Rather fanciful tales put a colorful spin on the origins of some buildings in the Prague’s historical Jewish quarter
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Baba Studio, baroque, cemeteries and memorials, Jewish folklore, Magic Bohemia, magic prague, Prague and Bohemia, Tarot of Prague
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Perchta, the 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 Not all ghosts are frightful. One of the more benign Czech phantoms is…
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Legendary Czech entry Guardian of the Flooded Village wins European 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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baroque, cemeteries and memorials, churches, Devil, ghosts and phantoms, Magic Bohemia, magic prague, mummies, Prague and Bohemia, Tarot of Prague
A Swedish looter met a supernatural fate in the Thirty Years’ War
The failed attempt of the Swedish army to conquer Prague at the end of the Thirty Years’ War has been back in the news, as a Baroque-style Victory Column that was toppled…
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baroque, churches, Devil, ghosts and phantoms, Magic Bohemia, magic prague, Prague and Bohemia, witchcraft
Morana, the Czech goddess of winter and death
Each of the seasons in Slavic folklore is overseen by a god or goddess, though the names and attributes vary greatly from region to region. In Bohemia and Moravia, the female force…
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A mermaid found love at a long-vanished Prague pond
A village once stood outside the Old Town walls, and a pond there was home to a sad but beautiful mermaid The Czech word for a little pond is Rybníček, and in…
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architecture, astrology, Baba Studio, baroque, Bohemian lifestyle, ghosts and phantoms, magic prague, Prague and Bohemia, Tarot of Prague
Ruprecht the headless trumpeter
The palace that houses the Czech Senate is haunted by the ghost of a trumpeter Some people like to sleep in late, especially after a night of partying. And isn’t it just…
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cemeteries and memorials, churches, ghosts and phantoms, Magic Bohemia, magic prague, Prague and Bohemia, vampires
A practical guide to Moravian vampires
In the early 1700s, part of the Czech Republic was at the center of suspected vampire activity There was a “vampire panic” across much of Central and Eastern Europe in the first…
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The ghost of a gluttonous merchant haunts the Wallenstein Pub
A beggar had the last word when the entrepreneur wouldn’t share his leftovers Back when times were tough, obesity used to be quite rare. Only the wealthy could afford to eat that…
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baroque, Bohemian lifestyle, cemeteries and memorials, churches, ghosts and phantoms, magic prague, Prague and Bohemia
Ghostly goats of the Golden City
Among the more curious supernatural apparitions in Prague are some stubborn goats Prague at night is a virtual menagerie of spectral animals. There are the mundane yet otherworldly dogs and cats, and…
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Whipping away infertility at Easter
A traditional practice involves braided willow branches and plum brandy Easter in Europe has always been tied up with spring rituals related to fertility and birth. Bunnies are among the most prolific…
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Red Goat, the pirate ghost of Prague
A seafaring buccaneer tried to hide on land but could not escape his fate The current mayor of Prague, since November 15, 2018, has been a member of the Czech Pirate Party.…