A Traveller's Companion to Prague

by Jan Kaplan

"The City of a Hundred Spires" revealed through letters, diaries and memoirs from medieval to modern times Built on the banks of the meandering river Moldau, Prague has for centuries been an inspiration to artists and writers, inhabitants and visitors, many of whom have declared the "hundred-towered" city to be one of the most beautiful in the world, though one with a turbulent history. Jan Kaplan’s selection from letters, diaries, memoirs and anecdotes brilliantly evokes both the city’s exhilarating creative power, so impressively visible in its buildings and art treasures, and the many tragic events played out in its streets through the centuries. Here are eyewitness accounts of the sermons of Jan Hus, Czech forerunner of the German Reformation, the Defenestrations of Prague, beginning in 1419, the premiere night of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni in 1787, and the invasions and political upheavals of the 20th century. There are personal reflections from Petrarch, John Dee, Goethe, Horatio Nelson, Frederic Chopin, Hans Christian Andersen, George Eliot, Jan Neruda, Thomas Carlyle, Hector Berlioz, Auguste Rodin, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jaroslav Seifert, Karel Capek, Graham Greene, Václav Havel, Franz Kafka, Ladislav Klíma, and more. Together they powerfully conjure up the magic of the enduring city.

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Paula Ryans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would highly recommend to anyone about to visit or currently visiting Prague. This book is full of fascinating eyewitness accounts and legends from across the long and often tragic history of Prague. It gives an interesting insight to the city and some of the more well-known sites. For example, I walked around the castle, knowing stories of where certain events happened or who lived in this little house on the Golden Lane - no spoilers as it is really worth finding out for yourself and often in the person's own words. As a lover of history I wish all guide books were written like this as it gives colour and life to seeing a place rather than just appreciating the architecture and age.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Forward by the editor Jan Kaplan offers a good summary/overview of the historical sites and four divisions of the city. The chapters are each focused on a particular building and have excerpts of historical guidebooks, letters, or newspaper descriptions of events or travelers’ impressions. Would be helpful to have this book when in Prague.

[Libby Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endlessly fascinating.

[Lu]

just ok stories about prague