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Houska Castle guards a pit leading down into Hell
A chapel at Houska Castle was built on a chasm filled with half-human monsters to keep them in. Several places on Earth are thought to be entry portals to hell. A foul-smelling…
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Two ghosts who nailed it: a pair of grim Prague legends
Malá Strana has two ghosts who suffered painful deaths that involved iron nails. A pair of otherwise unrelated ghosts a few streets apart in Prague’s historical Malá Strana area have something in…
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Alchemy reigns at the House at the Stone Lamb
The elaborate stone portal is filled with messages of duality and transformation. On Old Town Square, there is a house with a plaque saying Albert Einstein used to stop by there. But…
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Bruncvík and his magic sword
A dragon-slaying knight and his white lion now guard Charles Bridge. Not all of the statues on Charles Bridge are actually on top of the bridge. There is one off to the…
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The headless skeletons of Jánský vršek
The mysterious spectres wander the same small group of streets. The area around Prague Castle has quite a few frightening apparitions. Two of the most unsettling are headless skeletons at Jánský vršek,…
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The ghost of a runaway lover haunts Platýz Palace
The building on Národní třída has been haunted for over 650 years. A bit lost on busy Národní třída in the commercial shopping area of Prague is a building and courtyard called…
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The lost Jesuit treasures
A ghost still looks for a fortune that was secreted away by some priests before they were expelled. Right next to Charles Bridge on the Old Town side is the Klementinum, a…
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A peasant girl haunts Liechtenstein Palace
The miller’s daughter tried to break into society by attending a ball at Liechtenstein Palace but it ended in tragedy. Every young woman wants to be popular. On Kampa Island, near Charles…
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Ghost dogs run wild in the streets of Prague
Dogs are ubiquitous in Prague, even in the spirit world where ghost dogs hold a place of pride. One of the first things you will notice in Prague is the number of…
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The devil chef of Emauzy
The centuries-old monastery once had some devilishly good food made by a devil chef. The monastery at Emauzy looks pleasant enough from a distance, with its modern concrete wing-shaped spires added in…
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Built with the Devil’s help, Part III: Karlov
The big dome at the Church of St Charlemagne in Karlov is simply to die for. Making a large building or a bridge requires a lot of complex math and engineering. But…
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Built with the Devil’s help, Part II: Kinský Palace
Kinský Palace may have some dark secrets buried in its foundation. Making a large building or a bridge requires a lot of complex math and engineering. But back in the Middle Ages…
