Old Town Square Prague Czech Republic

Prague is the capitol of the Czech Republic and has a population of about 1.3 million.

We have been looking forward to visiting Prague for a long time.  The Old Town Square is full of beautiful architecture.  In the above photo you can see the two towers of the Tyn church.  By now we are able to recognize that this is a Gothic church.

This is the Old Town Hall Tower, which is located in one corner of the Old Town Square.  On the side of the tower is the Astronomical Clock.

 

The Astronomical Clock has been a city treasure for more than 600 years.  Every hour, twelve apostles rotate through the two windows at the top of the clock.  Tourists crowd around the clock with cameras waiting for the clock to strike the top of the hour.

The Astronomical clock will tell the day, position in the week, month, year, and zodiac sign.  It also tracks Central European, Babylonian and Sidereal time.  If you, like me, are wondering what sidereal time is, it is a time scale based on the Earths rotation relative to fixed stars.  Astronomers use it to track the direction to point their telescopes.  Wow, pretty impressive for a 600 year old clock!

St Nicholas Church was completed in 1735.  It is built in the Baroque style.

 

This is a bustling city and there are visitors from all over the world.  We heard many different languages as we walked around.  We also saw many street performers, musicians, people dressed as statues, walking tours, and carriage rides.

The Jan Hus statue was erected in 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of the reformer’s death.  The statue sits in the middle of the square.

There is history, beauty, and atmosphere in the Old Town Square in Prague.  This is also the location of one of the largest and most popular Christmas markets.

More Prague coming soon.  Stay tuned!