CHAPTER VII
Walks in Prague
ALMOST all the best hotels of Prague are situated near the State Railway Station, in the Hybernská Ulice and the adjoining angle of the Graben. This will therefore be the usual starting-place for those who have sufficient time to walk leisurely through the streets of Prague. As the former divisions of the town have great historical importance, I shall refer separately—firstly to the old town, then to the new town and Vysehrad, lastly to the Malá Strana and Hradcany. For the last-named walk the traveller will start from the bridge. Immediately opposite the Hybernská Ulice is the powder tower. The original building on this spot, as already mentioned, formed part of the ancient fortifications of the old town, which King Wenceslas I. erected in the thirteenth century. The present building. was built in 1475 by King Vladisiav II. It is in what is known in Bohemia as the Vladislav style, and is the work of Matthew Reysek, one of the originators of that style of architecture. The building was used as a powder magazine during the reign of Leopold I., and then acquired the designation that it still bears. The powder tower was skilfully restored in 1583 by the talented architect Joseph Mocker.
Waiking down the Celetná Ulice we pass on our right the spot where a Royal residence, known as the King’s Court, Kraluv Dvur, which was inhabited by several Bohemian Kings, once stood. We soon reach the market-place of the old town. Both the Celetná
167
