Astronomical Clock — A Medieval Machine for Impressing an Empire

The Prague Astronomical Clock (Orloj) on Old Town Hall has been operating since 1410 and is one of the oldest working astronomical clocks in the world. The out…

Týn Cathedral — A Danish Astronomer's Unlikely Grave

The Church of Our Lady before Týn (Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem) on Old Town Square was begun in 1365 and its distinctive twin towers were completed over severa…

Franz Kafka Square — The Man Who Mapped Bureaucracy From the Inside

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was born in this area of Prague's Josefov (Jewish Quarter) and lived most of his life within a few blocks. A small square bears his nam…

Old-New Synagogue — The House That Outlived Everything

The synagogue's early Gothic interior features a distinctive five-ribbed vault — an intentional departure from the standard four ribs of Gothic architecture. I…

Old Jewish Cemetery — Twelve Layers of Memory

The Old Jewish Cemetery (Starý Židovský hřbitov) in Prague's Josefov quarter was used from approximately 1439 to 1787 and contains an estimated 100,000 burials…

Pinkas Synagogue — 80,000 Names as an Act of Resistance

The Pinkas Synagogue (second oldest in Prague, built 1535) serves today as a Holocaust memorial for the Jewish communities of Bohemia and Moravia. 77,297 names…