England

Airport
City Views
Around the Town
Boats
Church of St. Francis
Church of the Holy Savior
Church of St. Nicholas

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
Food
Outdoor Market
Matryoshka
Metal Work
National Museum and Wenceslas Square

Old Catholic Church
Powder Gate
National Theatre
Rudolfinum
Signs
Ginger and Fred Building

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View of Charles Bridge from the Top of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle

Airport: The Prague (Praha) Airport.

City Views: Some views of the city taken from the top of the spire of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle.

Around the Town

This sculpture was hanging off the top of a building over one of the many narrow streets.

This was a passage way between two building leading to an outdoor cafe. The passage is so narrow that you must wait for the walk signal to turn green before you proceed.

Various window sculptures around the town.

Miscellaneous buildings

Another city view

Boats: Many boats on the Vltava River.

Church of St. Francis: The church contains a unique baroque organ made in 1702 that is the second oldest organ in Prague. Series of famous personalities for example W. A. Mozart, A. Dvorák, J. F. N. Seger etc. played the renowned music instrument.

Church of the Holy Savior: Holding the art collection and Treasury of the Knights of the Cross.

Church of St. Nicholas: The impressive cupola is more than 70 meters high and the nave of the church has a ceiling with one of the largest frescoes in Europe, painted on an area of 1500 square meters.

There used to stand a Gothic Church of St. Nicolas in the area originally. It was handed over to the Jesuit Order after the victory of Catholicism in the 17 ^th century. The Jesuits planned to build a new large church there, so they bought the surrounding lots – gardens, schools and 12 houses. The old St. Nicholas Church was demolished and the foundation-stone for the new one was laid down festively in 1673. After long delays, the first part of the church started to be built in 1703 and was finally consecrated in 1752. The size of the church is monumental: it is 40 meters wide and 60 meters long.

The decoration of the St. Nicholas Church is purely Baroque. The frescoes were painted by Viennese artist Jan Lukas Kracker. He reportedly didn't want anyone to see the paintings till it was finished and nobody could even disturb him when he was working. One Jesuit crept into the church and hid behind a pillar, but the artist saw him and painted him on the fresco to punish him. You can still see the curious Jesuit portrayed there hiding behind the pillar.

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul: The first place of worship on this site was built in the latter half of the 11th century. During centuries the church was rebuilt several times and today offers the neo-Gothic appearance.

Food: A beef and chicken kabob and crepes with fruit.

Outdoor Market: Large outdoor market selling souvenirs and other items to tourists and locals.

Matryoshka: The wooden dolls are sold all over town. A matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll (also called a stacking doll or Babushka doll) is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside another. "Matryoshka" is a derivative of the Russian female first name "Matryona", which is traditionally associated with a corpulent, robust, rustic Russian woman.

Metal Work: This man was making various metal items in one of the town squares.

National Museum and Wenceslas Square: The National Museum is located at one end of Wenceslas Square. The 750m long and 60m wide boulevard that makes up Wenceslas Square was laid out over 600 years ago during the reign of Charles IV. It was originally used as the main Prague horse market. Over the years it has been a regular parade ground for all kinds of organizations and political parties. From anti-communist uprisings to celebrating winning the World Ice Hockey Championships. Wenceslas Square comfortably holds up to 400,000 people!

Old Catholic Church

Powder Gate: The Powder Gate can trace it's origins back to the 11th century, when the original gate was one of 13 entrances to Prague's Old Town. Originally known as the New Tower, it's name was changed to the Powder Gate in the 17th century when it was used to store gunpowder.

National Theatre: Prague's National Theatre.

Rudolfinum: One of Prague's many concert halls.

Signs: Various signs we noticed around the town.

Ginger and Fred Building: The site of Gehry's Dancing House was originally occupied by a house in the Neo-renaissance style from the end of the 19th century. That house was destroyed during bombing in 1945, its remains finally removed in 1960. The neighboring house (with a small globe on the roof) was co-owned by Czech ex-president Vaclav Havel, who lived there from his childhood until the mid-1990s. He ordered the first architectural study from Vlado Milunic (who has been involved in re-building Havel's appartment in the neighboring house). Afterwards the Dutch bank ING agreed to build a house there, and asked Milunic to invite a world-renowned architect. Milunic first asked Jean Nouvel, who rejected the invitation because of the small size of the site (491 square meters); he then asked Frank Gehry, who accepted the challenge. Gehry had an almost unlimited budget, because ING wanted to create an icon in Prague. The construction started in 1994 and the house was finished in 1996.

The building is an example of deconstructivist architecture, with an unusual shape. It reflects a woman and man (Ginger Rogers and Fred Astair) dancing together.

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