This was part of Central Europe - Day 4 🇨🇿 🔗.
Our tour began at the Powder Tower, a monumental Gothic gate that once served as a gunpowder store. From there, we walked to the House at the Black Madonna, a 5-story historic building that stands as a masterpiece of Czech Cubist architecture, easily identified by the small Baroque statue of the Madonna on its corner.
We then headed toward The Estates Theatre, the stunning neoclassical venue where Mozart famously conducted the premiere of Don Giovanni. On the way, we saw the Ernst Mach Sculpture and the Charles University Archives, located within the Carolinum, the heart of one of the world’s oldest universities. We also stopped at Il Commendatore by Anna Chromý, a haunting, hollow bronze cloak that pays tribute to the ghostly character from Mozart’s opera.
Next, we entered the Old Town Square to witness the performance of the Prague Astronomical Clock. This medieval marvel has tracked time, celestial movements, unfortunately it was still being repaired. Nearby, we admired the ornate Ministry of Regional Development, which sits in a beautifully restored building on the square’s edge.
Within the square, we saw the grand Baroque St. Nicholas Church, known for its massive dome and crystal chandeliers, and the Jan Hus Monument, which commemorates the religious reformer who became a symbol of Czech national identity.
We walked past the twin Gothic spires of the Church of Our Lady before Týn and visited the Granovskych House, a stunning Renaissance building located in the Týn Courtyard, featuring an original 16th-century loggia decorated with murals.
The next part of our tour took us into the Jewish Quarter (Josefov). We saw the Spanish Synagogue, built in a breathtaking Moorish Revival style, and the whimsical Statue of Franz Kafka, which depicts the famous author riding on the shoulders of a headless figure.
We then explored the area around the High Synagogue, which once served as the town hall’s prayer room, and the Old-New Synagogue, Europe’s oldest active synagogue.
We walked by the Pinkas Synagogue, which serves as a moving Holocaust memorial with the names of nearly 80,000 victims hand-painted on its walls. Our tour concluded near the Old Town Bridge Tower, where we enjoyed iconic views across the river toward the majestic Prague Castle.
