charles´ IV. brother Jan Jindrich and later his son Jost, who were quite poverfull rulers of Moravia. Castle was later used also as a prison. In 1783 here Josef II. a civil prison for the most dangerous criminals, which was later used also for “political” prisoners. Also Nazis used Spilberk as a prison for Czech patriots, but most of them were later transported to concentration camps. After war, the castle was shortly used as a basement of Czechoslovakia army, but they left the place in 1959, and since then, there is a museum. In the Spilberk court are in summer often organized numerous shows, as theatre or swordsmen fights. The castle is a nice place for a family trip, you can visit the interiors and museum exhibitions as well as to go for a walk to the beautiful park around it.
Another places of interests are Saint Paul and Peter cathedral on Petrov Hill, probably the oldest church in Brno, founded in 12th century, now built mainly in late gothic style or the old Brno city hall, also late gothic. The worth of seeing is also Svobody Square with the baroque style plaque column from late 17th century. Square is sometimes filled with (Easter, Christmas and other holidays) markets.
Outside of the city center, there are the Zoo and the reservoir, both are ideal to visit when the weather is nice. And there is also villa Tugendhat, which is a very famous piece of modernist architecture by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the most important functionalist architects. Luxurious villa was built for a wealthy Jewish Tugendhat family in 1930, who had to leave it soon because of the World War II.
Those are “highlights” of Brno, but there are obviously other things to see, as Moravian Gallery with rich collections of Art, various churches, parks and so on.
There is quite good public transport between Brno and Prague. You can go by bus, and there are few companies among those you can choose. The travel by bus takes about 2 and half hours. But bus goes on D1 highway, where are quite often car accidents, so sometimes you may get stuck here and arrive later. And if you decide to drive on your own, it is necessary to drive carefully. Another option is to take a train, that is more expensive, but also more comfortable. Fast train is in Brno in 2 hours and 42 minutes, special train Pendolino then even in 2 hours 26 minutes.
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Book world Prague 2008
25 days ago (Filed under: Prague events )
For all those, who are interested in literature, there is one very interesting event, which will be held in Prague from 24th until 27th of April this year already for 14th time. It will take place in the Industrial Palace in Holesovice Exhibition Grounds, which is in Prague 7, Vystaviste tram station, accessible by trams numbers 15, 14, 12 and 15.
The Book world Prague is an event, which is held every year. The publishers present here what they publish, writers sign their new works, there are various workshops and importantly, dedicated readers and book lovers have an opportunity to see what is new in the world of literature, they can buy new fascinating books and also meet and chat with their friends of the same interests. The Book world has specific main themes every year. This time they are following – Love and Passion in Literature, Book and Lifestyle and Egypt – 50 years of Czech Egyptology, plus Literature written in Spanish language, There is also a guest in honor – this time it is Spain, so special programs dedicated to the Spanish literature are being prepared. There will be held the conference called Kafka and Borges, dedicated to those word famous writers, even the widow after Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian writer and translator Maria Komanda de Borges, is to visit Prague. On the whole, there are announced almost 500 quests of the Book world 2008, 51 of them from abroad.
There also will be held already the 7th annual of accompanying program called Book world in the film, starting already on 14th of April – there will be special screenings of film adaptations of literary works in Ponrepo and Atlas Cinemas and also in the Prague French institute and in Vystaviste. And there is the 5th annual of similar program – Book world on the stage, which will present theatre adaptations of literary works.
So if you are a book lover, you may think about visiting the event. The most of the books there as well as program will be obviously in Czech, but there are also will be to found some books and events in other languages, this year mainly in Spanish, but English will be also present here a bit. Plus, it may be interesting, how Czech literary scene looks like.
More information about the Book world 2008 is to be found on www.bookworld.cz, site works both in Czech and English version.
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Care for Old Bricks
27 days ago (Filed under: Architecture )
The contemporary perception of a historical object is somehow special and it differs from various approaches exercised in the past. Remains of the past times are always hard to deal with: you may either treasure them for being products of an age that is gone or you can destroy them so that they don´t occupy precious space that can be used for the new. The first approach requires the shared view of those responsible that we should care about history, connect to it, try to understand it. If there is to be a connection, it makes perfect sense that our environment should share some of the environment of our ancestors. This has its limits of course, otherwise we would have to live in a giant museum. The approach agreed upon is based on delegation of certain people who decide whether an object, apart from being historical, is also valuable in terms of artistic quality, technology, etc., whether it is useful enough. The goal is a responsible proportional share of the historical and the present or even futuristic. Because respect for the old can easily be conflicting with an excitement for progress, novelty.
What I find interesting is the fact that observing the old objects became a sort of a positive fetish, or at least a source of excitement. The sight of people queuing in front of something 500 or more years old is extraordinary in a way. Mainly because it is a somewhat new element, a product of the past, say, two centuries, if we ignore the medieval rulers´ craving for antique objects, which is a different matter. Old buildings and objects provoke emotions: pride, nostalgia, wonder… and they create an illusion of a connection with history. As a tourist, one does feel, by paying a visit to its main antiquities, that he or she forms a connection with the past of the place, discovering its character as a result. It is an illusion of course, because you can never understand a place by simply looking at its foundations and it all may be more about self- satisfactory feeling of being “cultural”, but it does make sense and its consequences are mostly positive. There are many ways to interpret the trend, but what we may observe as its result is preservation, care for the historical objects.
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Zlaty rozen restaurant
43 days ago (Filed under: Prague pubs, restaurants and cafes )
Restaurant Zlaty rozen (which in English means Golden spit) is located on the border of Prague districts Dejvice and Bubenec. This is not in the city center, but not that far from it and both those districts has its beauty so you may find yourself here one day. And one of the top restaurants in this neighborhood is Zlaty rozen.
The restaurant is situated in Ceskoslovenske armady (means Czechoslovak army) street number 22. It is in short walk distance from Metro stations Dejvicka and Hradcanska (green line). The house was built in 1929 and since then there was always the restaurant. Only in the beginning of the 1990´s it was shortly closed, but just it was later renewed with style. The nice interior recalls to the past of the restaurants, walls are decorated with old photographs.
What to order here? The place is both suitable for having here just a beer (or another drink) as for coming for lunch or dinner. Their specialty is that they offer beers of Cerna Hora (Black Hill) brewery, which tradition dates back up to 1530. For some beer lovers might be interesting to try it. Historical illustrations, samples of historical brewery equipments, beer recipes and so on are also to be found here as a decoration. But if you do not like Cerna Hora beer, you can order popular Pilsen instead or of course some non-alcoholic drink. They have some traditional Czech dishes as well as other alternatives as pasta or salmon steak. From traditional Czech meals you can try here for example Beef Goulash “Cerna Hora” or meal called Czech Mix, which is Roasted pork, smoked tenderloin, sausage with potato pancake and dumplings. Or maybe just something small to accompany your beer, then it may be potato pancakes with sour cabbage or pickled Camembert cheese. And they obviously offer a few desserts (although not a wide range – only four in fact) for those who feel for something sweet.
Zlaty rozen is also a place, where important sport matches are screened on the big projection. This may be disturbing for someone, another one comes especially because of it, it depends.
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World of Beauty and Spa Fair in Prague
48 days ago (Filed under: Advice )
Women always want to look great and they want to attract their husbands, boyfriends and other males. Men also want to attract their beloved girlfriends and wives. There was a great opportunity for everyone to come to the spring exhibition of World of Beauty and Spa. This event took place from February 29 to March 1, 2008 at Vystaviste Holesovice in Praha 7. The visitors could indulge into trends for the coming spring season in make-up, cosmetics, nail art and nail design as well as hair styles. And there were much more surprises waiting for the visitors! The Vystaviste hall was divided into left and right wing where different stands were situated. The left wing was devoted to hair and nail cosmetics. The right wing offered a variety of cosmetic products, displays of tanning facilities and feet care cosmetics. One of the highlights of the exhibition was the Wellness and Spa project.
The main stage was devoted to various presentations of top designers, professional hair stylists and great make-up artists. Well-known hair stylists from countries such as Italy and Switzerland were creating the haircuts and combings of model’s hair. They were very successful with their hairstyling acts, and they deserved the applause from the audience. Fashion show of Art Deco Style by Pavel Krivanek was a great success. His models of clothing were unusual and inspirative especially for rock style lovers. Make-up artists also had the opportunity to show their sense for creativity and mix of various colors. They could participate in the junior’s contest of make-up art. They demonstrated their fresh and spring make-up creations on models’ faces.
Wellness and Spa centers presented different types of aromatherapies and massages. We could see the examples of Hawaiian, Thai, flask massages as well as Champi massage of head. Let’s have closer at these specific types of massages. Flask massage is the ancient Chinese technique for massage of shoulders and neck. Hawaiian massage constitutes of tender and continuous techniques from Hawaiian islands. Champi massage of head is traditional Indic massage with anti-stress aromatherapy.
The exhibition displayed various trends for wellness, spa, make-up, hairstyles and nail arts. It was exciting to see all that. However, I was a bit disappointed with the overall design of the stands and the main stage. The exhibitors could spend more time preparing their stands and the main stage in order to make the appearance more professional and sophisticated.
If you missed the opportunity to visit this beauty exhibition, don’t worry, there will be the Autumn World of Beauty and Spa on September 19 to September 20, 2008.
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Contemporary Czech Cubism Art Exhibition
53 days ago (Filed under: Prague events )
If you are interested in contemporary Art and you would like to see what is on the Czech scene, you can visit the exhibition called Contemporary Czech Cubism, which is in the second floor of the Prague Old Town Hall on Old Town Square and is opened until 13th of April.
The exhibition is not much extensive, but it presents works by famous names of contemporary Czech Art scene. Of those, whose works are continuing in a tradition set up by one of avant-garde movements – by cubism, which has a strong tradition in the Czech Republic, because here the cubism appeared even in architecture and decorative Arts, which is unique. The authors of the exhibition says that many of today´s Czech artists are trying to overcome current negative trends as postmodern relativism and copying of western models, in doing so, they are going back to the firmness of modernism and they are looking for an inspiration in the home tradition. Today, people often speak about the end of Art, the exhibition is trying to show that Art in the Czech Republic have not yet finished, on the other hand, it is in the full blossom of creativity and the Art is again made to be understandable for ordinary people not just for (pseudo)intellectuals. So this is what is exhibition trying to say and show. You can visit it and make your own opinion. I did not find the exhibition excellent, but if you want to get to know some contemporary Czech Art, this is a way, how to do it, maybe together with visiting another contemporary Art Exhibition – Resetting, dedicated to the painting, in the Municipal Library of Prague.
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Matejska Pout Fair Equals Spring in Prague
61 days ago (Filed under: Prague events )
So, Matthews Fair is back! Just like every year around this time. But still, it’s time to celebrate. Why? This means not only joy for all the children in Prague, but also one very important thing – the long and cold winter is finally over and spring is inevitably coming to Prague!
Matthews Fair in Prague is the first sign that spring and spring break is here and that is why everybody loves it. Sure I like skiing and building snowmen but I just love the blooming flowers! And the start of Matthews Fair tells everyone, that this romantic time period is awaiting us soon.
So what exactly is the famous Matthews Fair, “Matejska pout” in Czech? It is without doubt the most popular and biggest fair in Prague, maybe even in the Czech Republic. Besides, it is the first spring fair in Europe. It is a fun park not only for children but for adults too.
You will find here all the amusing attractions possible. There are about 130 of them, no kidding! Just to mention some – roller coasters, houses of horror, Ferris wheels, bumping cars, carousels, shooting galleries, all possible kinds of swings, and tons of other things for which I don’t even know their names. But what I know for sure is that everyone can find there what he or she likes.
In addition to all the fun that the attractions bring, you can enjoy the accompanying program and buy some delicious sweets there – traditional is gingerbread in shapes of hearts with the names of your beloved ones, Turkish honey and cotton candy. But don’t worry. If you want to keep your diet, you can just visit one of many stands with “normal” food which are also available there.
Open is from 10am to 10pm at the weekends. From Tuesdays to Fridays it is open from 2pm to 9pm. Yes, it is closed on Mondays! The last performance will take place on April 13th. The Matthews Fair is on at Prague Exhibition Ground, which is near the tram station Vystaviste (trams 5, 12, 14, 15 and 17), not far from the subway station Nadrazi Holesovice (red line C).
You must pay an entrance fee to the Exhibition Ground which is 10 CZK during working days and 25 CZK at the weekends. The prices for the attractions vary from 20 CZK to 200 CZK. Of course you will pay more for those attractions which tease your adrenalin.
It should be said here that all attractions are checked regularly for its safety.
And one last advice for all men – don’t forget that if you visit Matthews Fair with your lady, it is almost mandatory that you shoot out a paper rose for her! It’s a nice Czech tradition, don’t you agree ladies? ;o)
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Czech Easter Holidays
72 days ago (Filed under: Culture )
Similarly to Christmas, Czech Easter carries little of the religious content which it is based upon. As atheism steadily became more and more common in the region, these customs became more of folk rituals, which brought people together. Christmas was also identified with winter solstice and Easter is commonly seen as festivities of the coming spring. All the elements did somehow fit together in the times when faith was something common, undisputed, matter- of- fact, something one did not reach after consideration and thought about the world, but what was an integral part of human life. As new forms of thought such as rationalism, 19th Century nationalism and socialism spread around Europe, turning its spiritual foundations upside down, the customs were losing their religious impact. The interesting thing is that not only people did not abandon them, they did not even abandon the Christian symbolism, though they don’t believe in it already. The obvious example is the Czech Ježíšek (“little Christ”), whom children address the wishes they have considering Christmas presents. He is turned into a nice family figure, nearly a fairy- tale character, part of a cosy home.
The transition from a religious event to a cultural one is probably natural, so I wouldn’t recommend the Christians to lament about it, because it only widens the gap between the believers and the atheists. On the other hand, reminding of the feast’s basis is reasonable, one should have some idea of the occasion he or she celebrates.
The feast is moveable, taking place between March 22 and April 25. The Easter Monday itself is preceded by a week of Christian festivities, which are often not reflected in the secular calendar- most people celebrate only in the last two days. Palm Sunday, a week before Easter, marks Christ’s coming into Jerusalem, Maundy Thursday reminds of the day he had his Last supper with his followers. The Good Friday marks the day he, according to the bible, was Crucified. This is followed by Holy Saturday, when he was buried in a tomb. Easter Monday marks the day Christ was believed to have risen from the grave.
In the Christian tradition Easter is followed by the Ascension Thursday (Christ’s ascension to Heaven), Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi feasts.
The secularized, most common version is particularly interesting in the East Central Europe. In Czech Republic and Slovakia the celebrations are accompanied by the whipping ritual. Young men are supposed to spank ladies with a whip made of willow rods. The spanking is meant to bring health and beauty to its subjects. In Czech Republic the tradition is not very strong, the custom mostly carried out by children and predominantly in the country.
The contemporary Czech Easter consists mainly of family gatherings, meals and sometimes heavy drinking. The last mentioned is the reason why every Easter week has a downside to it, since it is usually accompanied by a considerable number of accidents, often tragic.
Still what most people associate with Easter is the chance for family members to be together, enjoying a short holiday and welcoming the end of winter. Though this year, with sub- zero temperatures at night and snowfall during the day, the coming of spring seems pretty far on the horizon.
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Red, yellow or green line? Take a subway around Praha
77 days ago (Filed under: Road tripping )
There are plenty of ways how to get around Praha. You can take a taxi, hop on a bus or a tram. But the easiest, the most convenient and usually the fastest way is to take a subway. The transportation system in Praha is quite easy and understandable. There are three lines; red one, yellow one and green one. All these lines run through the city centre and they are also connected with each other. You can switch the line at the transfer stations: Mustek, Muzeum and Florenc and continue your journey towards the final destination. The metro runs every day from 5 am until 1 am. During the traffic hours, it is recommended to take a subway. You will easily get to around the city in a metro while people who drive cars will be upset about the traffic in the centre.
When traveling by metro, it is necessary to purchase a ticket. You can buy the ticket at the yellow ticket-vending machine, or just write text message DPT to 902 06 26 and you will receive an sms ticket. Make sure you buy and validate the ticket when entering metro space. The controllers usually check the tickets inside the metro. And just remember metro is fast and convenient.
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Czech songster Marketa Irglova is going to sing at Oscar ceremony
80 days ago (Filed under: People )
One of the most successful Czech singers of these days is young and modest Marketa Irglova. This year she was nominated, together with her boyfriend Glen Hansard, for the prestigious American Academy Award – the famous Oscar prize with her song Falling Slowly. This song appears in the fabulous Irish movie Once, which was the biggest film surprise last year. The Low budget film achieved a great success for its romantic story and wonderful music.
Once tells a non-ordinary but still quite simple love-story of young Czech emigrant and an Irish street musician, who meet each other on the Dublin’s most popular Grafton Street, where the guy is trying to make his money by singing and playing his guitar. Those two start a strange romantic relationship and the whole story is framed by amazing music. The movie is great and if you haven’t seen it yet, I strongly recommend it to you.
The film became a great hit after its appearance at Sundance – American Independent Film Festival and was praised by such important film industry personas as Steven Spielberg, who even met Irglova and Hansard. Those two also started to appear at popular American talk shows as well as having a lot of highly visited life shows both in Europe and the U.S.
But the leading song of the movie is much older. It was created already in 2002 when Glen Hansard was visiting the Czech Republic with his band The Frames, he composed it together with Marketa Irglova, who was playing the piano. And before it appeared in Once, it was already used as film music in Czech director Jan Hrebejk’s film Kraska v nesnazich (The beauty in troubles). But it became widely popular only after appearing in the internationally successful musical Once.
But because of the fact that song was for the first time used in the Czech film, there were some problems with the Oscar nomination. The rule says that the song that is nominated for the Oscar should be created especially for the concrete film – which this time was the musical Once. After some discussions it fortunately ended well, because Glen Hansard claimed that he has already the concept of the film Once in his mind while composing the song.
When composing the song with Hansard, Marketa Irglova, the girl from a small Moravian town – Valaske Mezirici was only 14, but she already had quite good musical education, playing the piano pretty well. Now she is 20, during making of the Once movie, she started dating Glen Hansard and they are still together. Although the fact she is going to walk on the red carpet this Sunday, sing on the Oscar ceremony and maybe even hold the golden statue, she stays modest. She does not have any star manners, prefers to wear modest clothing and according to her own words has no intentions to continuing her career as a movie star, she is even planning to record the last disc with Hansard and then to do “something normal, as working with kids at nursery school” as she says. Maybe her modesty is one of the reasons why she is so successful, so lets see if the Falling Slowly song is going to get the Oscar. What do you think, do they deserve it?
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“Albrecht of Waldstein and his era” exhibition is prolonged until 2nd of March
95 days ago (Filed under: Prague events )
The exhibition “Albrecht of Waldstein and his era” was, because of the extremely high interest of the public, prolonged until 2nd of March, so you still have a change to see it. This is an important event for everyone, who is interested in Czech history, as Albrecht of Waldstein is one of it´s most important figures.
Albrecht of Waldstein was a very controversial person, the commercials for the exhibitions even ask: “was he an angel or a devil?” You probably will not find it out on the exhibition, although you can get to know much more about him here. But what is the most important – you can get to know something about the time he lived in.
There are exhibited various kinds of furniture, cloths, jewels, religious objects, arms and so on from his time. Some of those Albrecht used himself, others are similar to those he might have used. So for example, there is his own traveling chest on one side and on the other there are cloths, which he did not were himself, but he probably had very similar ones. And you can see the halberd, which might have been used to murder him. There are also many portraits of Albrecht of Waldstein, some of them are huge paintings, some of them small engravings, and there are even some statues of him, so visitors can have a good picture how did he look like. But also how did look like the Art of that time in general, because there are also various Art objects from this period.
The exhibition brinks its visitors back to the first half of the 17th century. You can even see such interesting objects from that time as the dolly-house or the very realistic model of a boat, as well as astrological and astronomical instruments.
All of exhibited objects are described both in English and in Czech. They are also screening here an interesting documentary, which reveals a lot of Albrecht´s live, but it is unfortunately only in Czech, without English subtitles.
The place is quite crowded, as many people want to see the exhibition. When we went there on Sunday afternoon, we even had to wait in the line to buy the tickets, but the waiting did not take longer then fifteen minutes.
The exhibition takes place in the most appropriate place – in the riding school of the Waldsteinian palace, which Albrecht built. Opened is daily, from 10 AM to 7 Pm, on Thursdays even until 9 PM. It is very close to Malostranska metro station (green line). The entrance fee is 140 Czk full-price, 90 Czk reduced for seniors and students, and 60 Czk fro children up to 15 years and students of Art schools, children younger then 6 years are for free. Family ticket costs 290 Czk.
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Albrecht von Waldstein – controversial figure of the Czech history
96 days ago (Filed under: Chapters from history )
Now there is an interesting exhibition about Albrecht of Waldste in Prague, but who exactly he was? That is a hard question. Lets have a brief look on him.
He was born in 1583 into poor protestant branch of Protestant family. Both of his parents died when he was still a child, so his uncle raised him, he got a good education, he even spent some time at prestigious Bologna university. At the age of 21 he started to make his career in the army, fighting against the Ottoman Turks and Hungarian rebels. In the beginning he was just the lowest soldier, but he was very brave, so he went up fast. For his bravery and extravagance he even got a nickname “der dolle von Wallenstein” (foolish Waldstein). But since his childhood he was also often sick, he did not like loud noises, was very nervous and had to keep a strict diet because of his health. But he was very ambitious so he got a good position in the army. In 1606 he converted to the Catholicism. Later he came back to Bohemia to marry a rich widow Lucretia Nikossie von Landeck, who possessed the estates in Moravia. Lucretia died in 1614, so Abrecht married in 1917 for the second time, to Isabella Catharina von Harrach, with whom he had two children, a son who died very young and a daughter.
But Albrecht became a really powerful man only because of Thirty Years´ war. On it´s beginning, the Catholics were fighting with Protestants in Bohemia, and Albrecht stood on the side of the Catholics, which was also the side of the Habsburgs and the emperor, so when they won, he got some of the estates confiscated to Protestants. Then he ruled over the territory of Friedland (Frydlant) in northern Bohemia, he was a capable ruler so his land became very economically successful. He also managed that the enemy army commands avoided his land, so it was known as Terra felix (a Latin expression, which in English means Happy land).
Later the emperor Ferdinand the Second and other Habsburgs got into troubles, when their enemies made an anti-Habsburgs ally. So Albrecht offered to help the emperor, to build for him a strong and powerful army. So he said it happened. But as Albrecht was becoming more and more powerful and rich, more and more people becoming jealous on him, probably even the emperor himself. But Albrecht also was not innocent, later he was even considering the possibility to join the part fighting against the emperor. In 1934 he was accused of perfidy by the prominent generals of his army and according to their initiative murder in town of Cheb. Interesting is that during his lifetime, the famous astrological Johannes Kepler made a horoscope for Albrecht, and in this quite accurate horoscope was the year 1634 indicated as a very unhappy one.
Albrecht of Waldstein is definitely a very controversial figure of the Czech history. Was he a hero or a traitor? Or maybe both?
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Jindrich Streit – photographic exhibition in Prague
137 days ago (Filed under: Prague events )
On the 31st of October started an extensive exhibition of Jindrich Streit´s photographs at Stone Bell House, which is part of City Gallery Prague. The old building of the House, situated in Staromestske Square nr. 13, is very interesting on it’s own as it was the most formidable Prague town palace in 14th century, probably used by the king Jan Lucembursky himself.
Now there is this photographic exhibition, huge retrospective of Streit´s work, which shows pictures taken between years 1965 – 2005. Jindrich Streit is worldly known documentary photographer, most famous by his pictures of Czech villages of Bruntalsko region in the 1980´s, where he lived himself. He captured there the villages in the time of real socialism, without any romantic or idealizing pathos so characteristic for depicting Czech villages in previous times. But in the communist period, he was persecuted for his work; even his negatives were once confiscated during a house search.
After the Velvet Revolution in 1989 he could finally work and exhibit freely. He continued in shooting pictures of Czech villages, but also traveled abroad, for example to France, Hungary or Russia. Although his most exhibited collection of 1990´s was On the way to freedom, showing the pleasantness as well as hell of drug addiction.
This retrospective is pretty extensive and definitely worth of seeing. Streits photographs are full of an admiration for simple human existence and they show a lot of human beauty, even when it is sometimes hidden under dirty clothes or in ugly exteriors.
The exhibition is opened until 3rd of February 2008. Entrance fee is 120 Czk full price, 60 Czk reduced.
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