Saturday 23 June 2012

Vyšehrad and Nove Mesto

My next trip took me to the Castle on the Heights or Vyšehrad.  It is located in the outskirts of Prague so to get there I had to take a tram and then the underground. It allowed me to have a short walk around the so-called New Town of Prague first.

Obviously the New Town is quite old as it was built in the 14th century. It has a couple of interesting spots, like the New Town Hall.



It does not seem that high at first sight but unfortunatelly some people made the bad experience of a fall from the windows. Defenestration is a really nasty thing.

The best known place in the New Town is the Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí). It is quite weird - it is called a square but it is rectangular. And in fact it is more a space between two parallell streets. Well, just look for yourself.




The square is named after St. Wenceslas, a former king and now a saint patron of Bohemia. His statue is placed on top of the square.



Behind the statue you will see the National Museum. It is a truely impressive building in the neo-rennaissance style.



Time to go to Vyšehrad at last. The interesting thing is that the underground is actually going in the air, under a tall bridge.



Vyšehrad is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Prague.




Unfortunately, the castle of Vyšehrad does not exist any longer. The most important building there is the Church of St. Peter and Paul. It is a basilica minor.



The porche is beautifully decorated.



But I was most enchanted by a little round-shaped church of St. Martin. Believe it or not but it dates back to the 11th century!



At least that was what I liked best on the hill itself. Because the true treasure of Vyšehrad is the view on the city and also the high walls protecting the castle in the old days.



It is difficult to show it on a picture. You'd better look at this panoramic view.

All right, time to go down again. This means lots of steps ahead.





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