On the Hike to the Prague Castle

Having crossed the Charles Bridge, I arrived in the lesser quarter of Prague where the castle is located. Signs were, to be honest a bit confusing... That I sort of hike up the hill and over-shot the junction to the castle and went overboard to some where I myself had no idea of... But nevertheless, some Taiwanese tourists pointed me towards the right direction.

The castle was not like like that in Germany which is of Disney-like with big stones and all. It might be, underneath the coat of paint. It was where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it. According to Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. It occupies an area of almost 70 000 m², at about 570 metres in length and an average of about 130 metres wide.

Entrance to the compound of the castle was free, but entrance into the individual structures comes with a small fee. There was combined ticket, could not remember how much it cost already no though. LOL.

The guard at the front gates were similar to that of any other palaces in Europe, if there were any. But I have total no idea what "S" stands for on the arch of the entrance though...

The two pillars of the main gate were topped with baroque style statues - depicting that of Zeus, I think.

Now into the castle...

The Vladislav Hall was used for banquets, receptions, coronations, and other events of the Bohemian court. It was even large enough accommodate tournaments between knights; the "Knight's Stairway" was built wide enough to accommodate horses to facilitate such activities.

The throne. Or one of the official rooms where the King meet his officials. But of course, I was just assuming, considering I didn't hire a guide to bring me around...

The crown. Doubt it was the real one though...

And numerous coat of arms. Me think.

The castle had of course, underwent numerous renovations and restorations, considering it had gone through the years of rains and sunshine and let's not forget the war... A part of the castle is now housing exhibitions on the restorations of the castle...

Today, the Prague castle became the seat of the Head of State of the new Czech Republic, and surrounding buildings houses the official government departments.