By: Mary Banks Farmer and Kate Massey

Welcome to Kate and Banks’s blog of our trip to the beautiful Prague Castle. We started our day by meeting at 9:00 AM in Wenclesas Square. From the square, we walked to the Stepanska to use the trolleys for the first time. We took two trolleys all the way to the castle. We have been walking so much that it was exciting to use the trolleys for the first time! 

We arrived at the castle around 9:30 AM and spent the majority of our day here. On our way towards it, we walked on a bridge over the moat. We were interested to learn that the moat previously was occupied by deer. This was so the king could go hunting any time he wanted. The moat was also home to the Lions’ Den of the Castle. In more recent history, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Barack Obama of the United States of America signed the Nuclear Accords here. An ironic bit of history considering Putin’s current invasion of Ukraine. 

The site is home to thousands of years of history, yet only three churches have been there. The current and largest temple in Prague, St. Vitus Cathedral was the first stop on our tour.

The old and historic cathedral was most recently completed in the 20th century. While our pictures from the area are beautiful, they do not do the church justice. It is home to many important events in history including kings’ coronations and having THE Mozart play inside its walls. Like most cathedrals, St. Vitus has jaw-droppingly stunning stained glass windows.

 However, unlike many cathedrals (as far as we know), the stained glass windows have sponsors. Some sponsors include banks and insurance companies. We found this interesting because of the disconnect in the United States of religious organizations, government, and corporations. In addition to the stained glass windows, there are many other symbols found inside the church including the Czech coat of arms. From what we have learned, this demonstrates the continued unimportance of religion in Czech culture. 

On the sides of the cathedral, there are cardinals and other important clergymen buried and lots of other relics that make the space feel holy. Statues of legends will have three symbols that will be able to tell you who they are. For example, a Prince will have a crown and a soldier will have a sword.  

Here is the statue and body of Saint John Nepomuk. He was the first martyr for secrets of confession only having authority to be done through a priest. He was drowned in the Vltava river for refusing to do the Queen of Bohemia’s confession.

After leaving the cathedral, we walked through the courtyard in between the church and the palace. From the courtyard, we could see several additions to the church that were not visible from the inside. First, there was a mosaic painted on the side of the building from the 14th century demonstrating the last judgment. Additionally, we could see there was a tunnel connecting to the King’s palace for easy access. There were also living quarters for the bishops. 

We ate lunch within the palace grounds getting an American favorite of Czech food, fried cheese and french fries. After lunch we took a scenic route down the hill looking at statues and souvenirs made by locals. Some people also chose to hike to the top of the tower for a spectacular view of Prague. We both decided to take a rest as we Americans are not used to walking 20,000 steps a day, but our views were just as beautiful.

The Old Royal Palace has over 1000 years of history here with a giant hall and gothic ceiling. To be honest, this part was very anticlimactic. We were expecting a grand castle after the churches and synagogues we have visited. There were, however, beautiful jewels worn on the crowns of royalty in the past.

The most intriguing and memorable story of the castle was its relation to the rock band the Rolling Stones. The first President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, was a huge fan and invited the Rolling Stones to the Castle. Mick Jagger even celebrated his 60th birthday here, and the band’s lighting crew helped light the outside of the castle.

Thanks for following along with us today! More to come from Mother Prague soon! Ciao!

Kate Massey and Mary Banks Farmer