CHURCH OF SAINT BARBARA, KUTNA HORA – PICTURE GALLERY
PRAGUE JEWISH GHETTO – PICTURE GALLERY
BATTLE OF WHITE MOUNTAIN (WHITE MOUNTAIN BATTLEFIELD)
Bila Hora, Czech Republic (1620 AD) The Battle of White Mountain was the first great military engagement of the Thirty Years War. An important victory for the Catholic armies of the Hapsburg Empire, White Mountain ended the Bohemian Revolt and left the Protestants in Germany on the defensive for the better part of the next decade. Although it was ultimately not a conclusive … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF ST. VITUS
Prague, Czech Republic Prague has one of the most colorful religious histories of any city in Europe. Evangelized by Saints Cyril and Methodius, and home to the good king and saint, Wenceslaus, it was also the site where the first major showdown took place between Catholic and Protestant Christians. The Second Defenestration of Prague kicked off the Thirty Years War, the … [Read more...]
KARLSTEJN CASTLE
Karlstejn, Czech Republic Karlstejn Castle is the legendary and romanticized fortress of the Czech Republic. A royal castle of the Holy Roman Empire for many centuries, this storied keep was once the treasury and storehouse of the Imperial Regalia, the Crown Jewels of Bohemia, and countless other priceless objects. Its mountaintop setting and architectural style is … [Read more...]
STARANOVA SYNAGOGUE
Prague, Czech Republic While virtually every major city in Eastern Europe has been home to a Jewish ghetto at some point in the past, none are so well known or as breathtaking as the ghetto in Prague. Home to the legendary creature known as the Golem, the Prague ghetto boasts the best preserved medieval Jewish neighborhood in Europe, including the Staranova Synagogue, one … [Read more...]
SEDLEC OSSUARY
Kutna Hora, Czech Republic When the Black Plague swept through Bohemia in the 14th century, it left in its wake tens of thousands of dead bodies and a number of innovative Cistercian monks with a lot of time on their hands. The ensuing six centuries of labor resulted in what is without a doubt one of the most macabre holy shrines in Christendom: the Sedlec Ossuary. Here, … [Read more...]
PRAGUE CASTLE
Prague, Czech Republic Like Wittenberg, Prague was a city of destiny for the Protestant movement. When the Catholic Church attempted to reassert its influence in Central Europe, it was in Prague that the Protestants made their first historic stand. The Second Defenestration of Prague kicked off the Thirty Years War, the most violent inter-Christian conflict in history. By … [Read more...]
