I was lucky enough to visit Prague in the Czech Republic almost two years ago, where I bought this card - and kept it! It shows Golden Lane which grew up along the castle wall when the marksmen guarding the wall were given permission to build themselves tiny houses. They have been demolished and rebuilt over the years but you can still see the wall behind them.
The name Golden Lane probably came about because there were several goldsmiths there at one time. Franz Kafka lived there for a time, as well as a Madame de Thebes, a fortune tell who was killed at the end of WWII for apparently foretelling Hitler's death.
While we were there, we saw notices saying the Lane was to be closed the next week but I hadn't realised the significance of that. It was closed for over a year for major works because the houses and the lane were in danger of slipping down into the moat on the other side of the wall. The houses, which used to sell trinkets and tourist souvenirs, have been renovated and set up as museum-style exhibits, including a former marksman's house, Madame de Thebes house, a seamstress, and a goldsmith.
A report from Radio Praha.
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Colorful, I like that one a lot. Would be awesome to see it in person.
ReplyDeleteYes, colourful, and quite unexpected somehow.
DeleteI do love this little street with a bit "fairy-tale" looking houses.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, they do look like something out of a fairytale.
DeleteLovely postcard and what an interesting history. I wonder if that is an influence in Kafka's novel 'the Castle' (which I never got round to reading)?
ReplyDeleteThey say it did have an influence. I'm sorry to say I haven't read any Kafka at all. I tried but....
DeleteColourful and beautiful place. It looks quiet.
ReplyDeleteI think it must have been either very late or very early because it wasn't at very quiet when I was there.
DeleteLove it so pretty
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful. It looks like a Romantic painting.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the light, I guess it was very early in the morning when the picture was taken. No wonder you kept it!
I've always wanted to visit Prague since I read Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being in 1991. This lane looks just magical and I would love to see the place where Kafka lived!
ReplyDeleteI notice from the photos I took in Prague that many of them capture that same sort of golden afternoon light. It can't be that different in Prague, but my photos from other places don't look like that.
ReplyDeletePrague... My favourite country! Last time, I watched a Japanese drama series and there were a few episodes which were shot in Prague. It's an awesome place! I fell in love with it when I first saw it... through my laptop screen though. :) But I'm pretty sure that I will visit there someday.
ReplyDeleteThey look like houses out of a fairytale, as if only very small people could live in them. How wonderful.
ReplyDelete