The Events of Wednesday, June 29, 2011

                It’s really summertime here in Prague. Prague has the same latitude as Victoria, British Columbia so, in summer, the sun rises early, forcing us to do the same. As much as we wanted to sleep, it was good to have such an early start; it made for a very successful morning. We showered, ate, packed lunch, packed our bags (this time with all the necessary guidebooks), and even were able to get a load through the wash before leaving the house promptly at 9:30. Soon, we had parked near the Dejvická Metro stop and were headed into downtown Prague.

                The extra-long escalator came up from the platform and dumped us into Namestí Republicky, the Republic Square. This square, part of the border between Prague’s Old and New Towns, is an encyclopedia of architecture styles: Neo-Romanesque, Functionalist, Gothic, Neo-Baroque, and—most importantly—Art Nouveau. Although elaborately decorated facades are scattered all over town, the Municipal House is Prague’s most spectacular Art Nouveau building. It was truly a great sight: lucrative mosaics depicting calm people and swirly cast iron with brilliant stained glass. Right next door, the Powder Gate’s stark, dark Gothic-ness emphasized the Municipal House’s beauty even more. The Powder Gate, which was named for the gunpowder stored inside, is the last standing gate of Prague’s Old Town. Black from sooty air and neglect, it guards the entrance to Celetna Street, a pedestrian path to the Old Town Square.

                The Old Town Square was packed with hundreds of tourists enjoying the sights around the square. We would join them later; for now, we were heading straight through to Josefov, the Jewish Quarter. As we crossed the “border” between the Old Town and the (formerly walled-in) Jewish Quarter, we noticed a slight change in the city’s layout. The wide, straight, grid-like boulevards of the Old Town turned into narrow, curvy, and heavily used streets in the Jewish Quarter. All the buildings, with their 1900s Art Nouveau facades, seemed a bit more worn down. The reason for this contrast lies in the sector’s history.

                This region was Prague’s Jewish ghetto for over a thousand years. When the Jews first arrived in Prague, they were given a section of poor land on the bend of the river—very soggy and prone to flooding. 11,000 people crammed into this tiny corner of the river, inhabiting 200 small wooden dwellings. The Jews could not hold public office or own land, and their careers were limited to service or money lending. As a result, Jews were seen as greedy scoundrels and persecuted. Finally, in the 1780s, relief came from Hapsburg Emperor Josef II (hence the name Josefov), who focused more on economic than religious matters, thus easing the discrimination against the Jews. The Jewish Quarter became a prosperous cultural center. In 1848, the entire area was demolished and replaced with a modern town with fewer streets and bigger buildings. The facades were decorated in the popular Art Nouveau style, especially along the main Pařížká Street. The Jewish Quarter prospered…until the Nazis forced the 120,000 Jews in the area into concentration camps.

                The Jewish Quarter’s main sights (four synagogues, a ceremonial hall, and a cemetery) are conveniently packaged into the six-sight Jewish Museum. After purchasing our tickets, we headed into the Pinkas Synagogue. For 400 years, it was used as a place of worship; now, it is a moving memorial to all the Czech Jews murdered by the Nazi regime. The walls are covered with the names of the murdered Jews, labeled with the hometown, name, and last date known to be alive. The sheer number of names, covering the walls of the two stories, gave a visual of all 77,297 Czech victims of the Holocaust. On the third floor was a moving exhibit of children’s art.

                Many Czech Jews were held in the Terezín ghetto, the “propaganda camp” used to show the Red Cross how “well” the Jews were treated. One prisoner, Viennese artist, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, began giving the children art lessons. Through this expressive medium, the children portrayed, with childish mindsets and talent, the horrors and psychological torture of concentration camps. We aren’t the art museum type of people, but this was fascinating. What does it say about us, that we are more interested in children’s scribbles than in a famous painting?

                From the Pinkas Synagogue, we crossed a courtyard and entered the Old Jewish Cemetery.

For 298 years (from 1439-1787), this small plot of land was the only burial ground for the Jews of Prague. Due to Jewish beliefs and the lack of space, tombs were piled on top of each other; now they are 12 layers thick. With each additional layer, the ground rose. When the earth settled, the tombstones on top settled into a crooked mess of angles. About 12,000 tilted tombstones are crowded into these compressed rolling hills. The cemetery holds the remains of many more than the number of gravestones. The exact number is disputed; some books list 20,000, while others list up to 100,000.

                A winding path led us through the topsy-turvy tombstones and out onto the street. Although there was much of the Jewish Museum left to see, we wanted to stop for lunch. Our lunch spot was a nice, shady, cool haven from the beating sun. We enjoyed a great picnic lunch under the trees in the riverside park where the girls waited yesterday.

                After finishing a great meal, we headed back to the Museum, this time to the Ceremonial Hall. This mortuary house now holds exhibits about the Jewish medicine, death, and burial traditions. These customs were very important, as death was seen as the gateway into new life. In fact, the Hebrew word for cemetery translates to “House of Life”. The exhibits here were very helpful in explaining the tombstones and other interesting points of the cemetery.

                From the Hall, we exited, turned the corner, and entered the Klaus Synagogue. Again, this former synagogue is used as exhibit space about Jewish festivities and, upstairs, Jewish customs through life. Starting with the birth, we learned about circumcision, growing up, the bar/bat mitzvahs, weddings, and typical life in the Jewish Ghetto at various points in history. It was fascinating to learn about all these rich cultural traditions and special Jewish holidays. From the Klaus Synagogue, we walked by the Old-New Synagogue to the Maisel Synagogue. This site features a lavish, Neo-Gothic interior and another exhibit center. This time, the cases displayed various silver objects (ornamental Torah crowns, silver pointers, and various chalices). Displays all around the room gave us a glimpse into Jewish history in Bohemia and Moravia (the two main regions of the Czech Republic) from the 10th to 18th century.

                The next sight, the Spanish Synagogue, completed the story we started in the Maisel Synagogue. Exhibits traced the recent history, from the “liberation” by Franz Joseph to the present day. It was interesting to see a Jewish perspective of the Nazi regime and Holocaust, with special focus on life at Terezín Concentration Camp. Once we read all the exhibits, we headed down to see the synagogue’s glorious interior. It is advertised as the most beautiful synagogue in Europe, and it is easy to see why. The interior is gilded and full of intricate little decorations. The most unique feature was the distinctly Moorish architectural style. It was strange to see the same style of windows in Jewish Prague as we saw in Muslim Spain!

                Having conquered the Jewish museum, we headed back to the Old Town Square to do some sightseeing. As we approached, we heard music from a marching band coming from the square. The entire center of the square was blocked off into a huge presentation area. A huge military marching band stood in formation, playing patriotic songs, as three groups of troops marched around the ring. The band looked and sounded great, especially the brass section. There were several brass instruments that we didn’t recognize, but seemed to be variations of tubas and baritones. The three differently uniformed groups (perhaps from different branches of service) lined up for an awards ceremony. A large group of important people, some in military dress (we, of course, had no idea who they were) went to each group, awarded them a medal, and shook hands. Although the announcements were all in Czech, we surmised (with a helpful peek at a program in English) that it was a sort of a Slovakian, German, and Czech Honor Guard drill competition. 

                Right as the ceremony ended, we hustled over to join the crowd at the Astronomical Clock. As we awaited the chimes at 4, I read about the clock’s functions. The single machine keeps track of a lot: the time from midnight, the time from the last sunset, the phase of the moon, the orbits of the sun and moon, the current sign of the zodiac, and the day’s special saint. On the hour, we watched the quick show. A skeleton figurine pulls a bell, the 12 apostles parade by, some other figurines do simple movements, a golden rooster crows, and the hour is rung. Quite intricate and impressive, especially for being over 500 years old!

                We took a quick tour around the square, learning about each significant monument. The Jan Hus memorial commemorates the martyr who started church reforms a century before Martin Luther, and 27 white crosses mark the spot where 27 Protestant nobles were executed for rebellion. The square is a gorgeous assortment of architecture styles—Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Art Nouveau. No building overwhelms its neighbors by drawing focus; they just sort of blend over time. Since Prague was never bombed in WWII, its architecture is a treasure trove of original, not Neo-, styles. The only building that didn’t fit this blending scheme was the Neo-Gothic wing of the Old Town Hall. Hit by a German artillery shell, it burned to the ground and was never replaced. Locals never liked it, anyway.

                Heading through a skinny back alley, we arrived at the Týn Church. This was the home church for the Hussite movement before Jan Hus was executed. Afterwards, it was re-Catholicized. If Jan Hus were there today, he would want to return to his grave. The church, once whitewashed to focus on God instead of man, is now full of ornate black and gold altars. In a display near the entrance about the church’s history, Hus was only mentioned once. Even though the church has such a rich history, it is overwhelmingly biased towards Catholicism. Since we could only enter the back of the church, so we were soon back on the Old Town Square.

                Earlier today, we spied an advertisement for a concert in the Church of St. Nicholas on the Old Town Square. Since Prague is famous for its inexpensive but good concerts in lavish settings, we decided to try this performance. After purchasing our tickets, we headed into the magnificent interior and grabbed seats in the center, underneath the dome. Looking around, we admired the lavish interior. It wasn’t gaudy like the Týn Church, but decorated just enough to look excellent.

                The concert was a trumpet and organ duet. Both musicians were in the organ loft, so we didn’t see anything. It didn’t matter too much, since they were a great pair. A rich, full sound filled the entire church, which actually had pretty good acoustics. The program contained a huge variety of genres, alternating between the organ playing solo and the pair playing together. The organist played his best during Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante and Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue. But the best duet performance was Haydn’s Adagio Cantabile. The final piece, Mouret’s Marche Heroic, was the final highlight. The organ boomed, and the trumpet rang out with clear high notes. It was awesome.

                After the concert ended we stayed awhile to take some photos of the church. Then we headed out, crossed the Old Town Square, and walked back to nearest Metro stop. Our route took us on Celetna Street again. On the way, we peeked into the Swarovski shop and looked at the House of the Black Madonna. This building, in the Czech Cubist style of architecture, is very unique. It shows off its special modern architecture style without overpowering the surrounding buildings.

                As we took photos, we heard a loud *pop* from the outdoor seating area of the café on the second floor. A waiter had opened a bottle of champagne, and the cork flew all the way over the street to land near us. No one was hit, so it made for a good laugh all around. Heading on our way, we took the Metro to the end of the line and then drove home to our Cherry Tree Lodge. After a dinner of pasta, sauce, and a strange sort of Czech sausage, the girls and Dad took a bike ride in the Czech countryside. They returned hot and exhausted, and we all headed to bed.