Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Visiting Prague [Part 4/5]: Charles Bridge and Little Quarter

We are finishing visiting the four major districts of Prague in today's post, which will further explore the Little Quarter in which you will also find the Charles Bridge, one of the more prominent sights from Prague. This is a part of the city that has hardly any new buildings since the 18th century. It was founded in 1257 and built on the slopes below the Castle Hill with magnificent views across the river to the Old Town. 


This is a multi-part travel series. Other parts include:
Part One: Old Town Square
Part Two: Jewish Quarter and the river Vltava
Part Three: Prague Castle and Gardens
Part Four: Charles Bridge and Little Quarter
Part Five: A Night in Prague

click on the images for a bigger view

The day started out early as we departed with the metro to the Malostranske namesti station, which brings you to the Little Quarter district. There were many people out already and since this is a very popular part of the city, be prepared for crowds. But there are also many little corners here, in which you can find rest from the busy streets.



Vojan Park in Prague

We discovered this little park by accident while roaming the streets. The whole park is walled in, and only a small entrance through one of the side streets gives you a complete view of the place. Everything was in full bloom and we took this opportunity to get some rest from walking.



It was a great day anyway, but the tranquility here was a huge contrast to the busy city life that is surrounding it. I highly recommend spending a couple of minutes here any taking a stroll.



Roaming the streets of Little Quarter

Besides the Charles Bridge, which will be discussed later in this post, other sights worth visiting in the Little Quarter district are: the Wallenstein palace, which was the first secular building of the Baroque era in Prague, and it also includes wonderful gardens; then you have the Church of St. Nicholas (see below), Vojan Park, and the Petrin Park which can be reached by a funicular railway (beware, entrance to the funicular is crowded with tourists, come early). The Petrin Park gives you a great overview of the whole city.


Church of St. Nicholas

In the image below you can see the Church of St. Nicolas looking down onto the Little Quarter district. Building began in 1703 and the last touches were placed in 1761. It's a grand church and a place definitely worth a visit, much like the  St. Vitus church in the Prague Castle district.


The Charles Bridge

Prague's most familiar monument was founded by Charles IV in 1357, hence the name, and it connects the Old Town district with the Little Quarter district. In the images that follow, let us take a stroll down the bridge, all the way across the river Vltava, and to the entrance to the Old Town. Again, there are a lot of people here, so beware of crowds and pickpockets. 


At the beginning of the walk you will not be crossing the river, but parts of the Little Quarter district. Charming sights like the next image are very common, and you can easily spent too much time observing the streets from here.




Many of the statues on the bridge are copies, and the originals are kept in the National Museum. The entrance to the bridge on both sides is marked by the Bridge Tower. Below is a view of the Manus Bridge that we visited in part two.



The bridge is very wide, and gives plenty of space for exploration. Besides the statues you will find local artists selling paintings and making caricatures, as well as souvenir stands.





The bridge gives plenty of opportunities to get some unique views of the city, like in the image below, the Prague Castle and the orange roofs of the houses below are almost like a painting.



In the image below you can see one of the many statues on the bridge. This one depicts the Madonna and St. Dominic and St. Thomas.




Eventually we crossed the bridge and entered the Old Town district that we explored in part one of this series. The huge gates of the Bridge Tower were an impressive sight up close. 


The final part of this series will show Prague at night. It's a magical time when the city lights up and everything transforms yet again. So I hope to see you back for the finale.



End of Part Four
To be continued...

36 comments:

  1. Excellent views of this wonderful city!

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  2. This is a delight but just too much to take in and appreciate at one go.

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    1. Yes, that was my impression of the place when I was there. But since the travel series can't have hundreds of parts I have to condense it. Maybe by enlarging the images and going slowly through them you can really appreciate all the beauty of this part of Prague. Thanks for your visit.

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  3. That was really excellent photography, considering they are handheld. I love the way you intersepersed your photos with the sites. They are trully very colorful and look so clean. And who is your girlfriend between the two ladies? I know the one is your sister but don't know who! Thanks again for the tour, at least my enthusiasm was assuaged a bit.

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    1. None of them are my girlfriend :) My sister Jasmina is the blonde and the brunette is my good friend Selma.

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  4. h thisis a fantastic post with wonderful coloured buildings adnlovely red roofs, also fabulous arches. AMAZING city and EXCELLENT photos.

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  5. Das erste Bild ist traumhaft schön. Wir haben es in Dresden auch festgestellt, bei Blütezeit (also so Ende April) ist am allerschönsten zu reisen, es sollten wir in der Zukunft in den Augen behalten. Liebe Grüße

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    1. Danke, deine Bilder aus Dresden waren fantastisch.

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  6. Isn't Prague a fantastic city! Looks like you went at the best time of year! So pretty with all the blooms of spring.

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    1. I also think this is a great time (Spring) to visit Prague.

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  7. gorgeous!! that 2nd one reminds me of the alamo!

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  8. I can see you were not the only tourist there in those busy streets admiring all the beauty. and I also see you had lots of sunshine and blue skies while you wandered.

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  9. Great photos of Prague, Mersad.
    Cool beard - by the way :)
    Peace :)

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  10. Du hast ja jetzt nen Bart ;-)! Hab ich letztens schon gesehen und wollte noch mein Kompliment dafür zum Ausdruck bringen! Steht dir wirklich gut! Cool! Und wieder so schöne Bilder aus Prag.....ich war leider noch nie da! Muss ich hin! GlG Anne

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  11. Definitely another place I'd love to visit!

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  12. Great looking place and colours are lovely/

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  13. some striking architecture, there. love the colorful buildings. nice parks, too.

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  14. I love the architecture of the buildings, everything looks so new and colorful!
    Please come and share your blog http://ohmyheartsiegirl.com/heartsie-girls-wordless-wednesday-15

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  15. The first photo was a perfect one to begin this post. The colorful architecture make for some lovely photos, and you took full advantage of it.

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  16. Ech toll, diese Architektur kann man nur bewundern und ein Tag reicht für die Stadt nicht aus.

    Liebe Grüsse

    N☼va

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  17. So beautiful - you have captured the spirit and beauty of this city wonderfully!

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  18. Your photos are amazing Mersad, feels almost like being there :) merci beaucoup for taking us along.. You certainly have very pretty traveling companions!

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  19. Your photos are amazing Mersad, feels almost like being there :) merci beaucoup for taking us along.. You certainly have very pretty traveling companions!

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  20. Beautiful shots. I've never physically been to Prague but now I have a real desire to follow up on these lovely photos that make me feel like I have been there.

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  21. The first photo looks like a painting!

    ROG, ABCW

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  22. What a beautiful city. I love the colour and action of the streets that you have captured. The architecture is beautiful. That park really does look like a relaxing place to be.

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  23. that first picture is stunning and I love the one on the bench as well. I've enjoyed "traveling" to Prague with you.

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  24. I love to travel and to take photography too is just wonderful.
    Your shots are absolutely stunning!

    http://yaknowstuff.blogspot.com/2015/05/introducing-alphabe-thursday-with.html

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  25. These are beautiful photographs, as usual, Mersad. I enjoyed Prague but can see that I need to go back to see the improvements. (And, sorry about the infrequent visits . . . time, electricity and wifi are in scarce supply in South Africa at the moment.)

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  26. You share the most amazing photos. I so enjoy these tours you take us on! THanky ou so much and please enjoy a good weekend.

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  27. The architecture, the colors, the street life, the area is simply beautiful. Tom The Backroads Traveller

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  28. You do a wonderful job lighting a flame to visit Prague!

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  29. I love all of the colors of the city.

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  30. Hello Mersad. I'm not sure if this is your link for the letter A, but what a breathtaking place Prague is.

    I loved your photos. You caught the texture, loveliness and intensity of your surroundings so well.

    Thank you for linking.

    A+

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  31. Hi Mersad,
    Brilliant skies in this post and all photos are great. I like the last one, in particular, for the entryway.
    Have a Beautiful Day!
    Peace :)

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