PragueBuzz!

Amazing picture. I visited the cathedral twice but apparently missed this window.

[source]

This alley at the end of Prague Castle complex provides a surprisingly pleasant escape from the typical grandeur of the Prague Castle. Dotting along the small street are small, colorful houses built right into the arches of the Castle walls. They were built in the 16th century for the King’s castle guards. Then when goldsmiths arrived and lived there in the 17th century, the alley was called “Golden Lane.”

Franz Kafka
The street is now largely occupied by souvenir and book shops. Czech’s famous writer Franz Kafka (house 22) stayed here at his sister’s house between 1916 and 1917. Nobel-laureate poet Jaroslaf Seifert lived here who lived in the 1930s in a now demolished building.

Souvenir shops

Museum

Admission
You can’t visit just Golden Lane (I tried.) You have to buy a ticket for either a long or short tour.

Click here for a list of attractions at Prague Castle.

Tags: PragueBuzz, prague, czech, sights, prague castle

Graffiti has its root all the way back to 1968 when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. The Czechs painted graffiti ridiculing the Soviet government, to show their non-violent resistance. When the Velvet Revolution was over and Communism officially collapsed in Czechoslovakia, graffiti fought its way back into society as the youngsters felt the urge to express themselves. These kinds of behaviors, to me, make sense given these people had lived for years under the oppressing communist regime. [link]

Today, when you travel around the Czech Republic, you will see graffiti painted every where. This has become a nuisance to the Czech people and the government; however this street-art never ceases to amuse me.

The Czech government passed a tough law to punish these graffiti artists, imposing a one-year sentence or a fine ($80) to minor and up to eight years in prison to those who do serious damages to the buildings. Still people keep doing it and risking fines and arrest. You can not help wondering why. Perhaps:

A city is an egotistical thing and making graffiti is just the same as building cities. In my view, this is a perfectly natural means of expression for city people…

Read the interview with former graffiti artist. [link]

Photos of graffiti in Prague and around the world.