Prague, Czech Republic

Day 8: Prague | Private Monastery Library Visit/Prague Castle Day

Today we continued our tour with Vladimir. Vladimir is an excellent guide. His wealth of knowledge and sense of humor have been most enjoyable. We drove by bus up to the Prague Castle complex. A & K had arranged for us to start the day with a private visit to the Baroque Library Halls of the Strahov Monastery. It has the most incredible ceiling frescoes and a vast collection of priceless books and documents. It is a magnificent set of rooms and halls with such amazing history. We were hoping to catch the changing of the castle guards as we passed through the beautiful antique arch of Matthias Gate, but sadly our timing was off for that event.

Next, we toured Loreto Shrine and viewed the amazing artifacts housed in it’s Treasure Room. The oldest item is a Gothic Cup from 1510. The story of the bearded Princess and her sad demise remain indelibly etched in my mind. It is a tragic story Moral of the story of family betrayal. Most impressive of all of the artifacts, though, is the Diamond Monstrance which was made in 1699 and contains over 600 diamonds that were removed from Countess Ludmila of Kolowrat’s wedding dress as dictated upon her death. While touring all of these priceless artifacts the thing that startles me is that no private guards are seen anywhere around these priceless artifacts.

We continued on our walking tour to the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, which houses the tombs of Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors. It is an imposing structure and is the most dominant of the buildings in the Prague Castle complex….certainly the most visible one from almost anywhere in Prague, especially the beautiful clock tower. It’s just astonishing to stand in a structure that was built in 1344! We walked along the main nave and peered into many of the chapels along the side aisles including St. Wenceslas’s Chapel. Even though we sing about “good King Wenceslas” in our Christmas carol, apparently he was only a Duke and was killed by his Pagan brother.

It’s hard to believe they used to do knights’ tournaments with jousting within the beautiful Gothic Vladislav Hall. I can only assume that the ornate chandeliers were not in place in that era. Thankfully, the Hall is only used for State purposes today.

As we walked down the hill from the Cathedral, we traversed through Golden Lane where we viewed the tiny colorful 15th century houses that were once home to alchemists. They are now host to souvenir shops.

Upon returning to the hotel, we ventured out to Restaurace U Knihovny (The Library), our guide Vladimir’s favorite restaurant. We loved having Charlotte and Bud join us. We had wonderful Tradîcní Česká Kuchyne (Traditional Czech Cuisine). Christian had Czech Nachos that were described as “corn flakes with chicken” and then he and Jim enjoyed the delicious Beef Stroganoff special. I had to have sausages, of course, and then Hungarian Goulash. The Goulash was far spicier than US versions of the dish!

We had an afternoon at leisure so walked about the streets of Old Town. Then we returned to the hotel for some R & R and enjoyed Lavendar bath salt soaks to refresh our weary legs. Sadly, the rain started again in the early evening so we requested cab transportation to the farewell dinner.

7:30pm Celebratory farewell dinner at Golden Well Hotel Restaurant,
RESTARANT TERASA U ZLATE STUDNE, considered the best restaurant in Prague, is located adjacent to the boutique hotel. It would have been a VERY challenging walk in heels through the winding, cobblestone roads in the Prague Castle district. On a non-rainy night, the views from the restaurant far above Prague would be stunning. Unfortunately, the rain and hazy skies prevented us from enjoying that. We had a wonderful meal, though, and had the main dining room all to ourselves. It was a fun and joyous end to the trip and we really enjoyed visiting with everyone before we all caught flights out the next morning.

Tip to Gabe: $20/person/day= $60/day calculated from Tues PM to Wed PM
9500 Czech = $398.54 USD plus. $100 USD= $498.54 total ($480 would be exact total due)

Four Seasons Hotel Prague | Meals: B D

PRAGUE CASTLE
A UNESCO World Heritage site, it consists of a large-scale composition of palaces and ecclesiastical buildings of various architectural styles, from Roman-style buildings from the 10th century through Gothic modifications in the 14th century. The Prague Castle was most likely founded in around 880 by Prince Bořivoj of the Premyslid Dynasty. Records indicate that Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world. Its three courtyards and a number of magnificent buildings cover over 7 hectares (18 acres). The famous Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik was responsible for extensive renovations in the time of the First Republic (1918-1938). Since the Velvet Revolution, the Prague Castle has undergone significant and ongoing repairs and reconstructions.

SRAHOV MONASTERY
The Strahov Monastery (Strahovsky Klaster) started its long itinerary through history with establishment of the Premonstratensians, a religious order of canons founded in 1120 by St Norbert as an independent part of the Catholic church. By the year 1182 a Romanesque stone monastery was built on the place of an older foundation of Prince Vladislav II (from 1140). It’s peace was disturbed by a fire in 1258, when the church was destructed almost totally. A reconstruction in the Gothic style followed, but that was not to last either, as Baroque retouches were added during the beginning of the 18th century. In the meanwhile the abbey was plundered first by the Hussites and during the Thirty Years’ War by a regiment of the Swedish army. The last but not least hit that the abbey had to take was the bombardment of the church’s premises by the French, in 1742. After the Communist regime ended, the abbey was returned to the Premonstratensians in 1989. The Strahov Monastery it is not only an active place of pilgrimage but also a valuable museum and a famous library, still holding an unbelievable number of rare volumes.

This elevated area of the city offers visitors a calm oasis, somewhere to stroll around, enjoy views over the Lesser Town (and indeed the whole of Prague), and to visit one of the city’s finest churches.Strahov Monastery (Strahovské nádvoří) was established for the Premonstratensians, followers of the teachings of St. Augustine.In 1258, it was destroyed by fire, then later rebuilt in the Gothic style, with further work undertaken during the Baroque period. Strahov Monastery, and its surrounding area, has a serene, meditative quality, however its library is its most important feature, which comprises one of the oldest monastic collections in the country. The library is located in the theological and philosophical halls, and is over 800 years old. Despite ransacking by invading armies, it holds 16,000 books.

LORETA SHRINE
Prague Loreta is a holy shrine, called after the place in Italy, where the Casa Santa (Holy House) is situated. Prague Loreta was inspired by the Casa Santa built in Mikulov. Countess Katerina Benigna of Lobkowicz admired it so much, that she had the Loreta Shrine built in Prague. The shrine was consecrated in 1631.
Casa Santa
The Casa Santa in Prague Loreta is situated in the middle of a courtyard, surrounded by six chapels. There is a statue of Virgin Mary from 1620s inside.
In the Chapel of the Grievous Virgin Mary, there is a painting depicting crucifixion of St. Starosta (St. Liberata). She was allegedly a daughter of a Portuguese king and she refused to marry a heathen king of Sicily. She prayed to God for help and God made her look like a man with a beard. Her angry father crucified her for it.
The Church of Nativity, made by enlarging the middle chapel, is decorated with fresco painting by V. V. Reiner from 1738.
Loreta chime
Prague Loreta Shrine has a big tower from 1693 with a famous chime. It was made in Amsterdam in 1694 and given to the shrine by Prague tradesman Eberhard of Glauchov. It has 27 bells, which don´t move, they ring when a musician plays on the fingerboard. It plays the song We Greet Thee a Thousand Times automatically every hour from 8 am to 6 pm.
Legend about the chime
There is a legend about the Loreta chime. It says that a poor woman used to live in the New World by the Prague Castle, and she had many children. Because of a plague, the children started dying one after another and their mother always paid a death knell for them. After all the children had died, she became ill as well. She had no money anymore and she thought, that nobody will even pay a death knell for her. At that moment, all the Loreta bells started ringing at once, and the woman died in peace.
Loreta Treasure
There is a treasure in the Loreta shrine. It consists of monstrances, cups, altars and other votive objects. Most of them are from 17 th and 18 th century. The treasure is kept in the Treasure Room in the ground floor. The most interesting item is the Diamond Monstrance called “Prague Sun”. It is a gift from Countess Ludmila of Kolowrat, who got more than six thousand diamonds as a wedding gift from her third husband. In her last will she wrote, that a monstrance for Loreta should be made of these diamonds. The Diamond Monstrance was made in 1699.

ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL
While the Prague Castle complex houses many buildings, St. Vitus is the one that dominates the skyline wherever you are in city. St. Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta) is a Gothic masterpiece, and the spiritual symbol of the Czech state. As well as being the largest and most important temple in Prague, St. Vitus Cathedral has also overseen the coronation of Czech kings and queens. The cathedral was commissioned by Charles IV, and construction began in 1344 on the site of an earlier 10th century rotunda. Its first builders, Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler, built the chancel with a ring of chapels – St. Wenceslas Chapel, the Golden Portal and the lower section of the main steeple.

In the chancel of the cathedral, in front of the high alter, is the royal mausoleum. Below this, in the crypt, there are the royal tombs. Czech kings and queens, and patron saints of the country are interred here.

The Great South Tower of the Cathedral was founded in the late 14th century, then reconstructed in the 16th and again in the 18th centuries. The tower holds the biggest bell in the Czech Republic, called Žikmund, which dates from the 16th century. Visitors can climb the tower. It has 287 steps and is more than 90 metres high. The views from the top are worth the effort.

St. Wenceslas Chapel is decorated with frescoes and semi-precious stones. And a door in the south-western corner of the chapel leads to the Crown Chamber in which the Bohemian Coronation Jewels are stored