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Mystery in stone: the New Town Hall palindrome
Two sentences in Latin are the same backwards and forwards If you look closely at the side of the tower of the New Town Hall next to Prague’s Karlovo náměstí, you will…
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The Rudolfine Tunnel, a technical marvel from a strange time
A 400-year-old engineering feat runs beneath Prague’s Letná district. Emperor Rudolf II is mostly remembered for his pursuit of esoteric arts like alchemy and astrology, or his vast collections of curiosities including…
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Devilish gingerbread is a tempting Bohemian holiday treat
Visitors are often surprised to see devilish gingerbread next to other holiday figures. One curious element of Christmas in Bohemia is the omnipresent Devil, who is even seen in devilish gingerbread. The…
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Halloween step aside: Dušičky rules in Bohemia
In most of Central Europe, All Souls’ Day is a family affair. For much of the English-speaking world, October is spooky season, with ghost and cobweb decorations already going up. It culminates…
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The unlucky black cat of the Křížalova Street inn
A murder plan during the plague had consequences for an evil servant in a tale involving a black cat. Prague’s menagerie of supernatural critters of course includes a black cat. The tale…
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The mysterious White Lady of the Záběhlice Chateau
A ghost called a white lady at what was a rural castle near a vineyard never revealed her secrets. Parts of what is now Prague used to be villages separated by dusty…
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Mystical gold coins gave rise to two of Prague’s synagogues
Rather fanciful tales put a colorful spin on the origins of some buildings in the Prague’s historical Jewish quarter
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Perchta, the ghostly White Lady of the Rožmberk castles
The famous White Lady had a difficult life but returned after death to look after the Rožmberk family and property
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Guardian of the Flooded Village named Tree of the Year
A devil sat beneath the tree to play his eerie violin at night before the village was covered by dam water Legends surround a 350-year-old Scots pine called the Guardian of the…
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Warning! Don’t rob a grave in a Prague church
A grave-robbing Swedish soldier met with a grim fate in the Thirty Years’ War. The failed attempt of the Swedish army to conquer Prague at the end of the Thirty Years’ War…
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Morana, the Czech goddess of winter and death
Traces of the Slavic deity can still be found in Prague. Each of the seasons in Slavic folklore is overseen by a god or goddess, though the names and attributes vary greatly…
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A mermaid found love at a long-vanished Prague pond
A village stood outside the Old Town walls, and its pond was home to a sad but beautiful mermaid. The Czech word for a little pond is Rybníček, and in pagan times…
