Prague, Czech Republic 🇨🇿 Praha, Czechia
Dear Prague, your city of a hundred spires sometimes made me feel I was in a Disney fairytale
King Wenceslas I (early 900s AD) united the Czech people, Christianized the nation, increased the culture, and increased the political influence by giving the Czechs a vote for the Holy Roman Emperor.
Wenceslas Square is more of a long wide avenue than a traditional square. It was here that crowds gathered to celebrate the end of WWI (which lead to the creation of Czechoslovakia), that Nazi occupied the city during WWII, that the people rose up during the Prague Spring (1968), that Soviet tanks rolled in to suppress the Czech people (1968), and that people protested peacefully during the Velvet Revolution (1989) and gained their freedom.
Prague Castle has been the seat of power in Prague since King Wenceslas I in the 900s.
Charles IV ruled from Prague as Holy Roman Emperor (1300s). He commissioned the building of a stone bridge here after a major flood. The bridge has 30 statues of saints along its edges and a tower at each end.
I’m convinced an evil witch lives up there.
During the medieval period, the Powder Tower held the city’s gunpowder and was the main entrance into the city.
The Municipal House is shining example of Art Nouveau and Neo-Baroque style.
The Dancing House, also known as Fred and Ginger in honor of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, is collaboration between Frank Gehry (possibly my favorite architect) and local architect Vlado MilunÃc.
We even even had time to catch a EuroLeague basketball game. Three WNBA players played in the game.
Visited: 11-13 Dec, 2023
Fun fact: People gathered in Wenceslas Square to jingle their keys as a peaceful protest symbolizing casting off the chains of communism in the Velvet Revolution (1989).