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Sendivogius, the man who turned mercury into gold
An alchemist who claimed to have turned mercury into gold has been overshadowed by the better-known Edward Kelley. An overlooked alchemist who was attracted to the court of Rudolf II is Michael…
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The bitter winter night’s ghost tale of Naked Cecilie
A cold night had ghostly consequences for a civil servant and his unfaithful wife The holidays are the season of giving, but sometimes people give just a little too much. Also, not…
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Three Czech ghosts emerged from one Christmas Eve tragedy
The mistaken report of a soldier’s death led to unintentional bigamy and tragedy. Three Czech ghosts wander the streets on Christmas Eve in Prague’s Malá Strana district. They are not the ghosts…
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Malá Strana Cemetery is a spooky time capsule
A tomb in Malá Strana Cemetery for a girl who died over 150 years ago still gets candles from strangers. Like many old cities in Europe, Prague is dotted with cemeteries. They…
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The dark meaning behind the legend of Dalibor’s violin
An imprisoned knight learned to make music, but his singing was something else as Dalibor’s violin has a dark meaning. One of the most famous legends of Prague Castle is that of…
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Stephen Hübner, the peculiar vampire of Trutnov
A wealthy farmer’s success was attributed to a deal with the Devil. These days, the town of Trutnov in the Krkonoše mountains in the northeast of Bohemia is known for its annual music festival.…
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The restless skeletons of Old Town
A flaming miser and a top hat-wearing beggar are among the restless skeletons wandering Prague at night. Old Town is quite crowded at night with a variety of headless ghosts, flaming ghosts,…
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The death of Tycho Brahe, the astrologer to Rudolf II
The man behind the silver nose, Tycho Brahe was only in Bohemia for a short time While the court of Emperor Rudolf II was filled with astrologers and alchemists, the most famous…
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The Witches’ Hammer trials in Moravia and Silesia
A small area at the edge of Czechia saw hundreds executed for witchcraft; the incident inspired the film ‘Witches Hammer’. The witch-hunting craze hit the Moravia-Silesia region, in the eastern part of…
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Prague’s zombie: The Stromovka ghoul hunts on moonlit nights
One soldier stayed behind after the Siege of 1848 and became a zombie-like ghoul. One of the most pleasant ways to spend an afternoon is whiling away the time in Prague’s Stromovka…
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The sad tale of Prague’s pathetic lone vampire
The city’s only vampire, Dopiječ, unlives in a borrowed grave in Olšany Cemeteries. Prague surprisingly has few tales of vampires before modern times. Many films, novels, and computer games mention Prague as…
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See the seven creepiest relics in Prague churches
Some skeletons and mummies all dressed up with no place to go are the Golden City’s creepiest relics Most Catholic churches have a creepy relic of one sort or another, but which…
