If you ask me what the beauty of Prague is, my answer is not simply the
magnificence of St. Vitus’ Cathedral and not even the vivid sculptures on the
Charles Bridge or the delicate clock panel on the Astronomical Tower. You have to
sense the elegance and the greatness of this ancient city from the historical
ambience permeating every corner within the city and from the past people and
stories, who lived and which occurred here. It is not only a cathedral, a cloister,
or a statue can reflect the authentic beauty of Prague, but the integrity of this
old city including every building, which witnessed the people and the stories here
for hundreds of years, is able to vindicate the priceless value of this city.
However, not only the extant relics, but the abundant stories behind them gave
the profound significances to the city. Charles Fourth, who founded the 2nd
university in history, Emperor Rudolf Second, who rebuilt the castle there and
once brought the prosperity to this city, the war between Protestant and Catholic,
which caused a catastrophe to this region but finally made the city reborn from the
ruin, the well-known Prague Spring, which demonstrated the aspiration of pursuing
freedom and liberty of Czech people, and numerous people and events combine
together to form the spirit and the soul of Prague.
Czech is still a child of democracy, who just broke the iron curtain of Soviet in
the end of last century. Though people here have got rid of the autocracy,
subsequently, they have to encounter many social problems, the fiscal plight and
the international pressure from western countries. Therefore, the beauty of Prague,
the capital and the proud of this country, is adulterated with slight melancholy,
tension, complexity and contradiction. While people here just abjured the belief
of communism, the following policy of capitalism failed to realize their dream to
wipe out the poverty and to make their homeland as civilized as their western
neighbors. In the downtown of Prague, you can see scrabbles of wall among streets.
These scrabbles are far from the so called street art with brilliant styles and
hues in New York and are simply some unreadable writing with monotonous color.
An old church was reconstructed inside to become a department store.
For Czech people, the abundance of historical heritages is their glory and also
their burden. These heritages from their ancestors attracted plenty of foreign
tourists here to make a great profit for them. Ironically, the money spending on
preserving and restoring these castle, cathedral and cloister generates another
financial adversity which just balances their income. When I passed along the pavement
toward the lesser town, I saw a guy in shabbiness leaning against the wall and
playing guitar. I don’t know whether I should call him a minstrel or simply
regard him as a vagrant.
There are some closed stores locating near the most flourishing avenue fraught
with shops selling products of LV, Burbbery, Cucci and other most fashionable
brands of the world. Beside Charles University, a young lady was standing in front
of the gate of a modern casino to attract foreign tourists. Even in the St. Vitus’
Cathedral, you can find the track of capitalism from one of the strained glass
which displays an advertisement of an insurance company. In Prague, this kind of
unharmonious and dramatic conditions is not unusual. Prague is not like a fair
princess living in the palace and being loved and cherished as a pearl by everyone,
but a generous queen sharing the sorrow and joy of her people and living with them.
This is why the beauty of Prague is irreplaceable and why it is distinct from
Paris.
magnificence of St. Vitus’ Cathedral and not even the vivid sculptures on the
Charles Bridge or the delicate clock panel on the Astronomical Tower. You have to
sense the elegance and the greatness of this ancient city from the historical
ambience permeating every corner within the city and from the past people and
stories, who lived and which occurred here. It is not only a cathedral, a cloister,
or a statue can reflect the authentic beauty of Prague, but the integrity of this
old city including every building, which witnessed the people and the stories here
for hundreds of years, is able to vindicate the priceless value of this city.
However, not only the extant relics, but the abundant stories behind them gave
the profound significances to the city. Charles Fourth, who founded the 2nd
university in history, Emperor Rudolf Second, who rebuilt the castle there and
once brought the prosperity to this city, the war between Protestant and Catholic,
which caused a catastrophe to this region but finally made the city reborn from the
ruin, the well-known Prague Spring, which demonstrated the aspiration of pursuing
freedom and liberty of Czech people, and numerous people and events combine
together to form the spirit and the soul of Prague.
Czech is still a child of democracy, who just broke the iron curtain of Soviet in the end of last century. Though people here have got rid of the autocracy,
subsequently, they have to encounter many social problems, the fiscal plight and
the international pressure from western countries. Therefore, the beauty of Prague,
the capital and the proud of this country, is adulterated with slight melancholy,
tension, complexity and contradiction. While people here just abjured the belief
of communism, the following policy of capitalism failed to realize their dream to
wipe out the poverty and to make their homeland as civilized as their western
neighbors. In the downtown of Prague, you can see scrabbles of wall among streets.
These scrabbles are far from the so called street art with brilliant styles and
hues in New York and are simply some unreadable writing with monotonous color.
An old church was reconstructed inside to become a department store.
For Czech people, the abundance of historical heritages is their glory and also
their burden. These heritages from their ancestors attracted plenty of foreign
tourists here to make a great profit for them. Ironically, the money spending on
preserving and restoring these castle, cathedral and cloister generates another
financial adversity which just balances their income. When I passed along the pavement
toward the lesser town, I saw a guy in shabbiness leaning against the wall and
playing guitar. I don’t know whether I should call him a minstrel or simply
regard him as a vagrant.
There are some closed stores locating near the most flourishing avenue fraught
with shops selling products of LV, Burbbery, Cucci and other most fashionable
brands of the world. Beside Charles University, a young lady was standing in front
of the gate of a modern casino to attract foreign tourists. Even in the St. Vitus’
Cathedral, you can find the track of capitalism from one of the strained glass
which displays an advertisement of an insurance company. In Prague, this kind of
unharmonious and dramatic conditions is not unusual. Prague is not like a fair
princess living in the palace and being loved and cherished as a pearl by everyone,
but a generous queen sharing the sorrow and joy of her people and living with them.
This is why the beauty of Prague is irreplaceable and why it is distinct from
Paris.
