Across the River

Prague, Czech Republic

June 24, 2025

The river Vltava runs through the middle of Prague, separating the east and west banks. Among the many bridges spanning the river, the oldest is the medieval one of stone arches called Charles Bridge. It is so called because it was begun under the reign of King Charles IV in the 14^th century. His statue stands at the east end, just next to the tower. Tall towers, two at the west end and one on the east end stand guard.

At intervals along the now pedestrian bridge are statues, mostly baroque, of patron saints of the Catholic church. Some shine from being rubbed for luck. But why rub the dog? There is probably a quaint tale associated with it but none that I could unearth. The views of the west bank are superb as I walk along. The red roofs beckon as does the castle atop the hill.

I pop out at the west end and avoiding the crowds, walk down a street at random. It takes me past an orange building with a bust at the window. This it turns out, is Beethoven House; he stayed here whenever in Prague and it is his bust staring down at the foot traffic on this street. Across the little plaza is a church but unlike others, there is a Maltese Cross atop the church. This, it turns out, is the Czech Grand Priory of the Order of the Knights of Malta. The fairly bare interior does not quite do justice to the grand mouthful of a name. But through the gate I see another little plaza and wander toward it.

The streets are lined with buildings and just as around the Old Town Square, these are beautiful. The different colors and styles next to each other should jar but complement each other instead. I don’t even mind the throngs.

I pass the St. Nicholas Church – another one! And the pale pink one of Church of Our Lady Victorious. This too is empty and relatively stark.

From the top of the hill I get a grand view of Prague spread out below. The red roofs of the western part of the city spread out toward the east. Spearing up in between is the blue-green dome of St. Nicholas church and far in the distance I see the dark twin towers.

At the top of the hill is a large open square with Prague Castle as its star resident. Thought to be founded in the 9^th century, by the 10^th century it was home to kings and still today remains the seat of the head of state. I had no desire to join the crowds inside and contented myself with the views from outside.

Prague Castle has also been home to the highest representative of the church, the Prague Bishop. Not surprisingly, of the buildings inside, the largest and most opulent is the St. Vitus Cathedral, today, the largest and most important church in Czech Republic. There are a couple of smaller buildings inside and many more that are now restaurants and cafes.

But the church of St. Vitus takes center stage. Built atop an earlier Romanesque structure of the 10^th century, this Gothic cathedral was built in the 14^th century. It is huge and the spires, gargoyles and flying buttresses aimed to awe and succeeds.