Prague is one of the most beautiful and most visited cities in Europe. Numerous medieval buildings with peaked roofs and golden domes preserved in their original appearance keep many secrets, legends and predictions. Most of them are reflected in the "Czech Chronicles", written in the XII century, and some are passed from mouth to mouth.
The Legend of Krok, Libuš, Přemysl and Prague
Of course, the main legend of Prague is about how this city came to be. The first Slavic settlements founded here date back to the 5th century. The Slavs mastered the land and built cities. The ruler in these territories was Czech. This is where the history of the Czech people begins.
The Legend of Croc
In the 8th century, Prince Krok began to rule the Czech lands. Tradition says that in his youth he was a herder and lived not far from the future Vysehrad. Krok drove the horses to the pasture and while they grazed, he rested in the heat under an old branchy oak tree. One day the woodcutters came and wanted to cut down an ancient tree. Krok was sorry to part with his friend, who protected him from the sun's rays, and he begged the woodcutters not to touch the oak. The shepherd did not know that a beautiful fairy lived in the branches of this tree. When the woodcutters left, the fairy left her shelter and began to thank the shepherd for his deed.
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The beautiful maiden invited Croc to choose what he needed more in life: fame, wealth or love. The clever shepherd thought and asked for wisdom. Kroc decided that wisdom is a priority, and everything else will come by itself. Wisdom was granted, the shepherd left the village and settled alone under the same old oak tree, where he built himself a hut. The fairy endowed Kroc with the ability to clairvoyance and predictions, and people in need of help were drawn to him. Gradually, the whole Czech land learned about the wisdom of the hermit. When Cech died, the rulers came to ask Croc to take the reins of Czech rule into their wise hands. So a simple shepherd became a leader and received a princely title.
Princess Libuše - the founder of Prague
Choosing a further place for his habitation, Krok preferred a high rock on the right bank of the Vltava, where he founded the impregnable fortress Vysehrad. The fairy tales of the peoples of the world are full of legends, where the father-king has three sons, and the youngest of them is the most intelligent, intelligent and quick-witted.
So Croc had three heirs, but only female. All the daughters had some skillful skills. The eldest went to her father and knew how to see right through, predict fate, heal people. The middle one had a strong connection with wildlife: forests, rivers, mountains. The youngest, Libuše, had all the qualities put together. She was the most intelligent, wise, perspicacious, saw the future, knew how to influence people.
It was Libuše who replaced her father after his death and found herself a husband, an ordinary plowman, whom she made king and ruler of the state. The plowman's name was Přemysl. From here came the main royal family of the Czech Republic - the Přemyslids.
And it happened like this. Some of the subjects recklessly expressed the idea that a woman should not run the state and her lot is to do housework. Libuche all night after that prayed to the gods to find her betrothed. At dawn, the princess handed the messengers the princely attributes of her father and ordered them to go north.
A plowman named Přemysl worked in those parts, and he was prophesied to Libuše by higher powers. Přemysl possessed the same gift of prophecy as Libuše. When the messengers came for him to take him to Vysehrad with honors, he said with a sigh that he had not had time to finish his work on the arable land, and now in the Czech Republic there will often be crop failures.
The first mention of Prague, the main city of the Czech Republic, is associated with Libuše. Once, on a beautiful summer evening, the princess and her husband surveyed the surroundings of Vysehrad, standing on the walls of the fortress. And suddenly Libuche said that she had a vision: somewhere in the forest, a man was building a threshold for his future home. The princess proposed to her husband to found a city in this place, make it the center of the Czech land and call it Prague, so that everyone would worship him as they bow to the threshold of their own house (“prag” means “threshold” in Czech).
Přemysl with his subjects went to the indicated place and actually found a builder in the forest who was building a house. The first stone of the future city was laid near this place.
History and legends of Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge, the most famous in Prague, connects the right and left city banks. In ancient times, the population was transported from the Malaya Strana to the Old Town by boat. The bridge across the Vltava in this place was built when the need arose for the unhindered passage of the royal corteges from Prague Castle through the Powder Tower to the exit from the city.
Today Charles Bridge is the most iconic and most popular tourist destination in Prague. People come here to confess their love and make wishes. Walking along the Charles Bridge is a must on sightseeing tours in Prague. At the end of the 20th century, the Dalai Lama himself walked across the bridge. The famous Buddhist said that this structure is located in the center of the universe, there is a wonderful aura that will always attract people here.
There are many legends about Charles Bridge, sculptures and towers installed on it, crowning the structure from the banks:
- When the structure was being built, the rulers wanted to give it incredible strength and monumentality - the imperial chariots had to pass over the bridge. Someone suggested to the architect that it would be nice to add eggshells to the solution. They say that chicken eggs for building mixes were collected all over the Czech Republic. Some farmers did not understand why they were obliged to donate their eggs. They obligingly sent them already cooked so as not to spoil on the way. When the bridge was opened, the first was not a cat, as is customary in the Christian world, but … a black rooster, which was supposed to disperse the devilish forces with its presence, was the first to enter the stone replica.
- In the 17th century, sculptures of people began to be installed on the bridge. There are currently thirty sculptures here. Most of the current sculptures are exact copies of those that were created in ancient times. The originals are now kept in the National Museum in Prague, but this does not prevent the visitors of the bridge from believing in the miracles that some figures bestow. One of the most notable is the statue of the Holy Martyr John of Nepomuk. Each of the tourists visiting the Charles Bridge considers it their duty to touch it and make a wish. In the places where the travelers' hands touched, bronze is polished to a golden sheen. And the history of his canonization is as follows. The Czech Queen confessed to Jan of Nepomuk. When the king suspected her of infidelity, he demanded that they tell him what his wife was telling in her confessions. Nepomuk refused and kept the secret of confession, for which he was thrown from the bridge into the waters of the Vltava. When the dead priest was pulled out of the water by fishermen, stars shone around his head. Nepomuk was canonized, and in the place of the Charles Bridge, from where he was thrown into the river, there is a memorial cross. Place your hand on the cross and make a wish - it will definitely come true.
On the Charles Bridge is the figure of a young man, Roland, a fighter for justice. The daredevil Roland killed the dragon and freed the king's daughter. The princess fell in love with the young hero and decided to link her fate with him. However, the knight refused, as his bride was waiting for him in Prague. The angry king ordered Roland to be put in prison, from which the young man got out with the help of his magic sword
Myths about the Golem and Doctor Faust
One of the symbols of Prague is the figure of the clay giant Golem. Golem is an artificially created character who helped the Prague Jewish community in difficult times. The main task of the Golem was to prevent life situations that could negatively affect the existence of the community. It is believed that the Golem was created by the Prague rabbi Betzatsel. An earthen image appears every 33 years and, having fulfilled its mission, crumbles to dust.
Near Charles Square there is an old house of pale pink color. Despite the cheerful and festive colors, its history is connected with the famous in the world of mysticism, Doctor Faust. It is said that from this house, today painted in a frivolous shade of pink, the devil sent a famous warlock to hell. The hole, punched in the roof by the flying away Faust, existed for a long time - none of the workers could close this hole, no matter how hard they tried.
After the death of the doctor, ghosts began to appear here and mysterious things began to happen:
- At one time, a strange priest lived in the building, who collected human bones, slept in a real coffin and painted the walls of the house with mourning quotes. He built a gallows inside, and when it was time to die, in his will he asked to be put face down in the coffin.
- A beggar student who settled in this house suddenly became rich overnight. Sudden wealth turned the young head, and the student went all out. Reckless life led to the fact that he soon disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The housemaid claims that the student flew into a hole made by the warlock.
- At the beginning of the last century, a hospital was located in the house. When outside repairs were made during the move, the scaffolding suddenly collapsed. The workers received injuries of varying severity. Rumor immediately linked the incident to the mystical past of this house.
- During the mistaken bombing of Prague during the Second World War, a bomb hit Faust's house, which surprisingly did not explode, but was stuck between floors. The bomb was defused, the fire was extinguished, and the history was recorded as unusual. The inhabitants of Prague considered that the spirit of the doctor helped their home "stay afloat."