The beautiful city of Prague

Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its 1,100 year existence. Founded during the Gothic and flourishing by the Renaissance eras, Prague was the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus then also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire and after World War I became the capital of Czechoslovakia. The city played major roles in the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War, and in modern history generally as the principal conurbation in Bohemia and Moravia whose second city is Brno.

Prague is one of those cities which has many many interesting sights and one can spend a lifetime discovering it. But some of my favourites are:

• Prague Castle with the St. Vitus Cathedral which store the Czech Crown Jewels
• Old Town with its Old Town Square
• The Astronomical Clock on Old Town Square
• The picturesque Charles Bridge
• The vaulted Gothic Old New Synagogue of 1270
• New Town with its busy and historic Wenceslas Square
• National Museum on the Wenceslas Square
• Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter) with its Infant Jesus of Prague
• Josefov (the old Jewish quarter) with Old Jewish Cemetery and Old New Synagogue
• Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, with its huge collections of glass, furniture, textile, toys, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Art Deco
• Vyšehrad Castle and Cemetery where many famous Czechs are buried, including the composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana
• Písek Gate, the last preserved city gate of Baroque fortification
• The Dancing House (Fred and Ginger Building)
• The Mucha Museum, showcasing the Art Nouveau works of Alfons Mucha

The concert hall

The view across the river

Prague has many bridges. Very picturesque.

The Charles Bridge entrance

View from the Prague Castle

The Senate

The Shrine of Infant Jesus

St Vitus Cathedral.

Reminds me of the Cologne Cathedral.

The changing of the guard.

The tribute to the martyrs.

The astronomical clock in the Old Town.

Absinth is legal and quite popular.

The National Museum at Wenceslas Square

I discovered Alfons Mucha in Prague.

The dancing house. Quite unique.