1936 On the Continent

gargoyles, galleries, etc. The interior of the cathedral is most interesting in its oldest portion, the pride of which is the beautiful old chapel of St. Václav, entirely inlaid with semi-precious stones from Bohemia. Here, too, are preserved the coronation jewels of the Czech kings, as well as the sepulchre of St. Jan of Nepomuk which is made entirely of wrought silver. The cathedral contains also numerous other chapels, sepulchres and altars, and as you pass through it you will admire the mausoleum of the Czech kings, the magnificent windows, the wood carvings, the ancient frescoes and the pictures. You will also be struck by the wonderful symmetry of its proportions, the marvellous light effects and the mellow tones of the organ.
Ladies not Admitted
    Proceeding from the Hrad upwards, around the Archbishop’s Palace, which contains gobelins of enormous value, and also round the Schwarzenberg Palace, which is decorated with sgraffiti, you will cross a square surrounded with palaces, churches and the former residences of the nobility. Turning to the left and crossing another small square you will reach the vast Cernin Palace, now the Czechoslovak Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and close to it the beautiful little Loretto Church where the chimes in the belfry play a hymn and the monks will show you their diamond treasures. Still higher up, another old square leads to the Strahov Monastery with its fine library and observatory. This being a retreat for monks, ladies are not admitted. From here you can reach the top of the Petin Hill and take some refreshment in the restaurant there. On descending again, if you turn to the right, you will pass from the old-fashioned seclusion into the bustle of a modern city. This contrast between past and present, stillness and noise, is one of the most striking features of Prague. A minute’s walk from a busy thoroughfare such as Václavské Namstí along the street known as Na Mustku will bring you to the narrow winding little streets of the Old Town. Instead of large up-to-date shops with plateglass frontages, you suddenly discover dimly lit buildings which are at least five hundred years old. Or a few steps from the crowded business centres lies the spacious courtyard of the Ungelt which is now completely wrapped in silence, but which in bygone centuries was the most frequented market-place in Prague. Not far from there, amidst quite modern houses, stands a strange old detached and sunken building, the Synagogue, which has stood here for nine hundred years and under the roof of which dwelt the famous Golem. Elsewhere, too, also in the midst of modern structures you will find the ancient Jewish cemetery, now a regular forest of gravestones. Thus, in Prague you are continually passing from the architecture of to-day to that of the Baroque, Renaissance and Gothic periods. The most typical of these is the Baroque, which is a Baroque of its own. Prague constitutes a museum of Baroque buildings, both of the strictly classical variety, and also of an entirely modified kind which sometimesassumes a monumental, palatial style, sometimes an almost dainty and rural aspect. It is the Baroque style which gives Prague such magnificent churches as that of St. Nicholas and also the Crusaders. It is this Baroque element which provides a counterbalance to the vast amount of Gothic architecture, the most remarkable specimens of which are the old part of the Town Hall with the Apostles’ clock, or the wonderful Týn Church.
Malá Strana
    If you cross the Charles Bridge, which dates back to the fourteenth century and is decorated with statues, you will come to that part of Prague known as the Malá Strana, which consists entirely of old palaces and similar buildings. Here is the Baroque church of St. Nicholas, which I have just mentioned, and here, too, is the ancient Valdštýn Palace. You will notice that each building is adorned with an escutcheon from which it takes its name, such as “At the Sign of the Golden Key” or “At the Sign of the Green Frog,” etc.
    Another good starting-point for a stroll through Prague is the Letná Hill near the Stromovka Park. By following the river as far as the arches of the Charles Bridge you will come to the Kampa Island which contains the Prague equivalent of Caledonian Market.
    I have already suggested some agreeable ways of spending the evenings in the centre of Prague. Slightly farther afield you will also find many attractions. There is, for example,