This church belongs to the most important and the most beautiful examples of the Prague Baroque.
It is remarkable especially for its monumental construction and husky dome. Together with Lesser
Tower Bridge Towers it represents an inseparable part of Prague scenery.

HISTORY

It was built on the site ofthe former parish church from the end of the 13th century. Its construction was started in 1673 and
it was not completed until 1756, just shortly before the abolition of the Jesuit Order (1773).
It has always formed a part of the adjacent Jesuits college. The most outstanding Baroque architects
participated in the completion and the artistic decoration of the church. Among these artists we have
to mention Krystof and Kilian Ignac Dienzenhofers, Jan Hennevogel, Ignac Platzer, Jan Lukas
Kraker and last but not least Karel Skreta. The Lesser Town Square served as a marketplace as early
as in the Romanesque period.

ACHITECTURE

The baroque construction of St. Nicholas Cathedral was was carried out in the first half of the 18th
century under the supervision of the renown architects Christoph and Kilian Ignaz
Dientzenhofers. Within the Lesser Town, this church is considered to be one of the most beautiful
and stylistically pure examples of high-baroque architecture situated north of the Alps. In its interior
you might also admire the beautiful organ dating back to the mid-18th century. Even Wolgang
Amadeus Mozart played this organ during his stays in Prague. It is quite interesting that the belfry
has never formed a part of the church. It has always been the property of the municipality of Malá
Strana. Consequently, it bears its own house number (556) and has its own entrance. The belfry
which was used as the Prague watchtower, was built after the completion of the church by Kilian
Ignaz Dientzenhofer and itself completed in 1755 by his pupil and son-in-law Anselmo Luragho.
The last watchman used to live here until 1891.

Until that time, he was obliged to ring a bell in the event of fire and to hang a red flag from the window in the direction of the conflagration during the
day as well as a lantern during the night. Actually, the bells were hung in the tower five years
before its completion. The tower and the dome of the church intentionally both have the same
height of 74 m.

THE OBSERVATORY OF NATIONAL SECURITY

It is possible to visit the former observatory of national security in the belfry of the St. Nicholas
Church in the Lesser Town. The observatory was situated here from 1952 till the Velvet revolution
in 1989.
The national security, or StB, was a secret police organisation during the era of communism in
Czechoslovakia, famous for monitoring people. One of the activities in this place was monitoring
the events of the American and German embassies. In this place, which is 70 meters above the
ground level, you can find a permanent exhibition devoted to the administration of monitoring
various people by the StB. All the documents and photos come from archives of security branch.
The place has been maintained to look as it did during the communist era. The members of the StB
kept at their disposal a divan bed, a table with a writing desk and a chair. They also had a wireless
station which was used for the communication with their colleagues from counter-intelligence.
Members of counter-intelligence then documented all observations. From beer bottle labels on the
walls inside, we can easily imagine how the StB operatives passed their time.
This observatory represents unique proof of how authorities acted during the communist era, and
forms an important part of the Czechoslovakian history, which should be never forgetten.

If you want to stay a night in our hostel, feel free to book it here

Wallenstein Garden, or Valdstejnska zahrada is probably the oldest palace garden in Prague. It
forms a part of the Wallenstein Palace, nowadays serving as the seat of the Senate of the Czech
Republic.

History

Wallenstein garden was built in along with the construction of the palace during the years 1623–30 in the
early Baroque style.

Garden

Wallenstein garden is well known for being a lovely and pieceful place in the centre of Prague.The garden is joined to the palace building by the highest Sala terrena in Prague – 30 meters. The walls of the Sala terrena are decorated by frescoes and stuccoes depicting Trojan wars by Baccio di
Bianco. The character of the decorations corresponds to interior decorations. Nowadays, many
concerts and theatre performances are held in the Sala terrena. After entering the garden from the palace, your attention might be drawn by to a large wall opposite the entrance. Although the first impression may be that you are looking at skulls, it’s actually a wall
decorated with artificial stalactites imitating a limestone cave or grotta. To the right of the cave you
can see an aviary house species of exotic birds.

Fountains

Most of the statues and fountains that you see in the Wallenstein Garden are copies of the originals
made by the famous Dutch artist Adrian de Vries. These works of art were taken away as spoils of
war by the Swedish army at the end of the Thirty Years War. The copies were installed in the

mythology.

The Wallenstein Garden covers an area of 1.7 hectares which includes a pond where you can feed
ducks. The pond was used for small boats in the past. Another copy of de Vries work, a marble
fountain with the statues of Hercules and Naiads, adorns the small island in the center of the pond.

Book you room here

Littlebit of history

This wall used to be an ordinary wall in Prague. It has been called The John Lennon Wall
since the 1980s, when many people filled it with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and lyrics
from Beatles songs.

John Lennon

Paradoxically John Lennon himself never visited Prague during his lifetime.
The wall itself has become a prominent part of recent Czech history. Lennon became a hero of
the pacifist youth of the Central and Eastern Europe during the totalitarian era for many
reasons. Before 1989 when the Communists were in power, Western pop songs were banned
by the authorities, especially John Lennons songs, because they praised freedom – unknown
at that time in Czechoslovakia.Some musicians were even jailed for playing his music! In 1980 John Lennon was murdered
and he became the hero of some of the younger generation and his picture was painted on this
wall, for whatever reason, along with graffiti defying the authorities.

Freedom

It should be stressed that at that time the Czech people had few opportunities to express their
feelings about, and because of their lack of freedom. With this activity the young activists
risked prison for what the authorities called “subversive activities against the state”.
Of course there was the threat of prison but it didn’t keep people away from slipping there in
the middle of the night to scrawl graffiti, at first in the form of Beatles lyrics and odes to
Lennon, then by writing their own feelings and dreams directly onto the wall.

Touris atraction now

The state police tried repeatedly to remove the portrait and messages of peace but they never
managed to keep the wall completely clean. The next day it was, once again, full of poems
and flowers with paintings of Lennon. Even the installation of surveillance cameras and the
posting of an night guard didn’t prevent the opinions of freedom from being expressed.
The John Lennon wall is continuously undergoing change and the original portrait of Lennon
is long lost under many layers of paint.Nowadays, the wall represents one of the symbols of youth ideals such as love and peace. It is
also possible to find a bust of John Lennon there.Today the wall is owned by the Knights of the Maltese Cross, that, thankfully have allowed
the graffiti to remain on the wall as a reminder of the recent past.

John Lennon wall is only 5 minutes from our hostel. Are you wondering about staying in Prague? You can book a room in our hostel only with one click over here

Petřín Lookout Tower was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Its construction was initiated
by the Czech Tourist Club, which had attended the Exposition Universelle in 1889 in Paris and
decided to construct a similar tower in Prague.

History

On 16th March 1891 the construction work began in accordance with plans prepared by the
engineers František Prášil and Julius Souček. It was finished and formally opened on 20th August
of the same year.

Architecture

The heart of the lookout tower is formed by an octagonal tube structure, which contains an elevator.
Two spiral staircases wind around this — one for the way up and the other for the way down. The
lookout tower has two observation decks. The upper deck is located at a height of 55 metres.

Funicular

The funicular was also established in connection with the completion of the lookout of Petřín tower. In the
1960s, antennae were installed on the top of the Petřín tower for TV-transmition and radio broadcasts.
The lookout tower was closed to the public in 1979 because of its state of disrepair. It was not
opened again until May 1991 during the second Jubilee Exhibition.
The tower affords a magnificent view; well worth climbing those 299 steps to reach the observation
deck. On a clear day it is possible to see the highest peak of the Czech Republic, Snezka, which is
150km away.

Hall of Mirrors

Petřín Tower is set in landscaped gardens that dominate the summit of Petrin Hill; good
for a very pleasant walk anytime throughout the year, as well as an excursion from the city centre.
In addition to this, there is an observatory and a small entrance fee will grant access to the Hall of
Mirrors.

Petřín Hill

Much of the stone material used to build the major sights in Prague was quarried out of the Petrin
hill. Today, however, this is well hidden beneath the gardens and the trees that line the slopes.
Petrin Hill is 318m or 1043 feet high. To reach the summit and the Observation Tower, take the
funicular running up the Petrin Hill from Ujezd street in the Lesser Town (Mala Strana).
Alternatively, catch a taxi or take a 25-30 minutes walk up to Petrin Hill. The climb is fairly steep,
but can be very pleasant, passing through gardens as well as an apple orchard.

Activities around

Once you have enjoyed the fresh air and the views of Petrin, we thoroughly recommend a visit to
the Nebozizek Restaurant, located on the hillside, half way down from the summit. This wonderful
restaurant offers fine food and excellent views over Prague.
The ABL company offers you a unique view from seven Prague towers including the Petřín
observation tower, Tower of St Nicholas Church, Lesser Town Bridge Tower, Mirror Labyrinth, Old
Town City Hall, Powder tower and Old Town Bridge tower. You can take a photo with our
watchmen, enjoy the swordsman fights or just listen to the fanfare.
The ABL company could arrange for you wedding, birthday party or other anniversaries. For more
information look at www.praguetowers.com .

We recomend you to book a night here, in our hostel, to make your trip more unforgetable

Kampa Island is considered to be the oldest island in the river Vltava.

HISTORY

Kampa Island was mentioned in earlymedieval sources, however its present appearance is due to the great fire of 1541.It broke out in one of the houses on the Lesser Town Square and quickly spread all over the town.
Debris from the damaged houses was moved here – leadig to the ground level of the island being
elevated so much that it was possible to built the first burgess houses here.

WHERE CAN WE FIND KAMPA ISLAND?

Kampa Island is separated from the Lesser Town riverbank by a small stream. It acquired many
names in the past but since the end of the 19th century it has been known as Čertovka – the Devil’s
Stream, which was probably man-made in the 12th century as a millrace. Although, strictly
speaking, this makes

ROMANTIC PLACE

It is the one which is often portrayed on most of the romantic pictures you see in art galleries. In case you want to
compare the paintings with reality, you can take in the artists’ view from Charles Bridge.
This picturesque corner of Prague might be sometimes known as the „Prague Venice“. Well, you
can see any gondolas, but the atmosphere is just as lovely.

GARDENS AND BUILDINGS

In the Middle Ages, you would have only found gardens spreading out over the entire Kampa island. The first burgess houses were built in the second half of the 16th century, as well as palace gardens built
on the Lesser Town riverbank and mills. Gardens, orginally separate, were converted into one large
park designed in the English style as late as the mid-20th century.
The very first buildings appearing here were the houses of bricklayers, carpenters and stonemasons
who wanted to comfortably keep an eye on the Charles Bridge, and maintain it in a perfect state. At
the end of the 16th century, a pottery market was moved to the central square of the Island – and
this tradition has been kept up to the present day.

Kampa is only 5 minutes walking from our hostel. Do not forget, you can make a reservation right here

The establishment of the third oldest monastery in Bohemia was supported by King Vladislav
I and the bishop of Olomouc, Jindřich Zdík.

History

The Strahov Monastery started its long journey through history with establishment of the
Premonstratensians. The former of Strahov monastery was founded by King Vladislav I. in 1140. The
proper construction of the stone Abbot’s Church of the Assumption of Our Lady was
probably finished in the eight decade of the 12th century.
Building work switched to the construction of stone monastery buildings, which were almost
ready in 1182.

Architecture

The original Romanesque appearance of the monastery complex has not been preserved up to
the present day. It had to be rebuilt in the early Gothic style after a fire in 1258. In the course
of this alteration, the flat wooden ceiling was replaced by a dome and the Chapel of St Ursula
was added to the northern transept.
During the Hussite era the complex was plundered and it started to fall into a considerable
state of disrepair until Abbot Jan Lohelius started the reconstruction of the church in the

Renaissance style.
Later the basilica was extended westwards and it acquired a new façade. The Chapel of our
Lady of Passau was added to the southern transept.

French bombardnent

In the 18th century the basilica was badly damaged during the French bombardment of
Prague. The final appearance of buildings is the result of the reconstruction supervised by the
Italian architect Anselmo Lurago.

Today´s appearance

Today the basilica nave is 63 metres long, 10 metres wide,
and 16 metres high. The main altar was made by the well-known sculptor Ignác Platzer in
1768. The new altar in line with the restored liturgy of the Second Vatican Council was made
by Egino Weinert from Cologne.

Libary

The whole monastery complex also includes historical library halls. The first one is the
Theological Hall completed in 1679 under Abbot Jeroným Hirnhaim.
Nowadays this hall stores about 18 000 volumes. The name of the hall came from the fact that
this hall contains numerous editions of the Bible or parts of the Bible in many languages.
Another building is the Cabinet of Curiosities where it is possible to find natural science
collections, mainly sea fauna, complemented with collections of insects, minerals, and wax
replicas of fruit, archaeological collections: ceramics, handcuffs, and Hussite peasant
weapons.A curiosity appreciated by many is represented by the remains of the now-extinct Dodo bird
(Dodo ineptus).The Philosophical Hall was built in 1782 by the Abbot Václav Mayer. It is possible to find
more than 42 000 volumes covering themes from philosophy, astronomy, mathematics,
history, philology.

We hope you will come here to appreciate these historical buildings with us. Feel free to book a bed, or room in our hostel. You can make a reservation right here

The old castle stairs connect the eastern gate of Prague Castle, a place known as Na opyši,
within the Klárov district of Prague.

HISTORY

They are about 150 metres long and were built in 16th century.
The present appearance of the stairs, which includes 121 stone steps, is the result of the
reconstruction carried out between 1835 and 1837.

WHERE CAN WE FIND THEM?

Old castle steps are are walled on both sides. When we walk from Klárov the terraces of the
southern gardens below the Prague Castle stretch behind the wall on our left hand side. The
former vineyard of St. Wenceslas is hidden behind the wall on our right hand side. It was here
where he worked, pressing grapes and guarding the place at the beginning of the 10th century.
The main road leading from the East to the Castle led through here, across Opyš. This
entrance to the castle was known as Malé vrátce or Malá fortna.
In front of the castle entrance there used to be a deep ditch with draw-bridge dating back to
1278.

 NAME

The name ‚Old Castle Stairs‘ has been officially used since 1829, and was probably derived
from the Old Route which led to the castle as early as the 9 th century. This route is considered
to be one of the most picturesque places in Prague. It even inspired a Czech patriot and
musician, Karel Hašler who was tortured to death by German occupiers after writing the
popular song “Po Starých zámeckých schodech” which means “On the Old Castle Stairs”.
Nowadays it is mainly used by tourists as one of the busiest access routes to Prague Castle.

Stairs are situated aproximatelly 5 minutes from our hostel, if you are interested in staying here with us, you can book it here