More than Just a Castle

We met Eva just as we got off of the tram to tour the Prague Castle. With her cow earrings, spunky attitude, and slight Irish accent, we knew immediately that this would be an eccentric tour. She first brought us to an obvious, but often overlooked area of the city—the vicinity of the castle. Because many tourists are preoccupied with visiting the castle itself, many don’t take the time to look at the history-filled surroundings. As we strolled the cobble streets, Eva taught us about the school for the blind that trains hard-of-sight youths to become some of the best musical tuners in the world, and we witnessed one of the first “strip malls”—a medieval stretch of houses and patios used by merchants for selling goods.

We knew we had reached the Prague Castle when we could see the entrance to the Saint Vitus Cathedral, which many mistake as the castle itself. However, the Prague Castle is not a single castle, but rather a compound of various palaces, churches, towers, buildings and gardens. The castle is so rich in history that rather than listing all of the interesting facts and quirks about it, we’d like to highlight some student favorites:

• The torture chamber, particularly the “Iron Lady” with enclosing spikes.
• Learning that “unattractive” women in the medieval times were either married off through bribes and extravagant displays of wealth, or they were appointed the head of convents
• Witnessing the balcony that Adolf Hitler stood on when he forced the Czech President to hand over the country
• Learning the meaning of “defenestration,” or quite literally, throwing someone out of a window. This was the fate of many unwanted politicians and lawbreakers
• The Bohemian Crown Jewels hidden behind a seven-key lock, the keys to which are kept safe by seven high-profile people including the President, Prime Minister and Prague Archbishop.