Petrin, Prague

From the vantage point of the Petrin Hill tower is shown kostel sv Vavrince and the chapel of the tomb of Christ. Both were completed during the high baroque period, which their architecture attests to. Also shown is part of the winding 650 year old hladova zed ( hunger wall ). This was the city defense which is now totally surrounded and complimented by masterfully landscaped and very well kept green belt.

This now pleasant and relaxing part of central Praha is where those accused of witchcraft and others who challenged the policies and doctrines of the mother church ( such as Jan Hus ) were burned at the stake back in the days of religious intolerance and superstition. Contrary to popular opinion, Hus was not executed in old town sqaure at the location where his monument now stands.

Red tile roofs like those covering the church and chapel are the roofs of choice throughout this region of Europe. They will add nice color to your photos of the region.

This observation tower was the pride and joy of Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este ( Ferdie ). The tower was built for the Bohemian exhibition of 1891. The semi modest funds available in the governmental coffers of Bohemia were much too insufficient to build a tower anywhere near as large as the recently completed Eiffel Tower in Paris, but not to be deterred Ferdie went with this 1/3 scale model of the Paris erector set masterpiece. He put one over on his French rivals by locating this one at the highest elevation in old Prague. By doing this, the relative elevation of his tower pinnacle to city center was much greater than that of the Eiffel. The brilliant and very clever Ferdie had indeed outdone his French rivals for a small fraction of the cost.

Shown in front of the tower are the pavillion and some sort of amusement building ( house of mirrors or some such thing ) that were part of the same exhibition.

The small admission price into the tower is well worth it for excellent views of the city. Warning to the out-of-shape: No elevator to carry you to the observation decks. Use the steps. The tower sways in the wind, but worrying about such trivial matters is only for the faint of heart.

To get there take the funicular train or enjoy the hike through some of Prague's finest greenbelt. By the way the train fare is covered by your public transportation pass. Don't visit Prague without one. A 24 hour pass will set you back a whopping 70 koruna.

Petrin is a large hill made into a city park right next to the castle area where the citizens of Prague go to relax and enjoy a weekend afternoon. You can either walk all the way up the hill with increasingly amazing views of the city, or take the funucular up the hill and end up at the top, where there is a garden, a maze, a glass house, and Petrin Tower. Half way up there is also a restaurant to grab a snack or a pint of the ever popular Czech beer. At the bottom of the hill is a large playground for children where parents can sit and relax while their kids tear around the place!

There are many interesting things to see on Petrin Hill so make sure you bring your camera!

The mirror maze on Petrin Hill is right next to the Petrin Tower so we called in as a fun diversion to our day whilst we were there, entry was 40czk but there are limited opening times during the winter months. It only took us around 10 minutes to walk around it but the thing that really interested us was about halfway round there is a fantastic painting of the Czechs fighting the Swedish army on Charles Bridge during the 30 Years War.

This photo was shot from the scenic cobblestone footpath leading to Strahov Monastary from Mala Strana. The location was a little uphill from the turnoff to Prague Castle. Many of Prague's wealthy citizens live within the vast greenbelt area on the plateaus below Petrin Hill summit park. Most of the fine houses including those shown in this photo were built during the post communist era, and display much individuality and creativity. The economy continues to improve for Prague and for most of Czechia. Closer views of the houses are afforded from the numerous footpaths bisecting the public greenbelt areas. Mid April is an excellent time to explore Prague when the flowering trees are in bloom, and the wildflowers are plentiful. Excellent chances to relax abound.

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We'd been planning on taking the Funicular Railway up the hill to check out the views over Prague, and were devastated when we finally managed to find it only to see a sign saying it was closed for renovations for the whole summer. We eventually decided to come back later on in the day when it was a bit cooler and walk up instead, and I'm so glad we did. There's actually some really beautiful walks around the wooded hillside, and although we took the most direct route we could find to the top, it was nice to meander back down again later on. There are plenty of little grassy areas where you can stop for a rest and breaks in the trees offering views over the city. Although it's not something I'd wish to tackle in the heat of the day, it's definitly a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so in the evening.

To get yourself up to the lookout point which is adorned by a scaled down version of the Eiffel Tower, either walk up or take the funicular railway (valid as a public transport so free with your travel pass) It climps up from Ujezd station every 10-15min daily 9.15am-8.45pm except of course on the day I wanted to go up!!

So I sent Rich to the top to snap some shots for VT whilst I stayed on more solid warmer ground. At the top there is a mirror maze which is great for kids. Walking up gives you a clear view of the Hunger wall which the Communists hailed as a great public work which provided employment for the ranks of the citys destitute, but was in fact paid for by expropriation of Jewish property.

There is a lovely rose garden laid out in front of the observatory but obviously no blooms in the cold.

The easiest way to get to this site is to take a tram to Ujezd station. It can be seen from the road. The memorial itself is very unusual. The statues are layed on the steps. It looks like the the people lined in the raw are coming down. The Czech sculptor Olbram Zoubek is "responsible" for this lovely memorial. It is rather new, dates from May 2002 .