Prague highlights in 2 hours
Old Town Square, the Clock, Týn Church, the Jewish Quarter and Charles Bridge. Best early in the morning.
8 stops, about 35 minutes of walking, about 2.4 km. Josefov sites are closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.
1 Powder Tower
Staré Město (Old Town) · Czech name: Prašná brána
The Powder Tower is a Gothic gate begun in 1475 under King Vladislav Jagiellon. It was meant as a showpiece entrance to the Old Town, not as a defence. It is about sixty-five metres high. It got its name when it was later used to store gunpowder. The tower marks the start of the Royal Route, the path of the coronation processions to the castle. The Municipal House stands next to it.
2 Old Town Square
Staré Město (Old Town) · Czech name: Staroměstské náměstí
Old Town Square has been the market and stage of Prague history for a thousand years. The Gothic towers belong to the Týn Church, and on the Old Town Hall is the astronomical clock. On the twenty-first of June 1621, twenty-seven Czech lords were executed here after the defeat of the Protestant uprising, and crosses in the pavement mark the spot. The big monument in the centre is of the reformer Jan Hus, unveiled in 1915.
3 Old Town Hall & the Astronomical Clock
Staré Město (Old Town) · Czech name: Orloj
The Old Town Hall began in 1338, and its astronomical clock, the Orloj, is documented from 1410. The clockmaker was Mikuláš of Kadaň, probably working to a design by the professor Jan Šindel. It shows the positions of the Sun and Moon, and several kinds of time. Every hour, twelve apostles pass the windows while a skeleton rings a bell. The clock was damaged in 1945 and was restored, most recently in 2018.
4 Church of Our Lady before Týn
Staré Město (Old Town) · Czech name: Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem
The Týn Church is the dominant Gothic landmark of the Old Town, with two towers about eighty metres high. The parishioners, among the richest burghers in the city, began the present church in the fourteenth century. The north tower was built in the time of George of Poděbrady and the south tower was completed in 1511. For two centuries it was a Hussite church. The astronomer Tycho Brahe is buried inside, under a red marble tombstone.
5 Old-New Synagogue
Josefov (Jewish Quarter) · Czech name: Staronová synagoga
The Old-New Synagogue was built around 1270 and is the oldest surviving medieval synagogue in Europe still used for services. It is in the early Gothic style, with a stepped brick gable, and the floor lies several metres below the street. Legend says that the clay figure of the Golem, made by Rabbi Loew, lies in the attic. It is still the main synagogue of the Prague Jewish community, so please be respectful.
6 Old Jewish Cemetery
Josefov (Jewish Quarter) · Czech name: Starý židovský hřbitov
The Old Jewish Cemetery was used from the fifteenth century until 1787. The oldest gravestone, from 1439, belongs to the poet Avigdor Kara. About twelve thousand tombstones are visible, and some twelve layers of graves lie on top of one another, because there was no room to expand. Look for the grave of Rabbi Loew, who died in 1609, and the tomb of Mordechai Maisel. Visitors traditionally leave small pebbles and notes.
7 Old Town Bridge Tower
Charles Bridge and the River · Czech name: Staroměstská mostecká věž
The Old Town Bridge Tower is among the most beautiful Gothic gates in Europe. Charles the Fourth meant it as a triumphal arch, the start of the coronation route. Building began soon after 1357, and it was finished in the 1370s and 1380s, with rich sculpture by the workshop of Peter Parler. In 1621 the heads of twelve of the executed Czech lords were displayed from its gallery. The Swedes damaged it in 1648. You can climb it for a view.
8 Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge and the River · Czech name: Karlův most
Charles Bridge was begun in 1357 by Charles the Fourth, after a flood destroyed the older Judith Bridge in 1342, and it was finished around 1402. It is 516 metres long, with sixteen arches, and until 1841 it was the only bridge in Prague. The thirty statues were added between 1683 and 1714. It was called simply the Stone Bridge until 1870. Cars were banned in 1965. Come early in the morning for the best experience.
Walk this route with Prago
Prago is an audio guide to Prague for iPhone. The map is on the phone, so it works with no signal and no roaming bill, and it starts talking when you walk up to a place. There is no account and no tracking. Coming soon to the App Store.
More walks
- The Royal Way: Powder Tower to the Castle 9 stops
- Quiet Malá Strana 5 stops
- Castle Hill, top to bottom 7 stops
- Easy-going Old Town 5 stops