Hradčany is a unique part of Prague, where you can still find the spirit of the old town…
Hradčani were founded in 1321. Several streets with houses, which leaned against the city walls, represented the beginning of the future district.
This settlement was the smallest among all Prague municipalities. The population mostly worked in the castle as support staff, prison guards, stable workers, etc. It was only much later that the famous King Charles IV expanded the city walls and included Hradčany as part of the city.
Then Hradčany became interesting for the clergy and aristocracy. During 1541, a catastrophic fire occurred, which destroyed two thirds of the houses in Hradčany. This greatly helped the investors of the time, who bought empty land for next to nothing and started building magnificent palaces. Some of them are still standing today. 1598 Emperor Rudolph II of Habsburg granted Hradčany the status of a royal city. Joseph II’s reforms included Hradčany in one of the Prague districts.
When you find yourself in this part of the city, the magnificent Prague Castle takes all the glory, and few people know that there are other sights here that should be visited.
These are the Strahov Monastery, then Loreto and Chernin Palace with a garden. All these attractions are close to each other and are located in the beautiful Loreto square.
Loreto Square was never this beautiful. In the past, there was a muddy trench here, and, since it was inhabited, there was also a cemetery from the 9th century.
This square was also the place where the executions intended for the aristocracy and nobles were carried out, while the executions of ordinary people took place outside the walls of the city where today’s Pohorelec is. Executions were carried out with a sword and an ax, which was considered a special privilege.
However, some of the executions were more harrowing than others. The unskilled executioner would be stoned even to death for not doing his job well.
Today, Loreto Square is a peaceful and romantic place, full of beautiful buildings.
Loreto
Loreto is one of the most important sanctuaries in the city and a real baroque gem of Hradčany.
Loreto was built after the Italian Loreto, where, according to legend, the Virgin Mary lived and where the Archangel Gabriel told her that she would give birth to the son of God.
The Prague Loreto was made by Countess Katarina Lobković in 1626. It is considered the most faithful to the Italian original. In the treasury, many precious objects are kept, and the most important is a gift, which Countess Ljudmila Kolowrat received from her 35 years younger husband. His wedding gift was 6,500 diamonds, which the countess bequeathed to Loreto after her death. From it, a relic, the Prague sun, was made of gilded silver with 6222 diamonds weighing 12 kg.
The rest of the diamonds were paid for the work.
Here is also the famous carillion, a musical instrument made of bells. There are 30 of those bells, and 27 of them play the anthem “Thousands of greetings for you” every hour. The bells were made in Amsterdam and were donated to the church by a local merchant, whose daughter miraculously recovered from her illness.
The bells were installed in 1695. There was a big celebration about it. Each bell had its godfather from high society, who was also in charge of maintenance. Even the Bohemian Emperor Leopold I was the godfather of the first bell. In its day, this carillon was a true marvel.
Strahov
Strahov Monastery is located next to Loreto and is a unique place to visit.
Strahov Monastery dates back to 1140. It houses one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, containing almost 200,000 books from the 10th to the 17th century.
For centuries, it was a center of culture and education. Even Napoleon’s wife, Marie Louise, during her visit to Prague in 1812, donated some of her personal books to this impressive collection.
The Strahov Library consists of two main rooms, the Theological Hall and the Philosophical Hall.
The theological hall represents a richly decorated real baroque library, which stores 20,000 books.
The oldest book comes from the 9th century and is the Book of the Gospels written on parchment. There are also astronomical globes, as well as a wheel, which allows the monks to read more than one book at a time.
The Philosopher’s Hall, in classical style, was added in the 18th century to house the growing book collection.
It contains about 50,000 books on its walnut shelves. Unlike the previous library, which mostly contains books on religious topics, here you can also find books on law, philosophy, history and science.
Other books, which are too old and valuable, are stored in special depots where the storage conditions are strictly controlled and are not open to the public.
Černin Palace and Garden
The Baroque Černín Palace is the longest building in Prague. The front part is as long as 250 m and has 365 windows.
The palace was built by Count Humprecht Jan Černín from Čudenica, the only one from the Czech aristocracy, who fought on the winning side in the Battle of the White Mountain. He was rewarded with the confiscated property of many Protestant families. Combined with his savings he could, as one of the richest Bohemian aristocrats, afford to build the largest palace in the city overlooking the Prague Castle. It was a matter of prestige in the competition with the Habsburgs.
The palace was decorated with numerous statues, expensive tapestries and frescoes because Count Černin enjoyed showing off his wealth to others. But maintaining the palace was too expensive and it was sold to the king and the state in 1851.
The Černin family moved to Vienna and for a while the palace was a housing for the poor, then a hospital, and then a military barracks.
After the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, the palace was assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Černin Palace is also the place where the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Masaryk, fell through the window in 1948. This is the last death in the Czech Republic by defenestration in Prague, which is shrouded in secrecy to this day.
Černin Garden is one of the most beautiful in Prague and is open to public visits.
Since it is off the beaten tourist track, it is very peaceful and quiet here.
The garden forms a whole with the Černin Palace, the construction of which began in the 17th century. There are fountains, ponds, steps leading to the upper pool, a small pavilion, etc.
The garden covers an area of about 6 hectares.
What is interesting is that the garden is not in front of the palace but on the side, but that does not diminish its beauty. In the 19th century, it was designed in the form of an English garden.
When the Černin Palace was turned into barracks in the 19th century, the garden also suffered. They used it for stables and for housing horses.
Fortunately, between 1929 and 1934, the garden was reconstructed and this time in a much simpler form.
Today it belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Viewpoint
And finally, Hradčani is the place with the most beautiful view of Prague.
From here, you can walk down hidden paths to the city center.
Also, from this point, Petrin tower is close to you.
Conclusion
The biggest enemy of us wheelers in Hradčany is the cobblestones.
Add to that its uphill and you get a combination that is almost impossible for people in wheelchairs. Everyone else, go ahead, this is an interesting part of the city, which should be seen.
Have you visited Hradčany?
Did I miss something?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Velickovic
