Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images available at The Internet Archive)
[Every attempt has been made to replicate the original as printed.
Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text.
(etext transcriber note.)]
_The Story of Prague_
_The Mediæval Town Series_
=VERONA.=(A)
By ALETHEA WIEL.
=CHARTRES.=(B)
By CECIL HEADLAM.
=CAIRO.=(B)
By STANLEY LANE-POOLE.
=BRUGES.=(B)
By ERNEST GILLIAT-SMITH.
=ROME.=(B) [_2nd Edition._
By NORWOOD YOUNG.
=FLORENCE.=(B) [_3rd Edition._
By EDMUND G. GARDNER.
=ASSISI.=(A) [_2nd Edition._
By LINA DUFF GORDON.
=CONSTANTINOPLE.=(A)
By WILLIAM H. HUTTON.
=MOSCOW.=(A)
By WIRT GERRARE.
=ROUEN.=(B) [_2nd Edition._
By THEODORE A. COOK.
=NUREMBERG.=(A) [_3rd Edition._
By CECIL HEADLAM.
=PERUGIA.=(A) [_4th Edition._
By MARGARET SYMONDS and LINA DUFF GORDON.
=TOLEDO.=(A)
By HANNAH LYNCH.
_The volumes marked_ (A) _are_ 3_s._ 6_d._ _net in cloth_, 4_s._
6_d._ _net in leather_; _those marked_ (B) _are_ 4_s._ 6_d._ _net
in cloth_, 5_s._ 6_d._ _net in leather_.
[Illustration: The Pulverthurm Prague]
_The Story of_ =PRAGUE=
_by Count Lützow_
_Illustrated by Nelly Erichsen_
[Illustration: colophon]
_London: J. M. Dent & Co._
_Aldine House, 29 and 30 Bedford Street_
_Covent Garden, W.C._
[Illustration]
1902
_All rights reserved_
To
PROFESSOR MORFILL, M.A.
_Corresponding Member of the Royal Scientific Society
of Bohemia, who has so largely contributed
to making Bohemia known to England_
CONTENTS
PAGE
_Introduction_ xv
CHAPTER I
_Prague at the Earliest Period_ 1
CHAPTER II
_From the Reign of Charles IV. to the Executions
at Prague in 1621_ 23
CHAPTER III
_Prague in Modern Times_ 128
CHAPTER IV
_Palaces_ 140
CHAPTER V
_Churches and Monasteries_ 149
CHAPTER VI
_The Bohemian Museum_ 164
CHAPTER VII
_Walks in Prague_ 167
CHAPTER VIII
_Walks and Excursions near Prague_ 197
_Note_ 201
_Appendix_ 203
_Princes of Bohemia_ 204
_Kings of Bohemia_ 205
_Index_ 207
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
_The Pulverthurm_ (_photogravure_) _Frontispiece_
_Tomb of Ottokar I._ 6
_The Jewish Cemetery_ 9
_The Hradcany and Ottokar Towers_ 13
_Charles IV., from Triforium of St. Vitus_ 16
_The Gothic Projection, Carolinum_ 19
_The Bridge Tower of the Malá Strana_ 27
_Statue of St. John Nepomuk on the Bridge_ 30
_Medals of Hus_ 33
_Medals of Hus_ 39
_The Bridge Tower of the Old Town_ 45
_The Hradcany_ 53
_View of Prague and Hradcany Castle_ 61
_The Town Hall and Market-Place_ 71
_South Porch of Tyn Church_ 75
_Clock Tower in Town Hall of Staré Mesto_ 80
_Chapel of Town Hall_ 83
_Wenceslas Chapel, St. Vitus's Cathedral_ 91
_The East Gate of the Hradcany_ 97
_Rudolph II._ 101
_Tombstone of Tycho Brahe in Tyn Church_ 104
_The Royal Officials are Thrown from the
Windows on May 23, 1618_ 111
_Battle of the White Mountain, November 8,
1620_ 115
_The Executions on the Market-Place of the
Old Town of Prague on the 21st of
June 1621_ 121
_The Dungeon in the Town Hall_ 125
_Bethlehem Chapel_ 127
_The Old Synagogue_ 129
_Secret Seal of the Malá Strana_ 133
_The Oldest Great Seal of the Old Town_ 139
_Gate of the Clam-Gallas Palace_ 141
_The Hall of Vladislav in the Hradcany
Castle_ 145
_The Most Ancient Shield of the Old Town_ 148
_View of Strahov_ 150
_St. Vitus from the 'Stag's Ditch'_ 153
_The Tyn Church_ 157
_The Library, Strahov_ 161
_Most Ancient Arms of the Malá Strana_ 163
_The Powder Tower_ 169
_Door of Old Synagogue_ 171
_Jewish Town Hall and Old Synagogue_ 175
_Chapel of St. Martin_ 182
_Karlov_ 186
_From the Bridge Looking Towards the Old
Town_ 188
_View of the Bridge from the Mills of the
Old Town_ 191
_The 'Star' Hunting Lodge_ 199
_The Oldest Great Seal of the Malá Strana,
Thirteenth Century_ 200
_View of Prague in 1606, after Sadeler's famous
Engraving, in Three Sections_ _facing_ 206
_Map of Prague_ " 212
INTRODUCTION
Few cities in the world have a more striking and feverish historical
record than Prague, the ancient capital of Bohemia and of the lands of
the Bohemian crown. It is a very ancient saying at Prague that when
throwing a stone through a window you throw with it a morsel of history.
The story of Prague is to a great extent the history of Bohemia, and all
Bohemians have always shown a devoted affection for the
'hundred-towered, golden Prague,' as they fondly call it. As Mr. Arthur
Symons has well said, Prague is to a Bohemian 'still the epitome of the
history of his country; he sees it, as a man sees the woman he loves,
with her first beauty, and he loves it as a man loves a woman, more for
what she has suffered.' Foreigners, however, have not been backward in
admiring the beauties of Prague. The words of Humboldt, who declared
that Prague was the most beautiful inland town of Europe, have often
been quoted, and it is certain that a traveller who looks at the town
from the bridge, or the Strahov Monastery or the Belvedere, will share
this opinion.
Yet Prague is, I think, very little known to Englishmen, and I received
with great pleasure Mr. Dent's suggestion that I should write a short
sketch of the history of the capital of my country. It has, indeed, to
me been a labour of love. The geographical situation of Prague is to
some extent a clue to its historical importance. Bohemia, the Slavic
land that lies furthest west, has always been the battlefield of the
Slavic and Teutonic races, and its capital, Prague, has for more than a
thousand years been an outlying bastion of the Slav people, which,
sometimes captured, has always been recovered. Within the time of men
now living Prague had the appearance of a German city, while it has now
a thoroughly Slav character. The town has therefore an intense interest
for the student of history, and, indeed, of politics. For more than two
centuries a religious conflict, interwoven with the racial struggle in a
manner that cannot be defined in few words, attracted the attention of
Europe to Bohemia, and particularly to Prague; for the battles of the
Zizkov and the Vysehrad were fought within the precincts of the present
city. But it is not only in the annals of war that Prague plays a
pre-eminent part. The foundation of the University for a time made
Prague one of the centres of European thought. Thanks to the enthusiasm
and eloquence of Hus, the endeavour to reform the Church, which had
failed in England, was for a time successful in Bohemia. Though he was
not born at Prague, and died in a foreign country, the life of Hus
belongs to Prague. The traveller cannot pass the Bethlehem Chapel or the
Carolinum without thinking of the great reformer. Though the
iconoclastic fury of the extreme Hussites and the rage of incessant
civil warfare have deprived Prague of many of its ancient monuments, it
is by no means so devoid of architectural beauty as has been stated by
those who, perhaps, know the town only by hearsay. The three ancient
round chapels, dating from the beginning of the tenth century, still
remain as examples of the earliest ecclesiastical architecture of
Prague. The Church of St. George, on the Hradcany Hill, which is now
being carefully restored, is a very fine specimen of early romanesque
architecture. The four towers at the outskirts of the Hradcany, which
date from the thirteenth century, are an interesting relic of the
ancient fortifications of Prague. The principal churches of the town,
St. Vitus's Cathedral and the Tyn Church, frequently enlarged and
altered, recall the vicissitudes of Bohemian history, in which they
played such a prominent part. Ferdinand the First's Belvedere villa is
one of the finest Renaissance buildings in Northern Europe.
I have found no lack of materials while writing this short note on the
story of Prague. I have of course mainly relied on the old chronicles,
most of which are written in the national language. These almost unknown
chroniclers are little inferior to those of Italy. Their fierce
religious and racial animosities sometimes inspire them, and even carry
away the reader, whatever his own views may be. Want of space has
unfortunately obliged me to quote but sparingly from these ancient
chronicles. Of modern historical works on Prague, Dr. Tomek's _Dejepis
Mesta Prahy_ (History of the town of Prague) is vastly superior to all
previous works of the present age. This book, written in the
little-known Bohemian language, deserves to rank with Gregorovius's
_Mediæval Rome_ as one of the greatest town-histories of the nineteenth
century. The twelve volumes of Dr. Tomek's work that have appeared up to
now only bring the history of the city down to the year 1608. As the
smallest of these volumes is more than double the size of this little
book, it is unnecessary to say that I have not been able to avail myself
of the contents of Dr. Tomek's book to a large extent. I have mentioned,
in an Appendix to this book, a few of the other works that I have
consulted.
After giving an account of the story of Prague, I have in Chapters IV.
and V. briefly referred to the most prominent objects of interest in the
town. With the exception of the bridge--which every traveller will
cross, however short his stay may be--the town hall and the
neighbouring Jewish churchyard, an account of these will be found in
these two chapters. A somewhat fuller notice of the town will be found
in Chapters VI., VII. and VIII., though here, too, it has been
impossible to mention every subject of interest for the student of
history, architecture and archæology. The history of Prague is to so
great an extent that of Bohemia that I have at the end of this volume
given a list of the rulers--princes, afterwards kings--of Bohemia, which
the reader will, I think, find useful.
I have often been told by English friends that Prague is a very distant
and 'out-of-the-way' place. I am, I think, entitled to dispute the
correctness of this statement. Dresden, one of the towns most visited by
English travellers, is only four hours from Prague. The train leaving
Dresden at 11.18 reaches Prague at 3.11. Prague is also not distant from
the Bohemian watering-places, Karlsbad, Marienbad and Franzensbad, and
the distance would appear yet smaller were it not for the slowness of
all Austrian, even express, trains. I may add a word on the hotels of
Prague. Of the best of these hotels, three--the Hotel de Saxe, the 'Blue
Star,' and the 'Black Horse'--are situated close to the State Railway
Station and the powder tower, while a fourth, the 'Victoria,' is in the
Jungmann Street. In all these hotels the English traveller will often
regret the absence of a reading or public sitting-room. Even when such a
room is provided, it is often closed or used for private card parties.
In late years I have during my many visits to Prague always stayed at
the Hotel de Saxe, and I can conscientiously recommend it. To those who,
for the purpose of study or for other reasons, intend making a somewhat
lengthy stay at Prague, The Pension Finger (corner of the Vaclavské
Námesti and the town park) can be recommended.
It remains to me to thank those who have kindly assisted me while I was
preparing this little book. As on previous occasions, I have again had
the privilege of frequently consulting Mr. Adolphus Patera, head
librarian of the Bohemian Museum. Dr. Matejka, guardian of the print
room of that museum, has most kindly permitted the reproduction of some
of the treasures contained in that collection. Dr. Jaromir Celakovsky,
archivist of the town of Prague, kindly granted permission that the
interesting old town seals of Prague should be reproduced here.
Monsignor Lehner kindly furnished me with some fresh information on the
subject of early Bohemian ecclesiastical architecture, on which he is so
great an authority. Dr. Zahradnik, canon and librarian of the Strahov
Monastery, has given me much valuable information concerning his ancient
monastery, and particularly concerning the library that he so ably and
skilfully directs. I have also had the privilege of receiving advice
from Professors Kalousek and Mourek.
LÜTZOW.
PRAGUE, _November 28, 1901_.
The Story of Prague
CHAPTER I
_Prague at the Earliest Period_
The earliest tales of the foundation of Prague are as those of most very
ancient cities--entirely mythical. Here, as elsewhere, very ancient
legends and traditions take the place of genuine history. Yet a notice
of such ancient towns that ignored these legends would be valueless. It
is almost certain that the earliest inhabited spot within the precincts
of the present city of Prague was the hill on the right bank of the
Vltava or Moldau, known as the Vysehrad ('higher castle' or Acropolis).
It is also probable that the 'higher castle' was from a very early date
the residence of a prince who ruled over part of Bohemia, and the very
ancient legend that refers to the Vysehrad as the residence of Krok or
Crocus, the earliest Sovereign of Bohemia, is no doubt founded on this
fact. Krok is said to have left no son, but three daughters, Kázi, Teta
and Libussa. Libussa, though the youngest, succeeded her father as ruler
of Bohemia. Libussa is described by the ancient chronicler, Cosmas of
Prague, as 'a wonderful woman among women, chaste in body, righteous in
her morals, second to none as judge over the people, affable to all and
even amiable, the pride and glory of the female sex, doing wise and
manly deeds; but, as nobody is perfect, this so praiseworthy woman was,
alas, a soothsayer.' The last words, no doubt, refer to Libussa's
prophecy of the future greatness of Prague, which will be mentioned
presently.
The great merits of Libussa do not, however, appear to have reconciled
the Bohemians to the rule of a woman. When Libussa had been sitting in
judgment on a dispute between two nobles--brothers who both claimed the
paternal inheritance--the one to whom the princess's decision was
unfavourable insulted her by exclaiming that it was a shame for a
country to be ruled by a woman. Libussa then declared that she would no
longer rule so ferocious a people. She bade the people disperse and
reassemble on the following day, when she would accept as husband
whomsoever they might select. The Bohemians, however, declared that they
would leave the choice to her and accept as their ruler the man whom she
would choose. Libussa, who here is represented as a visionary or
soothsayer, then said, pointing to the distant hills, 'Behind these
hills is a small river called Belina and on its bank a farm named
Stadic. Near that farm is a field and in that field your future ruler is
ploughing with two oxen marked with various spots. His name is Premysl
and his descendant will rule over you for ever. Take my horse and follow
him; he will lead you to the spot.'
Guided by Libussa's horse, the Bohemian envoys immediately set forth and
found the peasant Premysl ploughing his field. They immediately saluted
him as their ruler. Premysl mounted the horse and, followed by the
Bohemian envoys, proceeded to the Vysehrad, where he was immediately
betrothed to Libussa. The chroniclers tell us that when he arrived at
the Vysehrad he still wore the dress of the Bohemian peasant, and that
his rough shoes were preserved in the Vysehrad castle as late as the
twelfth century. Premysl became the founder of a line that ruled in
Bohemia up to 1306; and the present King of Bohemia, Francis Joseph, is
his successor in the female line.
To Libussa is ascribed the second foundation of a city on the site of
the present town of Prague. It is said to have taken place on the left
bank of the Vltava, on the Hradcany Hill. The spot then, and even far
later, was covered by a dense forest; the ancient Slavs, it may be
noted, generally chose secluded spots surrounded by forests as their
dwelling-places. The oldest account, and therefore the most valuable, is
that of the chronicler, Cosmas of Prague (about 1045 to 1125), whom I
shall again quote. He tells us that Libussa, 'standing on a high rock on
the Vysehrad in presence of her husband Premysl, and the elders of the
people incited by the spirit of prophecy uttered this prediction: I see
a town the glory of which will reach the stars. There is a spot in the
forest, thirty stades from this village, which the River Vltava
encircles, and which to the north the stream Brusnice secures by its
deep valley; and to the south a rocky hill, which from its rocks takes
the name of Petrin,[1] towers above it.... When you have reached this
spot you will find a man in the midst of the forest who is working at a
door-sill for a house.[2] And as even mighty lords bend before a low
door, so from this event you shall call the town which you will build
"Praha." ... They proceed immediately to the ancient forest, and having
found the sign which had been given them they build on this site a town,
Prague, the mistress of all Bohemia.'
This is the most ancient record of the foundation of Prague on which all
subsequent ones are based. The older castle on the Vysehrad, separated
from the newer foundation by the vast extent of land now occupied by
the Staré Mesto (old town) and the Nové Mesto (new town) continued to be
the frequent residence of the Bohemian princes.
The date of the foundation of Prague by Libussa is as uncertain as
everything concerning that semi-mythical princess. Hajek of Libocan, a
chronicler of the sixteenth century, gives the year 752 as the date of
the foundation of the castle on the Hradcany Hill. It was at first of a
very simple character, consisting probably but of wooden buildings.
During the reign of Libussa's successors--of whom little but their names
is known[3]--we have scant information as regards the growth of Prague.
After the introduction of Christianity one of the earliest Christian
churches is stated to have been erected on the Hradcany at Prague. The
new settlement rapidly extended itself, and from an early date we read
of the 'suburbium Pragense,' which extended on both banks of the river
and included the present Malá Strana (small quarter) at the foot of the
Hradcany Hill, as well as that part of the Staré Mesto that is nearest
to the Vltava. Though there is but little trustworthy information
concerning this early period, it is certain that the city gradually
spread out on both banks of the river. They were from the earliest
historical period united by a bridge that stood near the site of the
present far-famed bridge.
Buildings not connected with either the Vysehrad or the Hradcany
settlements sprang up at a very early period. According to Professor
Tomek, as early as the year 993 some houses stood on the site of the
present Poric Street (close to the State Railway Station).
Immediately after the introduction of Christianity, but particularly
during the reign of the pious Wenceslas (920-935), many churches were
erected at Prague, though the earliest building devoted to Christian
worship was at Levy Hradec.[4] According to some accounts a church on
the Hradcany was dedicated to the Virgin by Borivoj, the first Christian
ruler of Bohemia. It was in this church that St. Wenceslas received the
tonsure. The earliest church on the Vysehrad probably dates from nearly
the same time. Prince Wenceslas--afterwards sainted--built several
churches, and also laid the foundations of the first buildings on the
spot where St. Vitus's Cathedral now stands. Wenceslas was induced to
build this church by the gift of an arm of St. Vitus, a precious relic
that he received from the German King, Henry I. The first church of St.
Vitus, like all the earliest religious buildings in Bohemia, was in the
Romanesque style. In 939 the remains of St. Wenceslas were conveyed here
from Stará Boleslav, where he had (in 935) been murdered by his
treacherous younger brother, Boleslav.[5]
The successor of St. Wenceslas, Boleslav I., whom Palacky calls 'one of
the most powerful monarchs that ever occupied the Bohemian throne,'
greatly extended the frontiers of his country, a fact that necessarily
largely increased the importance of his capital; but of yet greater
importance for the development of Prague was--in accordance with the
ideas of the time--the foundation of the bishopric in 973. It took place
during the reign of Boleslav II., the son and successor of Boleslav I.
Bohemia had formerly belonged to the diocese of Regensburg or Ratisbon.
At the time of the foundation the Bohemian princes ruled not only over
Bohemia and its sister lands (Moravia and Silesia), but also over
Southern Poland, Galicia and a large part of Northern Hungary. All
these countries formed parts of the new bishopric of Prague. Palacky
justly regrets that an archbishopric was not founded for so vast an
extent of land. It is only several centuries later that Prague became an
archbishopric. The first bishop, Thietmar, was, after a short time,
succeeded by Vojtech or Adalbert, a Bohemian who was afterwards sainted
and is still one of the patrons of the country. After the death of
Boleslav II., in 999, civil war broke out in Bohemia, and the
development of Prague was necessarily retarded.
[Illustration: TOMB OF OTTOKAR I.]
The population of Prague--originally entirely Slavic--was at an early
period increased by German immigrants. They first arrived at Prague as
permanent residents during the reign of King Vratislav (1061-1092). They
settled on the right bank of the Vltava, and, favoured by the Bohemian
Sovereigns, increased rapidly. They were granted special privileges by
Sobeslav, and these privileges were afterwards extended by King
Wenceslas I. Thus the old town in distinction from the new town,
afterwards founded by Charles IV., long had a somewhat German
character, and indeed only entirely lost it during the Hussite Wars. The
old document stating that 'no German or Jew shall be burgomaster of the
old town of Prague,' which is still shown in the town hall, only dates
from this period.
The old town, however, always contained a strong Bohemian-Slavic
element, and the fusion of the two nationalities undoubtedly became
closer when, during the reign of King Wenceslas I., the old town
was--probably about the year 1235--enclosed with walls. These walls
starting from the Vltava, near the present bridge of Francis Joseph,
followed the line of the Elizabeth Street and the Josefské Námesti till
they reached the Prikopy or Graben. Thence they proceeded along the
present Prikopy, Ovocná ulice and Ferdinandova ulice till they rejoined
the river, near the spot where the national theatre now stands. The
Graben, now the principal thoroughfare of Prague by its name, which
signifies ditch or trench, still recalls its original destination. The
Prasná Brana (powder tower or gate) marks the spot where one of the
gates of the old town stood. According to Dr. Tomek the fortifications
consisted of a double wall and double ditch, which was filled with water
derived from the Vltava. With the exception of the Vysehrad and a few
straggling buildings near the present Poric Street, the new walls
contained all that part of Prague that was situated on the right bank of
the river.
Premysl Ottokar II., the son and successor of Wenceslas I., was one of
Bohemia's greatest kings. Both by successful warfare and by skilful
diplomacy he so greatly enlarged his dominions, that his rule at one
time extended from the Adriatic in the South to the Baltic in the North.
Though his many campaigns left him little leisure to reside in his
capital, Ottokar enlarged both the town and the fortifications of
Prague.
In 1257 he greatly added to the fortifications that no doubt already
existed on the Hradcany Hill. He caused the whole Hradcany Hill to be
surrounded by a strong wall and the various towers to be connected by
covered passages. Ten knights and 300 armed men were to keep constant
watch and ward over the fortifications. The still existent
towers--Daliborka, Mikulka, and the white and the black towers--formed
part of these fortifications. Somewhat later the King also enclosed with
walls the Malá Strana (small quarter)--that is to say, the buildings
that extended from the foot of the Hradcany to the river. Here
fortifications were necessary in three directions only, as in the
direction of the Hradcany that fortress protected the newly enclosed
settlement.
It appears probable that when the old town had been fortified a
tête-de-pont had been built on the left bank of the Vltava, which,
together with a similar building on the right bank, was to secure the
bridge of Prague. The fortified gate on the left bank was now included
in the new fortifications. It may here be remarked that when the old
town had been fortified the Jewish quarter (vicus Judæorum) had been
included in these fortifications; gates, however, separated the Jewish
quarter from the rest of the old town.
The Jewish colony of Prague is of very ancient origin. According to Mr
Foges,[6] who was himself a member of that community, Jews went there
immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem, if not even before that
event. Popular tradition, always given to exaggeration, indeed affirms
that Jews first settled at
[Illustration: THE JEWISH CEMETERY]
Prague, or rather at Buiarnum, which stood on the spot where Libussa
afterwards founded Prague, before the beginning of the Christian era,
and being therefore guiltless of all participation in the Crucifixion
they had fared better in Prague in mediæval times than in most other
cities. It is true that Jew-baiting was not unknown in Prague. Mr Foges
quotes from the original Hebrew a graphic account of the great
persecution of the Jews in 1389. Yet, on the whole, we find at Prague
fewer traces of the intense hatred of the Jews which is general
elsewhere, and individual Jews often were in favour with the rulers of
Bohemia. Thus the Rabbi Löwi Bezalel, who died in 1609, and is buried in
the old Jewish cemetery, enjoyed the favour of Rudolph II. Bezalel, who
was a student of astronomy and astrology, then intimately connected with
it, was a friend of Tycho Brahe, who attracted Rudolph's attention to
the learned Jew. Bezalel was summoned to the royal palace, on the
Hradcany, and a very lengthy interview between him and Rudolph took
place. It is stated that Bezalel, during his whole lifetime, refused to
give any account of this mysterious interview. He was probably a
cabalist, and many quaint legends have centred round his name.
According to Dr. Tomek the period between the circumvallation of the old
town and the foundation of the new town was that in which the
preponderance of the German element at Prague attained its height. The
Sovereigns favoured the German immigrants, wishing to use them as a
counterpoise to the overwhelming power of the masterful Bohemian nobles.
The old chronicler Dalimil, when describing Ottokar II.'s departure on
his last fatal campaign against Rudolph of Hapsburg, refers to the
apathy of the Bohemians, many of whom considered themselves as neglected
in favour of the Germans, and to the King's resentment. He is made to
say: 'When I return from the wars I will inflict much evil on the
Bohemians. I will thus stain the Petrin[7] with their blood, that no
Bohemian will any longer be seen on the bridge of Prague.' The passage
is interesting also, as showing how early the bridge of Prague became
famous.[8]
The feelings expressed by Dalimil, who always writes as the champion of
the Bohemian aristocracy, were, however, by no means universal among the
Bohemians, many of whom were warmly attached to their Sovereign. We read
that when, on June 27th, 1278, Ottokar left Prague for the last time 'he
took leave of all those whom he loved and who were faithful to him; the
clergy and the whole people followed him to the city-gates with prayers
and many tears.' They seem to have foreseen the fatal defeat on the
Marchfeld where Ottokar lost his life. When the news of his death
reached Prague, lamentation was general from the royal palace to the
lowliest hovel. Though Ottokar was under sentence of excommunication,
the Bohemians, never very heedful of the Papal authority, thronged to
the altars to pray for the eternal salvation of their beloved Sovereign,
while the bells of all the churches of Prague, nearly a hundred in
number, tolled. During the short reigns of his successors, the last
Premyslide princes, Bohemia was involved in almost incessant war.
Soon after the extinction of the Premyslide dynasty
[Illustration: THE HRADCANY AND OTTOKAR TOWERS]
(1306), John of Luxemburg, son of the German Emperor Henry VII., became
King of Bohemia (in 1310). His adventurous reign concerns the annals of
Prague but very little. A Sovereign who declared that 'Paris was the
most chivalrous town in the world, and that he only wished to live
there,' naturally neglected his Bohemian capital. The Bohemians
complained that his short visits to Prague were only made for the
purpose of obtaining financial aid from the Estates of Bohemia. His
incessant campaigns, that extended from Lithuania and Hungary to Italy
and France, indeed involved him in constant financial difficulties. It
is characteristic of the knight-errant King that he seriously
contemplated re-establishing at Prague the round-table of King Arthur.
He invited all the most famous knights in Europe to that city in 1319;
nobody, however, appears to have responded to his call.
After King John's death on the battlefield of Crécy, his son Charles IV.
(or I. as King of Bohemia) became his successor. Differing in most
respects from his father, he was a devoted lover of Prague, and may
almost be considered a second founder of the city. The districts of
Prague, the Malá Strana and the Staré Mesto, that were already enclosed
by walls, had become insufficient to shelter the ever-increasing
population. Charles therefore decided on building a new city on the
right bank of the Vltava. The old chronicler, Benes of Weitmil, tells us
that 'in the year of the Lord MCCCXLVIII., on the day of St. Marc, our
Lord Charles, King of the Romans and of Bohemia, laid the first stone,
and founded the new city of Prague, building a very strong wall with
ramparts and high towers extending from the Castle of Vysehrad to Poric.
The Vysehrad Hill also he surrounded with a wall and very strong towers,
and the whole work was carried out within two years. And he also
ordered that gardens and vineyards should be planted around the city of
Prague.' It is interesting to note in connection with this statement of
the old chronicler that Dr. Tomek also tells us that during the reign of
Charles many citizens bought land outside the town and established
vineyards there.
The new town received great privileges from Charles, and the foundation
of the University, which contributed largely to increasing the
population of the town, also had a very favourable effect on the new
community. The 'new town,' the limits of which were soon extended,
enjoyed the rank of a royal town, a name given to those cities only that
had been awarded special privileges by the Bohemian Kings.
[Illustration: CHARLES IV., FROM TRIFORIUM OF ST. VITUS]
Charles had, while temporary ruler of Bohemia during the absence of his
father, succeeded in persuading the Papal See to raise the bishopric of
Prague to an archbishopric. It was through his influence also that his
friend Ernest of Pardubic, a member of one of the oldest noble families
of Bohemia, was chosen as first Archbishop of Prague.
It was on Ernest also that Charles conferred the dignity of being the
first Chancellor of the newly-founded University of Prague. That
foundation is, as regards the annals of the world, the most important
event in the history of Prague. That a movement in favour of Church
reform should originate here at a time when Geneva and Wittenberg were
unknown as centres of theological strife was only rendered possible by
the fact that Prague had become the site of one of the then very scanty
universities.
At the meeting of the Estates at Prague in 1348 Charles made the
following statement: 'One of our greatest endeavours is that Bohemia our
kingdom, for which we feel greater affection than for any of our other
lands, should, through our action, be adorned by a great number of
learned men; thus will the faithful inhabitants of that kingdom, who
incessantly thirst for the fruits of learning, be no longer obliged to
beg for foreign alms, rather will they find a table prepared for them in
their own kingdom; thus will the natural sagacity of their minds move
them to become cultured by the possession of knowledge.' Charles
concluded by informing the assembly that he had resolved to found the
University of Prague.
Faithful to his predilection for France, Charles modelled his
regulations for the new University entirely on those of the University
of Paris. The students were divided into 'nations' according to their
nationality. In Prague we find the Bohemian, Polish, Bavarian and Saxon
'nations'; each of these separately elected members to the general
council of the University.
The new foundation seems to have been very successful from the first.
Benes of Weitmil writes: 'The University' (studium) 'became so great
that nothing equal to it existed in all Germany; and students came there
from all parts--from England, France, Lombardy, Poland, and all the
surrounding countries, sons of nobles and princes, and prelates of the
Church from all parts of the world.'
No special building seems at first to have been erected for the
University. Many professors delivered their lectures at their own
apartments, while of the five professors of the theological faculty one
lectured in St. Vitus's Cathedral, the other four, all monks, in the
monasteries to which they belonged. The lectures were at first always
delivered in Latin, and it is, therefore, equally incorrect to maintain
that the Prague University was at its beginning a genuinely German one
as to say that it had, from the origin, a really
Bohemian--national--character.
In the last years of his life Charles caused several colleges to be
built for the benefit of the students. The first of these colleges was
founded when Charles bought the 'house of the Jew Lazarus in the old
town,' which afforded a dwelling-place for twelve professors. Charles
also gave a library to the newly-founded college. During the reign of
his son this, the most important of these foundations, was transferred
to the building known as the 'Carolinum,' which henceforth became the
centre of the University.
Everything connected with the University was to Charles of the greatest
interest, and the Sovereign was often present at the 'disputations'
which, according to the mediæval custom, took place there.
Charles was also the founder of a confraternity or guild of artists, of
which painters, sculptors, wood-carvers and goldsmiths were members, and
which, as Palacky says, took the place of a modern academy of arts.
Charles--who, as his very curious Latin memoirs prove--was a very devout
Christian, was a great church builder. He rebuilt and enlarged St.
Vitus's Cathedral, and among his many ecclesiastical constructions the
Karlov and the Church and Monastery of Emaus may be mentioned.
The great prosperity that Bohemia and Prague in particular enjoyed
during the reign of Charles produced a tendency to luxury, and had a
somewhat harmful influence on the morality of the people and of the
wealthy clergy in particular. Thence arose a strong and general demand
for Church reform which
[Illustration: THE GOTHIC PROJECTION, CAROLINUM]
afterwards culminated in Hus. It would be very tempting to refer here to
the forerunners of Hus who lived during the reign of Charles, but here,
as everywhere, the need of compression confronts me. Yet a short mention
should be made of Conrad Waldhauser and Milic of Kromerize. The former,
an Austrian by birth, was called to Prague in 1358 by Charles, and
preached at several churches there, but principally at the Tyn Church,
where he became rector about the year 1360. Though he generally preached
in German, his sermons, containing eloquent denunciations of the
immorality and luxury of the times, greatly impressed the Praguers, even
the vast Tyn Church occasionally became insufficient to contain his
audience, and he sometimes preached in the streets and market-places. He
strongly inveighed against the immorality and extravagance of the
citizens of Prague, and the result of his preaching was very striking.
We read that the women of Prague discarded the jewelry to which they
were accustomed, their precious veils, their dresses trimmed with gold
and pearls, and adopted simple clothing; usury ceased, and many who had
formerly committed that sin declared themselves ready to compensate
their former victims. Many citizens who had led an immoral life did
public penance, and henceforth gave a good example to others.
As was perhaps inevitable, the great success obtained by Waldhauser was
resented by other preachers at Prague. This feeling became more intense
when Waldhauser attacked the mendicant friars. In 1364 the Dominican
monks accused him of heresy, and brought two points in which, they said,
his teaching was contrary to the Church, before Archbishop Ernest.
Waldhauser lost no time in presenting his defence, and when the
Archbishop appointed day and hour, when anyone who had any grievance
against Conrad might appear before the Archiepiscopal Court, no accuser
came forth.
This success seems to have encouraged Waldhauser to continue his
denunciations of the corruption of the clergy. He was again accused,
both by the Dominican and Augustine friars. The latter especially
accused him of apostasy. Waldhauser defended himself in a Latin
_Apologia_, which has been preserved. Its tone allows us to infer that
his attacks against the immorality of the monks must have been very
violent. It is a proof of the liberal mind of Charles, who has by German
writers often been accused of undue subservience to the Church of Rome,
that Waldhauser none the less retained his office as rector of the Tyn
Church up to his death.
Yet greater was the fervour of Milic, who, in 1369, succeeded Waldhauser
as rector of the Tyn Church. Milic had early in life held important
offices at the Court of Charles. A canon of the Cathedral of Prague, he
had also been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Court, and had for some
time in that capacity accompanied Charles during his travels. The desire
for Church reform and a return to the primitive Church, then so
prevalent in Bohemia, induced Milic to renounce all his honours and to
seek refuge in poverty. After having acted as curate for some time in a
poor village, Milic returned to Prague, where his sermons, preached in
the Church of St. Nicholas in the Malá Strana, soon attracted general
attention. Following in the steps of Waldhauser, he eloquently denounced
the corruption of his times; but he seems to have strayed further from
the doctrine of Rome than Waldhauser had done. Incessant study of the
Apocalypse, and the horror which the evil ways of his day inspired in
him, appear to have ripened in his mind the idea that the end of the
world was approaching. He gave expression to his views not only in his
sermons, but also in a written work, entitled, _Libellus de
Antechristo_. The monks of Prague, his enemies, as they had been those
of Waldhauser, denounced him to the Papal See, and Milic started for
Rome, where, in the absence of Pope Urban, he was imprisoned. After the
Pontiff's arrival an interview between him and Milic took place, when
Urban, recognising the purity of his motives, caused him to be
liberated, and allowed him to return to Prague. Through the favour of
Charles he here obtained the rectorship of the Tyn Church, as already
mentioned. Coming from a thoroughly Slavic part of Moravia, Milic was
well acquainted with the national language, and, indeed, only learnt
German late in life. His sermons, therefore, attracted yet more
attention than those of his predecessor. Milic did not limit himself to
invectives against vice, but endeavoured by his own activity to reform
the people of Prague. Through his influence the ill-famed buildings
known as Benatky (Venice) were destroyed and a building erected on the
spot to which the name of 'Jerusalem' was given, the first instance of
the adoption of biblical names, that afterwards became so frequent in
Bohemia. The fallen women who had formerly dwelt at Benatky now lived as
penitents at 'Jerusalem,' and were the object of Milic's particular
care.
At the end of his life Milic again incurred the hostility of the
ecclesiastical authorities. He repaired to the Papal Court at Avignon in
1374, but died (there) before the ecclesiastical court before which his
case was brought and had pronounced judgment. His memory was long held
in reverence by the Bohemians.[9]
The reign of Charles I. marks so important a step in the development of
Prague that it may be interesting to note here the various divisions of
the city such as they existed during his reign, and after he had so
greatly enlarged the city. Prague then consisted of three 'royal'
cities, that is to say, communities that had received special privileges
from the Sovereign. They were the old town (Staré Mesto), new town (Nové
Mesto), both on the right bank of the Vltava, and the Malá Strana (small
quarter), on the left bank of the river. Besides these the community of
Hradcany was under the rule of the burgrave of the Prague castle, and
that of Vysehrad under that of the abbot of the monastery of that name.
All these and some minor communities enjoyed special privileges, greater
in some, smaller in other cases. Charles, however, in the last year of
his life, united for a time the two royal cities on the right bank of
the river.