A Swedish soldier and a gambling monk both ride at night but are harmless One of the darkest moments for Prague was at the end of the Thirty Years' War, when Swedish troops looted Prague Castle and Malá Strana. The war ended before Old Town fell, thanks to a strong defense
A Brazilian fan of the deck explains why it is his favorite to read People from all sorts of backgrounds become involved with Tarot, and also have different reasons for choosing the deck they use. For Leonardo Chioda, a Tarot card reader from Brazil, his interest goes back to his childhood. His
Bones from 40,000 plague and war victims are in creative sculptures The ossuary at Sedlec is generally called the Bone Church, and for good reason. Bones from tens of thousands of people gathered over many centuries have been put into unique decorative designs. The full name is the Cemetery Church of
The centuries-old monastery once had some devilishly good food The monastery at Emauzy looks pleasant enough from a distance, with its modern concrete wing-shaped spires added in the 1960s. Its history goes back to 1347, and before that, the area was allegedly a pagan grove dedicated to Morana, the Slavic goddess
Old Town's prettiest house is also home to legends of greed and murder One of the most striking facades on the route from Charles Bridge to Old Town Square is the House at the Golden Well. And such a beautiful building would be sure to attract a handful of stories over the
A statue of a knight at City Hall relates to a gruesome ghost story Prague City Hall is certainly the only administrative building in the world with a statue of a cursed ghost. The current building is near the site of an old tragedy that took place back in the era of
The singer known for her patriotism also dabbled in the occult and loved black People in the Czech Republic know Ema Destinnová from her somewhat idealized portrait on the Kč 2,000 banknote. Her career as an opera star and even as a patriot is oft discussed. Less remembered is her love
The mistaken report of a soldier's death led to unintentional bigamy Three ghosts appear on Christmas Eve in Prague's Malá Strana district. They are not the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, neither are they St Nicholas, an Angel and Devil, nor the Three Wise Men. The roots of this haunting
A few house signs in Prague hint at hidden alchemical meanings. The main figure on Ace of Cups in The Tarot of Prague is a red lion with a chalice, from a building on Nerudova Street 41 in Prague's Malá Strana section. The red lion is an alternative name for the Philosopher's Stone,
