uring October 2004, I made a visit to the Czech Republic and Germany to do a last bit of travelling, before my pending spell on crutches. Whilst there we were fortunate enough to visit a number of interesting and varied locations, as you can see below. We visited the City's & Towns of:- Prague, Cheb, Frantiskovy Lazne & Svaty Kriz.

Prague

The Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) was founded around 880 by prince Borivoj of the Premyslid dynasty. The first stone building in the castle area was the Church of the Virgin Mary of which only remnants can be seen today. In the 10th century, St. George's Basilica was founded and the first Czech convent was established there - St. George's Convent, which now houses a gallery. St. Vitus Rotunda, also from the 10th century, was replaced by St. Vitus Basilica in the 11th century, and it is where St. Vitus Cathedral stands today

Starting in the 10th century, the Prague Castle served as the seat of Czech princes and later kings, and the seat of the Prague bishop
 

Korina in the Castle Grounds

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus Cathedral

Robert investigating the castles surroundings

View over the old town of Prague from the castle

Panorama

Changing of the Guard...

The Historic town

Prague Art Noveau in the architecture and fine arts - a walk in the area of the New Town - The Municipal House, some examples of Art Noveau buildings on Na Prikope street, on Wenceslas square and on Narodni street

A tourists paradise...

On tour...

The Old Town contains the Jewish Quarter, one of the most important Jewish heritage sights in Europe, with its synagogues and old Jewish cemetery. You can also see the oldest part of the Charles University that was established by king Charles IV in 1348 and is the oldest university in Central Europe
 

Taxi for Me...

The Old Town Square

The Old Town is the heart of Prague and its oldest urban area, established in 1231. The Old Town Square is one of Prague's best-known tourist spots. The square is dominated by the elegant Týn Church, built in the Gothic style in the 14th century, and by the statue of Jan Hus that serves as the square's magnificent 'centerpiece'. You will be able to admire the Astronomical Clock that is part of the Old Town Hall, as well as the beautiful, although often overlooked, Church of St. Nicholas.
 

Robert  at the statue of Jan Hus

Your carriage awaits...

To the bridge...

A view to the Castle

The Vltava river which divides Prague

Riverside

The view from Charles Bridge

Robert at the bridge

Charles Bridge, Prague's most famous and oldest bridge that continues to the Lesser Town.
 

Charles Bridge is a stone Gothic bridge that connects the Old Town and Malá Strana. It was actually called the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) during the first several centuries. Its construction was commissioned by Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and began in 1357. In charge of the construction was architect Petr Parlér whose other works include
the St. Vitus Cathedral at the Prague Castle. It is said that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge.
 

Charles Bridge is on the top of every Prague visitor's must-see list. It is also popular with Czech artists, musicians and souvenir vendors whose stands line both sides of the bridge year-round. A great time of day to come to the bridge is at sunset when one can enjoy a breathtaking view of the fully lit Prague Castle against the evening sky. The bridge is now a pedestrian zone (although both tram and car traffic were
allowed there in the past) and is almost constantly filled with people. If you want to have it all to yourself, get there very late at night or early in the morning
 

Through the cobbled streets of the old town

On the street...

Sunset at Prague

Praha...

Frantiskovy Lazne

Robert at Frantiskovy Lazne

Frantiskovy Lazne (Franzesbad) is a Spa town, situated in the Czech republic, it is one of 3 world famous spa town's in the region, following Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) and Marianske lazne (Marienbad)

The spa belongs to the three world famous spa in the west Bohemia. These ones were founded in 1793. They are named after the emperor Franz I. He was the Napoleon's father - in law.

The town was exactly built according to the plan - the prescribted height of the buildings, their design and the colour of fronts. The result of this plan is an unique and urban whole. Which is completed by parks and wood-parks on the area of 200 ha.

Františkovy Lázne was proclaimed as a reservation of historical monuments.
21 mineral sources spring here. The most famous of them is František source.
 

The present Francis Spring (Františkuv pramen) became the most known spring north of the town Cheb as early as the Middle Ages. At that time it was called Cheb acidulous water or Mud acidulous water (Chebská kyselka, Slatinná kyselka). After its curative effects were discovered by doctors the spring aroused great interest and became a source of income for so-called water carriers, who were Cheb’s women and children. The oldest preserved record of the acidulous water is from the year 1406. The aristocracy subsequently became interested in the water and its curative effects. For instance, there is a written record that the Empress Ann had the waters delivered to Prague.
After the Thirty Years’ War the town council of Cheb built a bottling house (1661), an inn, and a bathroom almost on top of the spring. In 1714 there was an inn and spa under one roof with 14 baths and 12 guestrooms.

Robert & Korina

I think my eyesight has gone...

I keep seeing yellow & white everywhere!

The Main Street

The unusual monuments in the park

The Wildlife...

The Town's Theatre & Church

Mellow Yellow...

The foundation of the spa was initiated by a Cheb citizen and doctor, Dr. Bernhard Adler (1753-1810). He realised the true value of the treasure springing from the earth. He cleaned the spring and banned access to it in order to ensure its hygienic character. He organised the construction of a simple wooden pavilion and installed water pipes and a reservoir from which the water carriers were to collect the water. However, his initiative was understood by Cheb women as an attempt to violate their privilege to collect water directly from the spring. On August 18, 1791 a rebellion of Cheb women broke out and resulted in the complete destruction of the pavilion in just a few minutes. On the coronation day of Leopold II in Prague (6. 9. 1791) Dr. Adler complained to the new emperor about the matter. The emperor sent a commission to Cheb that settled the problem of the spring’s purity and bottling and also worked out a plan for the foundation of the spa.
The first ground plan of the spa was designed by Father Gruber, a doctor from Bilina. On April 27, 1793 his plans were approved by a court decree of the new emperor Francis I. This is also the date of foundation of Franzensbad. At that time it was called the Village of Emperor Francis (Kaiser Franzendorf) and was renamed Kaiser Franzensbad in 1807.
Construction of the spa began almost immediately. The first buildings of the future spa, including the Francis spring pavilion and the Cultural House, were erected and by the end of 1794 ten more houses were built by Father Gruber. They were mainly built along the main street „Národní trída“ that was to become the main promenade and the centre of social life in Franzensbad.
Construction work progressed quickly, mainly because the construction workers were given a number of advantages. By 1810, 24 houses had been built.
In the beginning of 19th century the spa’s surroundings changed greatly. The alleys for horsemen skirting the main street became streets lined by parks. The French parks were turned into English parks and so the spa was given another essential part of its unique character. The parks developed mainly thanks to work of two generations of town horticulturists, the Soukups.
The construction of the spa lasted roughly until 1890 and has retained its form since that time. Later on some buildings were modernised and extended.
Franzensbad was part of Cheb till 1852 when it became an independent municipality and it was given a city emblem.
 

Ciao for Now... Frantiskovy Lazne

Cheb

Few people who travel through Cheb, most on their way across the border to Germany, actually stop and take a look around. From the outside, that's understandable, but it's too bad, since the centre of Cheb is one of the more architecturally interesting places in west Bohemia. Its history is fascinating as well.
 

Only about 20 minutes up the road from Cheb is the smallest of the three major Bohemian spa towns, Frantiskovy Lázne. Though it pales in comparison to Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázne, Frantiskovy Lázne has taken great strides in the past few years to erase the decline it experienced under Communism.

Robert in the main town square

A former stronghold for the Holy Roman Empire on its eastern flank, Eger, as it was then known, became part of Bohemia in 1322. Cheb stayed under Bohemian rule until it was handed over to Germany as part of the 1938 Munich Pact. Soon after the end of World War II, it was returned to Czech hands, when most of the area's native Germans, known as Sudeten Germans, were expelled for their open encouragement of the invading Nazi army. You can see this bilingual, bicultural heritage in the main square, which can be mistaken for being on either side of the border if it weren't for the Czech writing on windows. These days, the Germans have returned as tourists; many indulge in the town's thriving sex trade and cheap alcohol. Don't be surprised to see women around almost every corner. Still, Cheb is worth exploring for its mélange of architectural styles, the eerie Jewish Quarter Spalícek, and the enormous Romanesque Chebský Hrad (Cheb Castle).
 

The main square, námestí Krále Jirího z Podebrad, attracts most of the attention and is a good place to begin a stroll of the Old Town. Though it has been overrun with tourist shops and cafes that serve mediocre German fare, the square still shines with Gothic burgher houses and the baroque Old Town Hall (Stará radnice). At its south end, the statue of Kasna Roland, built in 1591 and a former symbol of capital punishment, reminds people of the strength wielded by justice. At the other end of the square stands the Kasna Herkules, a monument to the town's former strength and power. Next to it is a cluster of 11 timber houses, called Spalícek. These used to be owned by Jews in the early 14th century, but a fervently anti-Semitic clergy in the area incited such hatred that the Jews were forced up Zidská ulice (Jews St.) and into an alleyway called ulicka Zavrazdených (Murder Victim's Lane), where they were unceremoniously slaughtered in 1350.
 

An early evening in Cheb...

Robert & Toni enjoying a couple of Czech beers...

The old town is also packed with churches. The most interesting is St. Nicholas, around the corner from the museum. It's a hodgepodge of architectural styles: Its Romanesque heritage is reflected in the tower windows, while a Gothic portal and baroque interior round out the renovations over the years.

All photographs were taken in either Prague / Cheb or Frantiskovy Lazne - Czech Republic from the 14th to 26th October 2004.