A view "down" St. Wenceslaus square, the Times Square or Picadilly of Prague, scene of the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968 and the Velvet Revolution 21 years later. Taken from the National Museum. The musuem is still pockmarked with WP bullet holes, as the invading troops thought it was the parliament building and liberally raked it with machine-gun and small caliber cannon fire...
-
Last edited by DonC; 07-26-2004, 02:53 PM. -
Finally, a group shot of my students and I on the Vltava embankment with Hradcany in the background. Next year, Berlin or Amsterdam!
DonComment
-
Nice tour. Did you taste any of the beer ?
Cheers and thanks.
Peter WikingComment
-
Trust me, Peter - MUCH pivo was imbibed by the wife and I! Pilsner Urquell was far and away my favorite!Originally posted by Peter Wiking
DonComment
-
Hello Don, thanks for sharing these pics with us! I love Prague as a city, full of history. Have been there dozens of times, my family live three hours east of there. There is an excellent book called "Prague In The Shadow of the Swastika", which shows period WW2 pics of many of the well known sites you are posting. Glad you had a good time there! And the beer!!Na Zdravi!Comment
-
Thanks, Joe -
I used "Prague in the Shadow..." In preparing my lectures for the kids prior to the trip. The eeriest site in my opinion was Old Town Square, simply because it looks exactly the same as it did in a lot of the period pictures. You can almost see the huge swastika banners still hanging from every light pole.
DonComment
-
It was eerie!! Wasn't it? What I thought was most interesting was the pics of Vaclav Namestie (St Wenceslas Square) after the liberation of the city, taken from the National Building. So much history has taken part in the Square. I was also impressed with the mention in the book of the Vlasov Army and their role in defending Prague. Of course during the previous regime their presence was not even noted in the official history books. Whatever their motive was for turning against the Germans, it is widely believed today that the Vlasov Army saved Prague from greater damage. I did not know the book was widely known. Hope your students enjoyed it! Take care,Originally posted by DonC
Joe
Comment
-
Lovely city but I wish people would get outside Prague. It's a beautiful country with mostly friendly people and much cheaper pivo away from the Tourist Traps
.
This year I'll be paying a visit to the site of Lezaky (destroyed along with Lidice as reprisal for Heydrich's assassination and now largely forgotten outside the CR) and Tabor (the home of the more extreme Hussites who sent the Imperial armies home with their tails between their legs in the Middle Ages).
In the past I've visited the pre 1938 fortifications (start here www.armyfort.com) and the Austerlitz battlefield - stayed three nights in the village of Blazovice.
I've still to do the Army Technical Museum at Lesany but, by all accounts, it's very good http://www.militarymuseum.cz/cz/cz/ select the link for Vojenske Technicke MuzeumComment
-
Don.
Very nice photos.
Thanks very much for posting them.Comment
-
Very interesting photos and comments, Don, Thank you! Loved your Heydrich hike.Cheers, Frank
Comment
-
Excellent, Don.
Thanks for posting. I'm quite envious of your trip.
Best regards,
Toby.Comment
-
As an aside, my wife and I took a train to the village that my father's family is from - Chôtebôr - and found a Russian-built nuclear reactor about a quarter mile from the train station. The train ride was priceless, as we went through little villages that probably haven't changed much save for electricity since the days of the Hapsburgs, saw Gypsy panje wagons pulled up in encampments, and of course, had insanely cheap beer - I think a liter of Pilsner Urquell in my family's ancestral village, where they probably drug my great grandfather home from the pub many a night, ended up being about $.75.
Now the Czech Republic has gone to the Euro, so I am afraid things won't be as cheap as they were when we went...
DonLast edited by DonC; 07-29-2004, 07:54 AM.Comment
-
Don,
A fascinating and interesting photo tour. I enjoying being taken to the exact spot where history was recorded many years ago.
Gregsigpic
Sgt. Mahlon E. Sebring, 82nd ABN, 319th Glider Field Arty. A Battery - Normandy to Berlin
As it was their duty to defend our freedom, so it becomes our duty to honor their service.
Comment
-
Going back from the army museum direction main station did you come across a Militaria shop? I was in there about 5-7 years ago, he is a specialist M43 cap faker and helmet restorer with the Cammo/Aged/Combat look.
A visit to the shop made me sick and turned me off headgear for life, especially as the friend I was with said some well known dealers buy from him...
Comment
-
Hi Alex, you are absolutely correct, the further you get outside of Prague the better one loves the country. Sadly Prague is infested with Eurotrash and petty thieves who can make a visit there quite disappointing. My family only live 10 kilometers from Lezaky and I have been there as well. A small museum is open from June to September. Really nothing left other than some building foundations and the memorials. It truly is forgotten compared to Lidice. Somewhere I have a booklet of Lezaky, will try and scare it up. Enjoy your visitOriginally posted by AlexWLovely city but I wish people would get outside Prague. It's a beautiful country with mostly friendly people and much cheaper pivo away from the Tourist Traps .
This year I'll be paying a visit to the site of Lezaky (destroyed along with Lidice as reprisal for Heydrich's assassination and now largely forgotten outside the CR) and Tabor (the home of the more extreme Hussites who sent the Imperial armies home with their tails between their legs in the Middle Ages).
In the past I've visited the pre 1938 fortifications (start here www.armyfort.com) and the Austerlitz battlefield - stayed three nights in the village of Blazovice.
I've still to do the Army Technical Museum at Lesany but, by all accounts, it's very good http://www.militarymuseum.cz/cz/cz/ select the link for Vojenske Technicke Muzeum
Comment
Comment