At the end of October, our friends from CzechTourism approached us, asking if we would be interested in a short trip. Prague and Central Moravia were on the agenda, so we said why not, it will definitely be worth it.
We have visited Prague many times before. We were curious to see if there was still something in the program that could surprise us, as we already know Prague like the back of our hand. How wrong we were.
The evening journey through the Prague legends offers a view of the city from a completely different perspective. From the Old Town Square, we set off for 2 hours into the realm of legends and stories.
On the website www.strasidelnapraha.czYou can find more information about this tour, it was truly an experience. And since we listened very attentively, we bring you some legends from our night wandering 😉
Restaurant At the Spider
At the U Pavouka restaurant, an extravagant cabaret used to be performed. In 1920, prostitution was banned in almost all of Europe. U Pavouka was one of the few places where a willing lady could be found. However, a special password was required to prevent a decent girl from becoming the object of interest. The password was: “Miss, how do you earn your money? Are you working, or are you in the household?” And the girl had to answer: “I don’t work because I rent out my estate.” Another way to bypass this ban was by opening massage parlors. During the interwar period, there were around 200 so-called massage parlors in Prague.
The Legend of the Golem.
Every Friday evening before the Sabbath, it was necessary for the Golem to remove the Shem from under his tongue. This was to prevent his destructive tendencies. However, once it happened that the rabbi had many worries, forgot about it, and the Golem started destroying everything that came in his way. After this terrible experience, the rabbi decided that he would no longer tempt fate and never revive the Golem again. He stored him in the attic of the ancient synagogue, and it is said that the Golem is still there guarding the Jewish treasure. Entering the attic of the synagogue is prohibited. Allegedly, anyone who tried to find the Golem died a strange death. They had a car accident, or they got a fatal illness. It is therefore not recommended to search for the Golem.
The Legend of Turko
In the past, merchants from distant lands used to come to Prague to sell their goods. About 300 years ago, a Turk came to Prague. It is no wonder that he fell in love here. He fell in love with a local girl. It was a great love. At first, her parents didn’t approve of it, but eventually they agreed to the wedding. However, the Turk had to return to Turkey to take care of something before the wedding. This pre-wedding journey took four years. Four years is indeed a long time, so the parents convinced their daughter not to wait for him, telling her that he had betrayed her. She then married a Czech man. There was a big wedding, but as the newlyweds were leaving the church, the Turk appeared. Seeing how his beloved had betrayed him, he, in his characteristic temper, drew his saber right in front of the church and cut off her head. Little did he know that by this brutal act, he condemned himself to eternal haunting in the Czech lands. Since then, almost every night you can see him walking through the square, dragging the head of his beloved on the ground.
Hanged Men
The St. James Basilica has several “mosts” within Prague. It is one of the richest churches, it houses the oldest organ, and it also has the best acoustics. However, Prague residents know this church because of a very interesting legend. In the 14th century, a local thief had his eye on the treasures from this church. He was especially interested in a precious pearl necklace that was donated by one of the believers to the Virgin Mary. To this day, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary on the altar, connected to this legend. When the thief reached out to steal this pearl necklace, the Virgin Mary came to life and grabbed his hand. She held it that way until morning. When the believers arrived in the morning and saw what had happened, there was nothing else to do but to call the executioner, who then cut off his hand. This act might not have been unusual, as severing hands was a common punishment for thieves at that time. However, what is unusual is that they took that hand and hung it in the church, where it still hangs to this day.
The Skeleton and the Fruit Market
Once upon a time, there was a doctor at Charles University who had a peculiar, almost morbid hobby. He collected human skeletons. He wasn’t interested in ordinary skeletons; anomalies attracted him. He had a student who was 2 meters tall, which was very unusual for that time. They decided to make a strange deal together. The doctor gave the student 30 gold coins, which was a large sum at that time. In exchange, he was promised that when the student died, the doctor could extract and place his skeleton in his collection. The student was a known drunkard, and after receiving the money, he started drinking even more than before. As he drank, he drank himself to death. The doctor was delighted and placed him in his collection. However, strange things began to happen over time. During the ghostly hour, this skeleton would disappear; it was not in its place. The doctor tried to figure out what was happening. Eventually, they discovered that the skeleton was leaving the collection and going to beg for money at the fruit market. He believed that if he managed to beg 30 gold coins, his soul would be saved. Legend has it that he still wanders the market to this day.
