When you walk through the capital city of the Czech Republic, don’t rush. Stop for a while and take a careful look around you. You would be hard put to find such symphony of beauty and elegance anywhere else in the world. Thanks to its magnificence, Prague has provided inspiration for the most eminent of personalities for centuries and has earned nicknames such as the “Golden City” or “Mother of Cities”. Nowadays, entranced tourists from all corners of the planet walk through its lanes, palaces and gardens, writing the next chapter in the story of the most beautiful historical city in the world.
A walk through the city is like a walk through a textbook on architecture. Every building style over the past millennium has left permanent traces here. As opposed to many other European cities, Prague has miraculously been saved the destruction of both world wars and has retained its originality, something only a very few cities on the old continent can boast. Romanesque rotundas present at the beginnings of Czech statehood stand here side by side with Gothic churches, whose towers help to make up the distinct panorama of the city, wonderful Baroque gardens decorated with terraces offering breathtaking views, but also sumptuous Renaissance palaces, in which the most powerful people of the time lived. During your wanders through the magical Mother of Cities, you will also find unique monuments to Art Nouveau, Classicism, Cubism, Functionalism or modern buildings designed by leading international architects.
What should you visit when touring the capital? That is surely the most difficult question, which visitors can ask themselves. Which of the hundreds of monuments in Prague should not be missed? You could wander here for a week, a month or even your whole life and you would still keep finding some enchanting new corners and views of the city with its inimitable genius loci. But everybody goes to see the monumental complex of Prague Castle, which is the largest castle in the world and has been the seat of Czech rulers since time immemorial. You must also make sure to take a romantic walk over Charles Bridge with its unique gallery of Baroque statues, both ends of which are guarded by beautiful Gothic towers.
You will find the beating heart of the historical city on the Old Town Square with its 600 year old technical miracle in the form of the astronomical clock, standing in the shadow of the twin towers of Týn Cathedral. But there is no need to carefully plan other individual stop-off points in Prague. This is to say that here more than anywhere else it does hold true that it is the journey, not the destination which is important. All you have to do is walk.
But Prague is not merely a historical gem. It is also a vibrant and pulsating European city, whose endlessly long list of superb theatres, museums, galleries and clubs help to make up the unique character of this city of a hundred spires. In combination with the world famous Czech beer and gastronomic delicacies, it is no wonder that it is one of the most visited cities in the world.
According to many people, Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But its Gothic towers, Baroque palaces or Art Nouveau halls are not the only things worth visiting in the Czech Republic. Throughout the whole of the country, you can admire over two hundred castles and chateaux which are open to the public, beautiful centres of historical towns, wonderfully maintained gardens or mysterious medieval ruins which remember times long past. Set out to get to know some of the beautiful places which are located only a few hours’ drive from the capital. You most certainly won’t regret it. So are you ready to take a trip?
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