Modern Prague
July 29th 2008 09:33
The Old Town Square at noon
It is an early summer evening. The sinking sun lights up the ornate and richly varied facades of the buildings that edge the Old Town Square. Towers and spires rise out of the shadows behind them. Restless tribes of young travellers mill around the Staropramen beer tents. From café terraces their richer, staider and soberer elders, look on. A giant screen flashes European Cup Football hype. On a central platform, a brand new Hyundai sits gleaming like a golden calf. A boy buzzes back and forth on a scooter emblazoned with “Darling’s” in hot pink letters. A matching stretch limo with tinted windows hovers in a side street nearby. The corner the clock strikes 9. All heads turn. Tour groups crowd underneath and gaze up at the magical workings of its face. There’s a kind of hush. It is filled with crescendo of classical music from a nearby church. A languid, six foot blonde goddess strolls by, her golden-brown arms hung with shopping bags – Paul Smith, Prada and Agnes B.
Baroque Prague
This is Prague today, one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in the world and one of its most popular tourist destinations.
Looking down the Vltava River to the Charles Bridge
After a grim spell behind the Iron Curtain and short term of recovery, Prague is back, where historically as well as geographically, it belongs, at the centre of Europe, at the crossroads of old trade and travel routes. It is part of the European Union. Football fever has taken hold. While the Czech currency, the korun, lives out its last days, global businesses and brands have already colonised its commercial sector. H&M, M&S and Benetton fly their flags from grand old shop fronts. Tesco’s lurk in their basements. Gucci, Versace and Chanel boutiques have settled the art nouveau arcades. Consumerism thrives in this new age Prague and its people, clearly, love to shop.
The House of H&M Prague
Czechs love a good time too and Prague night life is legendary. With some of the best and cheapest beer in Europe, with an unbelievable number and variety of bars and clubs which seem to be open all hours and with a laissez faire attitude to “fun” and “entertainment”, the city enjoys a reputation as one of Europe’s great party places.
A summer evening in the Square of Stare Mesto
Blessed with a multitude of spectacular churches and synagogues, Prague is sometimes called the city of spires. Yet, the Czech Republic is one of the most atheistic countries in the world. Considering the religious dissent which had it tied up for centuries this is not surprising. While some churches still fulfill their religious purpose, others have become the stage for concerts and recitals. For centuries a hub of European culture, modern Prague is renowned for its wonderful classical music.
A concert in a church in Mala Strana
Architecturally, Prague is breathtaking. Dreamed up by a succession of rich, powerful dynasties, with the artistic genius of the known world at their disposal, the city is a wonderland of beautiful, historic buildings. Romanesque, Mediaeval, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Renaissance, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Cubist and Modern Functionalist - every age and every architectural expression, with its own unique Czech twist of course, is here. Furthermore, unlike many other European and British cities, old Prague is mercifully intact and comparatively unscathed by war, industrialisation and insensitive modernisation.
A building in Stare Mesto
It is the architecture of old Prague and the history that it embodies, that draws most people here. It is landmarks like the astrological clock and the buildings of Stare Mesto, the synagogues and the cemetery of the Jewish quarter, the Charles Bridge and the magnificent Castle that make Prague unforgettable.
The astrological clock
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