the (too famous) Prague Castle
On some sort of wide ridge visible from almost everywhere, proudly eying the Vltava, almost arrogant, here is the cathedral and the castle of Prague.
The whole constitutes an important part of the Hradcany district.
Approaching from the north after the tram that leads there (lines 22 or 23 which meander up the hill to the east from the "Petit Côté"), the crowd moves for a few dozen meters in a southerly direction towards its wide entrance and crosses a sturdy gatehouse. control.
From the inside, the whole is as monumental by its perimeter as by the height of St Vitus Cathedral and the diversity of buildings housed in its enclosure.
As many crowd, curious and possessive as on the Old Town Square, but more spread over various spaces. The groups challenge each other behind their guide, are split by the changing of the guard, try to step back to capture the height of the arrow (96 meters).
The site has known since its foundation in the High Middle Ages many avatars, to finally see its cathedral completed in 1929 only, while its construction was initiated in 1344!
About 6 centuries for it alone, and 9 centuries for the site.
The Royal Garden, beautiful lawn and superb Renaissance Palaces -the Bowling alley and Queen Anne's Belvedere- , stretches north of the castle.
In the Belvedere garden, an exhibition retraces in particular the communist era up to the Velvet Revolution of 1989, including the Prague Spring of 1968.
With a burlesque trophy a Traban enthroned at the top of the entrance wall.
The south facade of St Vitus Cathedral has majestic exterior tympanums (the Golden Gate) at the foot of the Baroque bell tower, and the dark bristling of the two Gothic bell towers to the west.
The gates to the south-east are decorated with beautiful medieval-style representations of ancient crafts.
However, we recognize in the representation of the characters a modern style.
Probably contemporary, sculptures decorate the neighboring doors, religious and / or historical scenes
Inside, the majesty of the dimensions strikes first, but also the frescoes, a bit like mosaics. Byzantines.
There is in fact a sort of summary of the long centuries of its construction: picturesque and colorful decorations from the Middle Ages, explicitly Renaissance frescoes, inevitable kitsch of some decorations of the Baroque period, which swears sometimes in the midst of Gothic grandeur which, even flamboyant, then takes sobriety.
The gleaming stained-glass windows are adorned with scenes where Art Nouveau prevails, in a powerful and almost tormented representation of the characters, but elsewhere appeal to pointillism.
To the east of the immense cathedral, almost in its shadow but without taking offense, the dapper St-Georges basilica Its brightly colored baroque facade blossoms and could appear modest.
But its square, bounded by other Renaissance buildings on one side and a sort of pretentious rotunda with very tall columns on the other (the entrance to what appears to be "the Establishment of the Nobles Dames"), is too crowded with merchant tents for tourists.
Double game: this almost ruddy facade hides a vast and very venerable Romanesque church. Its two white stone spiers in the background already betray another origin from the outside.
In fact, founded in 925, rebuilt in 1142, its reported facade is from the 17th century.
In reality, the interior volume is exceptionally large, with its high side galleries, and its naves bearing the very visible traces of religious motifs from the Middle Ages.
Just back to the northeast, here is the too picturesque "Ruelle d'Or" , whose small houses date from the 16th century.
A long elevated interior gallery has been pierced through their row.
The gallery hosts reproductions of old stalls and their production for sale, but also presents many armor (which could have inspired the robots of "Star Wars"), a multitude of helms, damascened helmets, spears, of halberds, of studded masses, of the most barbarous weapons of war eras.
We do not dare to imagine what bloody wounds, what litter of the body, what muscle splinters, of bones, even brains, could provoke such weapons, in spite of the coats of mail.
The big one delicacy of feats of arms. We knew how to have fun in those times.
But the highlight of the show is held in a sinister round tower at the end of the Golden Lane, called the Dalibor Tower .
In its dungeons, its dungeons and its low pits, at the end of grim stairs, examples of terrible torture tools, pillories, executioner's axes, cages "à la Louis XI", stretching torture with his capstan, are gathered. sanquette bucket ...
Marlène nevertheless comes out with a smile, ... perhaps justly relieved to have escaped.
Let us return to the Old Royal Palace .
There, we are especially struck by the immense and majestic Vladislas ceremonial hall.
It was indeed Vladislas Jagellon (this ugly bearded man), King of Bohemia who had it built in 1502.
Just back that it bears his name.
Vladislas is the husband of Queen Anne de Foix, (hey yes !, after a rapprochement between Bohemia and France to oppose the Habsburgs who point their noses and also the Turks), the one who gives its name to the Belvédère du Jardin Royal.
Despite the work in progress on part of the interior scaffolding which conceals nothing, the high French windows (which overlook the "Petit Côté" district) and the vast flamboyant Gothic ribbed vault with Renaissance beginnings (we are at the end of the 15th century) are a splendor.
It was said to be "the largest secular hall in medieval Europe" (13 m high, 62 m long and 15 wide).
In very large Romanesque and Gothic rooms well organized in the basements of this Former Royal Palace, and in particular under the Vladislas room, educational, modern and airy presentations fluidly recount the long history of Prague Castle and Bohemia.
Through the maze of the palace, one cannot also avoid noticing the rooms of the registers on the floor, where the deliberations of the Diet were recorded.
Because the walls and the vault of the entrance hall are decorated with many well-preserved coats of arms, with a beautiful shimmering effect. but also imposing. A sort of very explicit affirmation of power.
Just east of the Old Royal Palace, we find "l'Etablissement des Nobles Dames", whose ugly entrance rotunda overlooks the forecourt of St. George's Basilica.
In a hurry, the testimony of these stays remains commonplace, apart from the baroque of the chapel ... which we will not see.
The old Renaissance building, erected by the powerful Rosenberg family in the 3rd quarter of the 16th century, was redeveloped in the 18th century by Empress Maria Theresa, to accommodate thirty penniless noble young unmarried girls ("poor rich young girls" ) over 24 years old or from 18 years old if they are orphans, that from 1753 until 1918.
