Undamaged by the war that leveled Dresden, and destroyed so much of Europe, Prague's dreaming spires formed the capital city of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic after World War II. The Velvet Revolution of 1989 freed the city of Soviet domination, and Prague became what she is today…the capital of the Czech Republic.

Prague was the capital of old Bohemia. The "Good King Wenceslas" of the Christmas song was the great King of Bohemia who was later sanctified. (By the way, "Wenceslas" and "Vaclav" are versions of the same name, and favorite street names.) The tomb of St. Wenceslas, or St Vaclav is within the great cathedral that crowns the palace complex on the hill. The President of today's Czech Republic is Vaclav Havel, a playwright who forgoes the palace for humbler apartments in the city. A country with a poet / playwright as a president can't help but have a special spirit. Perhaps you'll find that Prague is one of your favorite cities in the world.

There are several districts, or main areas in Prague. Stare Mesto is the "Old Town", and site of the first settlements. The long, sloping avenue crowned by the equestrian sculpture of St. Vaclav is called Wenceslas Namesti. Through the winding streets at its western end is the beautiful square called the Starometske Namesti. A remarkable clock tells several different kinds of time, including "Bohemian time" with hours of different lengths. The clock is located in a corner of the Old Town Hall. The square is bordered by a number of structures dating from the 14^th century to the 18^th. Europe's most wonderful bridge, the Karlov Most crosses the river Vlatava and leads to the "little quarter" or Stara Mesto. The palace precincts on the hill are known as Hradcany. North of the old town is the Jewish quarter known as Josefov.

The "Golden Lane" is, in fact, an addition to the palace walls. Small homes for the castle marksmen were built into the fortifications. Later, goldsmiths moved into these homes, and the legend of the castle alchemists gave the quarter a romantic flavour. Prague's native son, the writer Franz Kafka lived in #22 for a period of time in 1917. Other poets and writers have inhabited these homes, including Nobel prize winner for literature J. Seifert.

In 1180 the Jews of Prague were herded into a small section north of the Old Town. The area was surrounded by walls which stood until the mid 1800's. The oldest gothic synagogue in Europe has the strange name "Old-New Synagogue", or Staronova Synagoga, and was built in the 13^th century.

Hitler proposed a "Museum of an Extinct Race" here, and while most of the Jewish Quarter was razed during the Holocaust, several monuments remain, including the cemetary. An idea of the crowding in the ghetto is possible through viewing the stones piled one beside the other, like leaves of paper in a disheveled book. There are 12,000 gravestones in this tiny space. The oldest dates from 1389 and is that of Rabbi Kar. The most recent is that of Moses Beck from 1787. The gravestone of Rabbi Lowe is here, as well.

The Pinkas Synagogue was built tin the 15^th century, and is much-restored. It stands as a memorial to the Jews who died in gas chambers, concentration camps and execution grounds during the Holocaust. 77,297 names of the murdered Jews of Moravia and Bohemia are written on the inside walls. 36,000 of these names commemorate Jewish citizens of Prague itself.

Rabbi Lowe 1512-1609 (the last name is pronounced Loo-vah and means "lion") was Prague's most famous rabbi. A scholarly man and a wise man, many legends surround his name. The most fascinating is the legend of the "Golem". The Jews of Prague, hemmed in by the ghetto, were victims of violence from the Christian citizens of Prague for centuries. Rabbi Lowe wanted to create a protector for his people, and fashioned a creature made of mud, who came to life when a tablet was placed in his mouth. Unfortunately, this creature was uncontrollable, and at times wreaked havoc on the citizens it had been created to protect.

One of the great writers of the 20^th century, Franz Kafka was a citizen of Prague. Among his greatest works areThe Metamorphosis and The Hunger Artist. He lived through the destruction of the Jewish Quarter, or Josefov, and some believe this had a profound impact on his sensibility and subsequent writing. His grave lies in the New Jewish Cemetery founded in 1895 in the Zizkov district.

Alphonse Mucha was Prague's native son, and her most famous artist. He popularized the Art Nouveau style, with his brilliant, styliized posters for the famous actress Sarah Bernhart . Mucha's style is particularly suited to feminine grace. The flowing lines and incorporation of sinuous linear motifs drawn from foliate forms are the hallmarks of his style. Working in both commercial and fine-art realms, his masterpieces in stained glass are the windows he designed for St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

Mozart loved Prague. Although born in Salzburg, he spent time in the city of dreaming spires, and composed here, as well.