Prague Castle part 2

27.07.2015

When I first took a photo of the building with the red and cream facade, I had no idea that it was the Basilica of St. George, which was founded in 920 by King Wenceslas's father. I later found out that the Baroque facade was added in the 17th century. Inside the Basilica ( which once housed a Benedictine Convent) the building is much plainer. The high wooden ceilings and Romanesque stone walls coupled with atmospheric lighting give the interior an old world look and feel. There is nothing grandiose about this building or it's furnishings, and the rather empty interior give it excellent acoustics for the classical music concerts that are held there. The bones of many early Bohemian Kings, Queens, and Princes are interred there, and I thought it was interesting when I noticed the skull of Prince Vratislav peeking out at me from a window in his sepulchre. The miniature houses in Golden Lane were what prompted me to buy a ticket to enter the castle buildings, and I admit that looking around them was fun and enjoyable. The street was first called Archery Lane. Houses were originally built there in the 16th century to accommodate 24 marksmen and their families ( they guarded the castle walls from a gallery that ran across the top of all the houses, and is today a museum/armoury) The first houses built were much smaller than those there today, and they had to share a single toilet and a single outdoor freshwater tap and basin. Life would not have been easy, but life was lived in that manner by just about everyone in those days. By the 17th century there was little need for marksmen and the houses were let out to Goldsmiths and the occasional alchymist ( who was attempting to create gold out of base metals). Frank Kafka's sister owned one and the writer spent two years there in the early 20th century. In the 1950's they were restored and painted in bright colours. Today they house souvenir shops and a large collection of arms and suits of armour in the long gallery that runs above the houses. Once I'd seen all I wanted to see, it was an easy walk for me down a series of steps and ramps that took me down the hill to a place where I could catch a tram back to where I am staying....

St George statue outside Basilica