Monday 14 September 2009

Czech Republic - Prague

The Golden Tiger - one of the few pubs in Central Prague that has retained its soul

Prague Castle from the Vltava River.....


We're the boys and we're here in Prague!

Staromestske namesti - Old Town Square and the Gothic Towers of Church Of Our Lady Before Tyn

Crossing The Square

House of The Black Madonna (The Museum of Czech Cubism). A fine example of early 20th century Cubist Architecture

Almost unique to Prague, Cubist design makes use of eye catching geometric designs

Jan Palach Memorial on Wenceslas Square - a Czechoslovak student who set himself on fire and died a martyr in January 1969 protesting at the Soviet invasion which crushed The Prague Spring

Filling a gap site from World War 2 - The Dancing Building (1996) - this idiosyncratic building complements its Art Nouveau neighbours

In the dark days of World War 2, Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich a leading Nazi ruled Prague with an iron fist. Czech paratroopers assassinated Heydrich (June 1942) provoking Hitler's fury. Seven paratroopers involved holed up in the crypt of Church of SS Cyril & Methodius, ultimately they were betrayed. The Germans besieged the church trying to smoke and flood them out. Rather than surrender the four surviving paratroopers used their last bullets to take their own life

A vent to the crypt - The events are immortalised in the film 'Operation Daybreak'

In a vain attempt to escape the flooded crypt the paratroopers tried to tunnel out to the sewers.
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In revenge for Heydrich's assassination unprecedented Nazi executions and terror rained down on Czech civilians - a village unconnected to events unknowingly was about to pay the ultimate price..........

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