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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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Sepulchral imagery in The Bohemian Gothic Tarot
Motifs from Prague cemeteries adorn several cards in The Bohemian Gothic Tarot.
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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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The Black Death is commemorated by Prague’s fascinating plague columns
A lot of squares have Baroque columns in the center. Many were to give thanks for the end of a recent outbreak of Black Death
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Follow Nosferatu on a scary excursion to Czech ruins
All three versions of Nosferatu used gothic locations in Czechia or Czechoslovakia. . The classic of Gothic cinema started as an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s seminal vampire novel Dracula.
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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 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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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…
