František Lützow

“ The foreign allies of Sigismund distrusted all Bohemians, even those who were on the side of the King, while the latter, who had, as Palacky writes, learnt that ‘even the largest force is insufficient to subdue a strong and resolute people,’ now felt more disposed to listen to the words of those Bohemian nobles who, indeed, sided with their Sovereign, but did not share the German desire to extirpate the whole Bohemian nation. ”

“ Adjoining the synagogue is the Jewish cemetery, one of the best-known spots in Prague. It is very extensive, and contains countless monuments, on many of which we see the emblems of the tribes of Israel, and the quaint devices—such as a hare, stag or fish—which with the Jews did duty as armes parlantes. The somewhat gloomy outlook is enlivened in spring by the gleam of the numerous elder trees that have been planted here. Immediately outside the precincts of the Jewish town, on the banks of the Vitava, stands the Rudolphinum, a modern institution named after the late Crown Prince. ”

“ It is on this spot, for ever connected with the memory of Hus, that it is proposed to erect a monument to the great Church-reformer. Here once stood the Bethlehem Chapel, the cradle of Church reform, and the modest dwelling of Hus. A tablet on the door still reminds the traveller of the spot. On the Bethlehem Square also is the very ancient house known as ‘U Halanku,’ a fine specimen of the ancient civic architecture of Prague. ”

“ The once powerful Bohemian nobility had been weakened by dissension. Some of its members still, though reluctantly, remained faithful to Sigismund. Others, perhaps also reluctantly, recognised the city of Prague as their over-lord, though they never—as was the case in some Italian cities—became merged in the mass of the citizens. The Taborites, who had taken but little part in the ‘crowning mercy’ of the Vysehrad, had not yet attained the height of their power. ”

“ Turning to the right we reach the Joseph Street, which marks the boundary of the Jewish town, now called Joseph’s town, the ancient ghetto of Prague, that still preserves its medieval character. Entering the Rabbi Street, we see at our left the Jewish town hall, perhaps one of the most picturesque buildings in Prague. Immediately opposite is the far-famed old synagogue, built in the early Gothic style about the beginning of the thirteenth century. ”

“ Though these negotiations with the Council as yet proved unsuccessful, the delegates of the Council, before leaving Prague in January 1434, urgently exhorted the Utraquist nobles to take a more active part in the politics of their country, and to use their influence in favour of an agreement with Rome.
These words made a great impression on the Bohemian nobility, which viewed with great displeasure the almost complete extinction of its formerly overwhelming power. The struggle in Bohemia now became rather one between aristocracy and democracy than between contending religious parties. ”

“ It may, however, be briefly noted that the Bohemian national movement was undoubtedly an offspring of the Romantic movement, the influence of which was felt all over Europe at the beginning of the last century. The revival of the Bohemian language is due to a small group of learned men, of whom Jungmann, Kolar, Safarik and Palacky were the most prominent. These men, few in number, showed that enthusiasm touching, though it may appear absurd to some, which champions of apparently hopeless causes often display. ”

“ PRAGUE, the winter residence of the wealthy and powerful Bohemian nobility, is a city of palaces, but it will here be sufficient to mention those only that have considerable historical or artistic interest. ”

“ Then Krusina hurried to the spot where they stood, and exclaimed with a loud voice, ‘Dear brethren! turn back again and be to-day brave knights in Christ’s battle, for it is God’s, not our fight, that we are fighting to-day. You will see for sure that God will deliver all His and our enemies into our hands.’ Hardly had he ceased speaking when the cry, ‘The enemy is flying,’ was heard. ”

“ Prague is now an Austrian provincial town, though Bohemia has always officially been described as a kingdom, not as a province. It was only during the Austrian War of Succession (1741–1748) that the annals of Prague again became of some interest. The male line of the house of Habsburg became extinct after the death of Charles VI., and a European coalition was formed for the purpose of excluding his daughter Maria Theresa from the throne. The Elector of Bavaria, who claimed the Bohemian crown, entered the country with an army of Frenchmen and Bavarians, while a Saxon army also invaded Bohemia. ”

“ The battle of 1757 is the last warlike event with which Prague is connected, if we except the civil tumult in 1848. The town played no part in the later events of the Seven Years’ War, nor in the long struggle between Austria and France that, with short intervals, lasted from 1792 to 1815.
In the peaceful years that followed the Congress of Vienna (1815) the Bohemian nation strove—as far as the jealousy of a strictly absolutist Government permitted—to recover some of its ancient rights and privileges, and particularly to revive the national language. ”

“ The history of Prague is to so great an extent that of Bohemia, that if I attempted to give a full list of my authorities, I should be obliged to enumerate the works of the principal modern Bohemian historians, as well as those of many older chroniclers and writers of history. ”

“ The whole nation rose in arms against Sigismund. The indignation was particularly great at Prague, where the news was received that, by orders of Sigismund, John Krasa, one of the leading citizens, had been dragged through the streets of Breslau by horses and then burnt at the stake. John of Zelivo, in his sermons, denounced Sigismund violently in language drawn from the Apocalypse. ”

“ Municipal authority in the city was then in the hands of those Utraquists whose views were nearest to those of Rome, but the large majority of the citizens of Prague favoured the national party. To pacify the people the magistrates had, immediately after Carvajal’s departure, assembled the masters and priests at the Carolinum, and enjoined on all present not to speak in a derogatory manner of the Utraquist communion and the Articles of Prague. This decision was made known to the citizens from the town hall, but it did not lessen the distrust of the nationalists. ”

“ Discord soon again broke out between the King and the nobles, who were encouraged by Rupert, Elector Palatine, whom the Germans had chosen as King after deposing Wenceslas. In 1401 an army led by the Margrave of Meissen, an ally of the Elector Palatine, entered Bohemia, and, after devastating a large part of the country, besieged Prague. The city that had not seen a foreign enemy at its gates for more than a hundred years was terrified, while the horrible cruelties committed by the Germans excited the indignation of the people. ”

“ As the names of the streets, squares, etc., at Prague are now only written in the national language, I have thought that a short list of the most necessary Bohemian words would be welcome. It will be very useful when using the plan of Prague that accompanies this book. It is scarcely necessary to say that English is spoken in the principal hotels of Prague. Those who feel inclined to learn the Bohemian language which, though difficult, is philologically of the highest interest, will find an able guide in Professor Morfill’s Grammar of the Bohemian or Cech Language.
Divadlo = theatre. ”

“ For more than two centuries a religious conflict, interwoven with the racial struggle in a manner that cannot be defined in few words, attracted the attention of Europe to Bohemia, and particularly to Prague ”

“ Maximilian invariably demanded grants of money to enable him to carry on war against the Turks, and the Estates, with equal regularity, claimed that further concessions should be made to the Utraquists, or rather Protestants as they should now be called. At the Diet of 1575 the Lutherans and Bohemian brethren jointly drew up a profession of faith which is known as the ‘Confessio Bohemica.’ The King did not indeed recognise it, but he granted the Protestants, now the great majority of the population, independence from the old Utraquist consistory. ”

“ VIEW OF STRAHOV of Wenceslas and the martyred Bishop of Prague. The church which, to use the words of Monsignore Lehner, had become ‘the metropolitan church of the whole Bohemian empire’ —then extending further than at almost any other period—remained insufficient even when a smaller church or chapel adjoining it had been erected. Prince Spytihnev II., therefore, resolved to build a larger church on the Hradcany Hill, and, space being very restricted, he demolished the old building of Wenceslas to make room for the new church, which, like the previous one, was in the Romanesque style. ”

“ The Daliborka Tower is very famous in popular legends. It is said to have received its present name from Dalibor of Kozojed, a knight who was imprisoned here during the reign of Vladislav II. The serfs of a neighbouring knight, Adam of Ploskov, had been driven to revolt by the cruelty of their lord, and Dalibor availed himself of this opportunity for seizing Ploskov’s estates. He was, therefore, imprisoned in the tower to which he has given his name, and afterwards decapitated. This somewhat sordid event became the nucleus of legends created by the imaginative Bohemian people. ”

“ Less praiseworthy than these mediæval methods of enforcing justice were the King’s nocturnal excursions through the streets of Prague, on which he was accompanied by boon companions not generally chosen from the higher ranks of the nobility. The King thus became estranged from the proud Bohemian aristocracy, and civil war eventually broke out. It was, as Dr Tomek has shown, in consequence of his desire to mix more freely with the citizens that Wenceslas abandoned the royal residence on the Hradcany and took up his abode in a building close to the Celetna ulice and the powder tower. ”

“ Each man when proceeding to his death took leave of his comrades in a pleasant manner, as if he were going to a banquet or some pastime. ‘I go before you,’ he said, ‘that I may first see the glory of God, the glory of our beloved Redeemer; but I await you directly after me; in this hour grief already vanishes, and a new heartfelt and eternal happiness begins.’ Full preparations had been made by the Imperial authorities to prevent disturbances. The whole market-place was lined with troops, and orders had been given that the drums should beat during the whole time that the executions lasted. ”

“ That a movement in favour of Church reform should originate here at a time when Geneva and Wittenberg were unknown as centres of theological strife was only rendered possible by the fact that Prague had become the site of one of the then very scanty universities.
At the meeting of the Estates at Prague in 1348 Charles made the following statement: ‘One of our greatest endeavours is that Bohemia our kingdom, for which we feel greater affection than for any of our other lands, should, through our action, be adorned by a great number of learned men ”

“ Tomek the fortifications consisted of a double wall and double ditch, which was filled with water derived from the Vltava. With the exception of the Vysehrad and a few straggling buildings near the present Poric Street, the new walls contained all that part of Prague that was situated on the right bank of the river.
Premysl Ottokar II., the son and successor of Wenceslas I., was one of Bohemia’s greatest kings. Both by successful warfare and by skilful diplomacy he so greatly enlarged his dominions, that his rule at one time extended from the Adriatic in the South to the Baltic in the North. ”

“ THE BRIDGE TOWER OF THE OLD TOWN many art treasures. Zizka, the great leader of the Taborites—as the more advanced Hussites were called, from the name of the town that was their centre—here first showed his great military ability. The citizens now became desirous for peace, while the Utraquist nobles who had remained faithful to the Royal cause were yet reluctant to continue warfare against those whose creed they shared. ”

“ In 1393 most of the prominent Bohemian nobles formed a confederacy against Wenceslas, which is known in history as the ‘league of the lords.’ The King’s own cousin, Jodocuo of Moravia, as well as Albert III., Duke of Austria, and William, Margrave of Meissen, joined the confederacy. On Wenceslas refusing to grant the demands of the confederates, who wished to limit his power, and especially his right to choose his councillors, he was seized by the lords at his castle near Beroun and conveyed as a prisoner to Prague. ”

“ Walks and Excursions near Prague
TO those visitors to Prague who have acquired some interest in the history of the country no excursion will appeal more than that to the White Mountain, ‘the Chaeronaea of Bohemia,’ as it has been aptly called. Leaving the Malá Strana by the now-demolished Strahov gate (near the monastery of that name) , we soon reach the White Mountain. Factories built in modern times have considerably altered the aspect of the ground. ”

“ More recently the reigning Emperor has, in 1891 and 1901, received the nobility of Bohemia in the Hradcany Castle.
The vast and imposing Hradcany Palace has the greatest historical interest, and well deserves the attention of the visitor. We enter the first of the three courtyards from the Hradcany Square, famous as the site of the executions that preceded the meeting of the ‘bloody diet.’ The first courtyard is divided by a railing from the square, and is entered by a gateway embellished by four colossal mythological statues by Platzer. ”

“ Tomek the period between the circumvallation of the old town and the foundation of the new town was that in which the preponderance of the German element at Prague attained its height. The Sovereigns favoured the German immigrants, wishing to use them as a counterpoise to the overwhelming power of the masterful Bohemian nobles. The old chronicler Dalimil, when describing Ottokar II.’s departure on his last fatal campaign against Rudolph of Hapsburg, refers to the apathy of the Bohemians, many of whom considered themselves as neglected in favour of the Germans, and to the King’s resentment. ”

“ Shortly afterwards Korybut was released and allowed to return to his own country.
It is only quite at the end of the Hussite Wars that the capital again becomes the scene of strife. After the great defeat of the troops of the last crusade at—Tauss (or Domazlice) , the Church of Rome had for a time abandoned the idea of subduing Bohemia by force of arms. A Council assembled at Basel, and after prolonged negotiations the Bohemians consented to be represented there. Their envoys, among whom were Rokycan, afterwards Archbishop of Prague; Prokop the Great, leader of the Taborites ”

“ They further declared that a general arming of the people, without the consent of the Diet, was contrary to the law of the land. Many Bohemian towns, such as Kolin, Kourim, Caslav, Cesky Brod, made common cause with Prague, which they recognised as the ‘head of the Estate of the citizens.’ Many knights and nobles, particularly those who belonged to the ‘unity’ of the Bohemian brethren, were in sympathy with the towns, and, indeed, agreed to their suggestion that a meeting of the Estates should take place. ”

“ The citizens speedily rallied, and, assuming the offensive, drove the Moravian nobles back into the marshy ground that extended from the Vysehrad to the village of Pankrac. A great massacre of the nobles, whose heavy armour impeded their movements, took place, and flight soon became general. Sigismund himself, who, regardless of the taunts of the Moravian nobles had again remained with the rear of his army, did not halt till he had reached the town of Cesky Brod. ”

“ When leaving the Vysehrad the traveller can either descend to the banks of the Vltava, follow the Podskal Street, and then the Palacky Quay—from which a bridge, also named after the great historian, leads to the suburb of Smichov—and finally reach the Bohemian theatre; or passing through the ‘Na Slupi’ Street he may, turning to the right into the Horská Ulice, reach the Karlov Church, which is at the corner of the Horská and Karlova Streets. ”