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Two headless horsemen haunt the route to Prague Castle
A Swedish soldier and a gambling monk both ride at night but are mostly harmless. Some parts of Prague are just overrun with ghosts. The streets leading up to Prague Castle have…
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Pieced heart: The Masonic legend of the villa called Amerika
The palace called Vila Amerika is home to a Masonic legend about a pierced heart. All of the movers and shakers in Prague used to belong to the Freemasons. The group, though,…
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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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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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Secret Masonic symbols are hiding in plain sight
The all-seeing eye of God is among several Masonic symbols on buildings across the Golden City. Buildings throughout the historical center of Prague and even a bit beyond are bedizened with details,…
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Prague will not be Mesmerized: a magnetism spa ended in failure
The family that brought Mozart to Prague tried to do the same with Mesmer, but mesmerism was a flop. Even though Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited Prague only a handful of times, his…