Prague Historical Quarters

‘The magic city’, ‘the city with 100 bell towers’, ‘the golden city’, the Old Town, the New Town, the Jewish Quarter … all city quarters are amazing places waiting to be explored. Prague used to be known as the ‘Five Towns‘, and although it has now been divided into 10 separate districts, most visitors concentrate on the five historic towns: Hradcany, Stare Mesto (Old Town), Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter), Nove Mesto (New Town) and the the Jewish Quarter.

In earlier times, the inhabitants of the congested Old Town and Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter, must have felt envious when they looked across to the New Town, where the far-sighted designs of Charles IV and his architects had created broad, open spaces and avenues such as the Charles and Wenceslas squares. Today, however, the Old Town has been beautifully restored, and Josefov’s Pařížská is a chic avenue lined with expensive shops.

The Royal Way: Intersecting the 4 towns—from the Cathedral of St Vitus to Charles Bridge, and subsequently onto the Powder Tower—is the Královská Cesta (Royal Way), the historical route of coronation marches. These days, this spine of Prague is blighted by cheap trinket stores and overcrowded by tourist groups. Only utilize it for orientation—try to circumvent it if you wish to experience the genuine Prague.

Prague Historical Quarters

November 23, 2015 Prague Historical Quarters 0

Hradcany, Mala Strana, Stare Mesto, Josefov and Nove Mesto are all parts of historic districts. Hradcany & Prague Castle Prague Castle is the most popular sight visited in Prague. It is the largest ancient castle in the world (570 m long, on average 128 m wide, area 7.28 hectares). …

Prague Old Town

November 24, 2015 Old Town (Stare Mesto), Prague Historical Quarters 0

Old Town (Staré Město) lies beyond the Charles Bridge then stretching down to the Old Town Square. Old Town is positioned on a bend in the Vltava River and grew up around Old Town Square, then stretching down to Charles Bridge and east out to Celetna Street. For tourists it …

Old Prague and Old Town Square

November 25, 2015 Attractions/What to See, Old Town (Stare Mesto), Old Town Square 0

The square had always been a lively place; today it is a popular part of the town for both Czechs and visitors from abroad, and offers plenty of restaurants, pubs, shops, entertainment, galleries and museums. Its long history goes back to the 11th century when the square formed the crossroads …

Lesser Town

November 23, 2015 Little Quarter (Lesser Town), Prague Historical Quarters 0

Lying below the castle and reaching across to the banks of the Vltava is Lesser Town (Malá Strana). It is certainly no less of a beautiful town; it is called Lesser Town because traditionally it was the smaller half of Prague, the half in which the king lived, and half …

Old Jewish Quarter Josefov

November 25, 2015 Attractions/What to See, Jewish Quarter (Josefov), Josefov, Prague Historical Quarters 0

The Jewish Town – Josefov (Židovské město) The Jewish quarter is a small area known as Josefov (named after the emperor Josef II, whose reforms helped to ease living conditions for the Jewish, the Jewish Quarter contains the remains of Prague’s former Jewish ghetto.) between the Old Town Square and …

Jewish Museum in Prague

November 24, 2015 Jewish Museum, Jewish Quarter (Josefov), The Jewish Quarter 0

The Jewish Museum founded in 1906 is the largest of its kind in Europe and contains a huge collection of sacred Jewish artefacts. The expositions of the Jewish Museum in Prague are located in six historic sites. The Old-New Synagogue (Straronova synagoga) is still used for religious services but the …

Lesser Town Square

November 26, 2015 Little Quarter (Lesser Town) 0

This square lies at the heart of Lesser Town. Most buildings around the square have a medieval core, but all were redesigned in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and are a bit overshadowed by the busy tram intersection here. At the centre of the square is the magnificent Baroque St …

Jewish Cemetery in Prague

November 24, 2015 Jewish Cemetery, Jewish Quarter (Josefov), The Jewish Quarter 0

The Old Jewish Cemetery can be visited from Sun-Fri. The graveyard is an eerie plot of land, piled with gravestones in all manners of positions. Dating back to the 15th century the cemetery was in use until the 18th century. However, the present day cemetery, consisting of thousands of bodies …

Hradcanske Square

November 27, 2015 Prague Castle and Hradcany 0

Prague Castle’s ‘front yard’ is an attraction in its own right. In the Hradcany Square district there are many architecturally interesting buildings to see, including: Salmov Palace, Schwarzenberg Palace, Carmelite Monastery, Hradcany Town Hall, Tuscany Palace, Martinic Palace, Sternberg Palace and Archbishop’s Palace. The square’s small park is punctured by …

Vysehrad

November 25, 2015 Attractions/What to See, Vysehrad, Vysehrad Quarter 1

National Cultural Monument Vyšehrad is an alluring and pleasant walk lasting about 2 hours. Even though it is situated close to the city centre you will be in quiet surroundings out of traffic. Due to its position on a higher rock just above the Vltava river it offers nice panoramic …

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