St. Nicholas Church, Malá Strana, Prague
There are a few St. Nicholas Churches kicking around Prague – here is the one in Malá Strana (the Lesser Quarter). Begun in 1704, this Baroque grandpapa took 51 years to complete. Neither the original architect, the Bavarian Christoph Dientzenhofer, nor his son Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, lived to see the finish. The
Ceiling, St. Nicholas Church, Malá Strana, Prague
St. Nicholas’s ceiling – The Apotheosis of St. Nicholas – comes to you courtesy of the Austrian artist, Johann Lukas Kracker. It’s one of the largest ceiling frescoes in Europe.
Organ, St. Nicholas Church, Malá Strana, Prague
Mozart played here. Or, to be more precise, Mozart played on this organ. Built by the Jesuit Thomas Scwharz (1745-1747), the organ has over 4,000 pipes. Mozart’s connection with Prague came about through his friendship with composer Frantisek Dusek and his wife Josefina. They first met in Salzburg, when the Duseks
Continue readingOrgan, St. Nicholas Church, Malá Strana, Prague
Vrtbov Garden, Malá Strana, Prague 1
This marvelous secret garden is tucked down an alleyway off the Karmelitská, within spitting distance of St. Nicholas Church. It began its life in 1720, as the private playground of Jan Joseph, Earl of Vrtba, and it is Baroque through and through. There is an aviary, a fountain, a sala terrena
Roof of the Rudolfinum, Prague
Nazi-occupied Prague, an aspiring SS officer, a simple job – what could go wrong? In Jiri Weil’s black comedy, Mendelssohn Is on the Roof, the answer is, a lot. Julius Schlesinger’s orders are simple. His Nazi superiors wish him to remove the statue of the only Jewish composer on the