'A spell hangs in the air of this citadel - the Hradčany as it is called in Czech; Hradschin in German - and I was under its thrall long before I could pronounce its name.'

Photo below:

The Hradčany district in Prague with the St. Vitus Cathedral on the top of the hill and the Prague Castle. Apparently, Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, with an area of almost 70,000 m². 

'Once we were under the lancets of St. Vitus's Cathedral, a second conviction began to form. Prague was the recapitulation and the summing-up of all I had gazed at since stepping ashore in Holland...''  

Photos below: St. Vitus Cathedral, the most important and largest church in Prague.

'Outside, except for the baroque top to the presiding belfry, the cathedral itself might have been an elaborate gothic reliquary. From the massed upward thrust of its buttresses to the stickle-back ridge of its high-pitched roof it was spiked with a forest of perpendiculars.'

Photo below on the right: a forest of perpendiculars on the roof of the Cathedral. 

'Under the diapered soffits and sanctuary lamps of a chantry, a casket like a brocaded ark of the covenant enclosed the remains of a saint. [...] It was Good King Wenceslas, no less.' 

Wenceslas remains an important national figure in today’s Czech Republic — where he is known to Czech speakers as Václav rather than Wenceslas, the Latinized version of his name. When Václav became Duke of Bohemia at age 18, he sought to spread Christianity. He commissioned the building of several churches including part of what is now St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. He also developed a reputation as a wise and compassionate ruler, known for his deeds of mercy.

Legend has it that he paid particular attention to caring for the poor, widows, orphans and even prisoners. He opposed the slave market and would buy slaves in order to set them free. He also is known for successfully negotiating peace with the Bavarians, who had been traditional enemies of Bohemians. But his jealous younger brother, Boleslav, wanted to become duke himself and had the backing of their mother. Boleslav also was willing to exploit his brother’s faith to seize power. He invited Václav to a church dedication on Sept. 27, 929. The next day, while Václav was on his way to prayer, Boleslav and his henchman attacked — killing the young duke on Sept. 28

Photo below on the right: Wenceslav's tomb in St. Vitus Cathedral.

'There was another heirloom of the old Bohemian kings hard by the Cathedral: the church of St. Goerge, whose barowue carapace masked a Romanesque church of great purity.'

Photo's below: St George Church.

'And, at this very point, confusion begins. The city teems with wonders; but what belongs where? Certainly that stupendous staircase called the Rider's Steps, and all that lay beyond them, were part of the great castle-palace. [...] These vaults are almost impossible to describe. The ribs burst straight out of the walls in V-shaped clusters of springers.' 

 'But in King's Vladislav's vast Hall of Homage the ribs of the  vaulting had further to travel, higher to soar. [...] Their motion, as they ascended the reversed half-cones of the vault and curled over into the ceiling, suggested the spreading and upward-showering rush of a school of dolphins leaping out of the water.'

Photo's below on the left: the Riders Steps.

Photo's below on the right: King Vladislav's Hall of Homage.

Photo's below: the Jewish quarter. 

Photo below: Clementinum library.

Photo's below: Charles bridge and statue of John Nepomuk

Last impression of Prague and the old trainstation building.