Wednesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed...U bílého jelinka (The White Deer)

At the White Deer (U bílého jelinka)

There is no excuse for me revealing this one almost a week later...let's just leave it at that.  I also don't know very much about the history of The White Deer - anyone??

I can tell you that the building houses a restaurant called Restaurant Michal and that the building is pretty unique in that it says U bílého jelinka above the figure of a white deer.  The street it's situated on is very charming, too.  Take a look and walk around here

Location:  Náprstkova 8, Praha 1, Staré Město (Old Town)

Tuesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - The Vořechovský Family

The Vořechovský Family ( U Vořechovských)

I can't help but think of football when I see this insignia...for some reason I'm reminded of a player holding a football and going in for a pass.  Anyway, that's not what this insignia represents - a football player does not reside here!  

This house insignia is of a hand holding a nut, signifying that a family by the last name Vořechovský resided here.  Alas, the insignia is more than a century older and prior to this home being known as U Vořechovských, it was called U Aronů (Aaron House), as the hand is a sign of the Jewish tribe of Aaron.

To give you an idea of just how old this building really is, in the in the 14th century the house belonged to a monastery and already at that time they were brewing beer here.  Sadly, the brewery closed in 1890.  The way the house looks today is due to a reconstruction that occurred sometime in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Location:  Liliová 5, Staré město (Old Town)

Monday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - U Zlatého hada (The Golden Snake)

House at The Golden Snake (U Zlatého hada)

Depending on why you ask, they'll either call this The Golden Snake or The Golden Serpent.  Call it what you will, but I'm going with snake.

This is a late Gothic house that was rebuilt in Renaissance style with Baroque and Classicist adaptations.  The insignia is from the beginning of the 19th century.   

Apparently, one of the former owners of this house was merchant from Damascus named Gorgos Hatalah, whose real name was Georgious Deodatus Damascenus.  Gorgos is also the guy responsible for introducing coffee to Prague, and I adore him for that.  Coffee wasn't popular like it is today, some would even say it was exotic.  

Gorgos would walk the streets of Prague wearing traditional garb - caftan, baboosh, turban - carrying a container full of hot coals to warm the coffee and a kettle atop his head.  He'd also carry small cups and sugar and would sell this exotic drink called coffee to people he persuaded to try the beverage.  Praguers were initially weary, but eventually coffee was running through their veins and they wanted needed more.  Gorgos was successful because he opened what was probably the first coffeehouse in Prague - it was located in the house U tří pštrosů (The Three Ostriches) in the Lesser Town.  Business grew though, and eventually his enterprise relocated to a larger location, and that was here at The Golden Snake.

Today, a cafe/restaurant is situated in this building, aptly named http://www.uzlatehohada.cz/ (At the Golden Snake)

Location:  Liliová 181/17, Staré Město (Old Town)

Wednesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed...House at The Red Eagle (Dům U červené orlice)

House at The Red Eagle (Dům U červené orlice)

This insignia dates from the early 18th century and the entire façade of this building has a copy of its insignia.  The eagle has long been regarded as a symbol of power, victory and authority.  You would find an eagle on shields of many ancient Persian, Egyptian, Arab, and Roman warriors.  Since the eagle is the symbol of the god Jupiter, it became the main insignia of the Roman legions.

Location:  Jilská 22, Old Town

Tuesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - House at The Golden Alphabet (Dům U zlaté abecedy)

House at The Golden Alphabet  (Dům U zlaté abecedy)

The insignia at house no. 448 dates back to the 18th century.  It's said that the original owners of the building placed these three letters there.  Later, however, in the year 1766, the house was bought by one of Prague's leading type founders...for a very high price!  He was probably willing to pay such a steep price because the insignia represented his trade, thus he just had to have this home.  I don't blame him really.

Today, the building houses rental apartments, a great alternative to staying in a hotel.  To view available flats, visit Golden Alphabet Guesthouse

Location:  Jilská 12, Praha 1 - Staré město (Old Town)

Monday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - U zlaté koruny (U bílého koníčka)

U zlaté koruny (U bílého koníčka)

At the Golden Crown (At the White Horse)

The reason for the two names is that in the mid-18th century, two Gothic houses were joined together during a late Baroque reconstruction after several other renovations.  The interiors of the buildings were refurbished in the 1820s to an early Classicist style, but the Gothic character was preserved in the cellars.  Wooden Baroque features were preserved as well, such as the wainscoting, window shutters and a joist ceiling.  Unlike many others, this house insignia is the original.  From the 16th until the 18th century, a pharmacy was housed inside the building.  Today, it's home to a glass and souvenir shop called Blue Praha

Location:  Karlova ulice 48/455, Staré Město (Old Town)

Wednesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed...Dům U Černého medvěda

House at the Black Bear (Dům U Černého medvěda)

This house dates back to 1428.  It got its name after a statue of the black bear in chains. Its baroque façade is decorated with statues of St. Wenceslas, St. John of Nepomuk and St. Florian.

Today the building is a small hotel as well as a restaurant named Indian Jewel

Location:  Týn 6, 110 00 Prague 1 - Staré Město (Old Town)

Tuesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - House at The Three Feathers

House at The Three Feathers

Back during the 13th century, this building was home to a doctor by the name of Jakub Lavín of Ottenfeld. Then from the year 1405 through the 1600s, a brewery was situated here, which probably led to the building's nickname, V pekle, meaning "in hell".  In the year1713, the building is listed as property of the Kinský family - they had a palace in Old Town Square and the stables ran alongside this same street. 

Kinský Palace in Old Town Square

It is said that the three feathers are a recreation of an earlier insignia that showed three tusk-like teeth of the Kinský coat-of-arms.  However, three white feathers on a black background have a long Czech pedigree.  Can you spot the Kinský coat-of-arms in the photo of their palace above?

Here's a hint...

Location:  Týnská 10, Old Town

Friday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - U zlatého anděla (House at The Golden Angel)

The Golden Angel (U zlatého anděla)

Of ethereal purity and divine power, the angel in Judeo-Christian theology appears as a messenger or intermediary between the heavenly and earthly realms.  In the Koran, it is stated that people were created from earth but angels from fire, as its flames always leap upwards to the heavens.  As a symbol of protection, the image of an angel was greatly popular in medieval times as a house insignia, to protect the inhabitants from evils both earthly and diabolical.  An angel also adorned the personal coat-of-arms of Johann Kepler, the great German astronomer who resided for many years at the Prague court of Emperor Rudolf II - perhaps in the hopes that angelic forces could help an earth-bound mortal to uncover the secrets of the celestial bodies.

Where the present U zlatého anděla stands in Celetná Street was originally the location of four medieval houses.  These were demolished in the mid 18th century for the present building, originally of Baroque style, which contained a popular coaching inn with its own brewery.  During his first visit to Prague in 1787, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is known to have stayed here.  Towards the beginning of the 19th century, the inn became a hotel, retaining its original name but growing far more exclusive.  The "Golden Angel" Hotel was visited by many persons of fame, including the queen of Denmark, the kings of Saxony and Hanover with their families, the queen of Greece and even the Russian anarchist Mikkhail Bakunin.  The present Neoclassical façade of the building dates from 1860.  After the Communist seizure of power, the hotel was closed and the building, converted to a variety of uses, grew increasingly decrepit.  Recently, however, a thorough restoration of the "Golden Angel" returned it to its original use as a modern hotel fully aware of its earlier glorious tradition:  Visit  4-Star Superior Barceló Old Town Praha

Location:   Celetná ulice 29/588, Staré Město (Old Town)

Thursday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - At the Red Eagle (U červeného orla)

 At the Red Eagle (U červeného orla) 

From the 15th century onward, the eagle served as the symbol of the Holy Roman Emperor; the heraldic depiction of the lord of the skies with two heads expressed the superiority of the emperor to all other rulers, and hence his right to absolute power.  In the Czech lands, the double-headed imperial eagle became the insignia of the ruling dynasty of the Habsburgs, and in many centuries of their rule came to adorn many a house façade, even in Prague.  The Habsburg eagle was used most frequently for governmental buildings, or houses belonging to persons affiliated in some way with the imperial court: doctors, suppliers of goods or services to the imperial house, craftsman and pharmacists.

Under the protective wing of one such majestic figurative raptor, positioned on the present house in Celetná Street, a prosperous inn dating back to medieval times flourished for many years.  Later a cafe of considerable repute, U Suchých, was by the 1830s one of the focal points of intellectual life for the Czech National Revival, frequented by nationally conscious Czech writers, artists and students, including the famed writer and dramatist Josef Kajetán Tyl, often in the company of actors, both professional and amateur.  

Josef Kajetán Tyl

Another of Tyl's companions was Karel Hynek Mácha, the poet now universally regarded as the greatest figure of Czech Romanticism.  

Karel Hynek Mácha

In this cafe, it so happened that Tyl ordered hot chocolate for his fiancée and her friend Eleanora (known as Lori) Šomková.  Then a mere girl of seventeen, Lori felt quite shy in such elevated company, until a young man arrived at the table and kindly encouraged her to take a sip of her chocolate.  Supposedly, this was the first meeting of Mácha with the woman who was to prove his great love.  Their relationship, however, ended in tragedy, since Mácha died on the day planned for their wedding in November of 1836.

Do you remember when I told you that Czechs have their own version of Valentine's Day on May 1st...A Day for Lovers.  On the first of May, lovers are supposed to kiss under a blossoming cherry tree to ensure a year of good health and good luck.  But, there's another tradition associated with A Day for Lovers, and that is to meet at the statue of Karel Hynek Mácha.  Why?  Well, he was a Czech romantic poet, and today he stands on Petřín Hill.  Couples who kiss in front of his statue believe that their love will be as strong as the stone his statue is made from. 

Karel Hynek Mácha is best known for his lyrical epic poem, Máj (which is about May 1st and speaks of the tragic love of two young people).  Máj is "regarded as the classic work of Czech Romanticism, and is considered one of the best Czech poems ever written."  It's quite beautiful and you can read the translated version of it here http://www.lupomesky.cz/maj/may.html

The building was originally a Gothic house, but was rebuilt several times - the way it looks today was created during a High Baroque reconstruction around 1725 and also during a late Classicist adaptation in 1838.  In 1958, the house was very insensitively adapted and most of the Classicist architectural details were removed. The house has been owned by the Charles University since 1754.  Originally there were flats that housed  professors from the law and medical faculties.  

Location:  Celetná ulice 21/593, Staré Město (Old Town)

Wednesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed...U Bílého páva (At the White Peacock)

U Bílého páva (At the White Peacock)

The peacock originally comes from the Near East, where for ancient cultures it symbolized the sun.  In Greek mythology, the male peacock's splendid tail was created by none other than the goddess Hera, using the hundred eyes of Argus Panopteus, the ever-wakeful hundred-eyed giant whom she sent, out of jealousy, to keep watch on Zeus's mortal lover Io and who was killed on orders from Zeus.

Hera

Zeus falling in love with Io by Jacopo Amiconi (1682-1752)

Medieval Europe, in turn, ascribed all of the desired qualities of the ideal knight to the peacock - even when the bird was prepared for the table.  "L'oiseau nobile" - the noblest of birds, in the language of chivalry - was served exclusively at feats of the highest-born dukes and barons.  The valuable roast was never brought to the festive table by mere servants, but invariably by the lady of the manor, or at least her daughter.  The unfortunate bird would be placed on the carving plate decorated with its own plumage, its wings spread wide and its beak and claws gilded.  As for the task of carving the meat, it was assigned only to the bravest of the knights, or the most silver-tongued of the troubadours, who before taking the knife in hand would publicly swear an oath that they assumed the labor as the greatest of honors.  Such was the fate of many a peacock in 13th century Europe.

 

The house at this location in Celetná Street has been known since the early 16th century as U Bílého páva (At the White Peacock); the present appearance of the stucco relief is from the mid-18th century.  By this date, however, the peacock was a thoroughly common sight in Prague, raised by many of the citizenry simply for the delight of their glittering plumage, in much the same manner as dogs are kept today.  

In fact, peacocks multiplied with such rapidity that the city council had to respond to many complaints arising from their piercing shrieks.  Finally, a special decree limiting the raising of peacocks in Prague had to be issued by Empress Maria Theresa.

Empress Maria Theresa

Originally a group of early Gothic houses, unified by later renovations; in 1945 the house was destroyed in a fire and then restored three years later.  A rococo façade with the original house sign was preserved.

Location:  Celetná ulice 10/557, Staré Město (Old Town)

Tuesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - House at the Black Sun (U černého slunce)

The Black Sun (U černého slunce)

Originally an early Gothic house (cellars preserved), later on expanded and adapted; its current appearance is from a late Baroque reconstruction in the 2nd half of the 18th century.  Some rooms have Gothic, Renaissance or Baroque vaults.  

The singer Josefína Dušková, née Hambacherová (1754-1824) spent her youth here; her and her husband were friends and hosts of W.A. Mozart.

 Josefína Dušková

Location:  Celetná Street 8/556, Staré Město (Old Town)

Monday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - The Golden Grape (Zlatý hrozen)

The Golden Grape (Zlatý hrozen)

One of the most beautiful of Prague's grape-bunches was raised on the home of a merchant named Ondřej Táborský in the first half of the 18th century.  In the Czech lands, the grape is one of the most prominent iconographic symbols, hardly surprising when we recall that St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech nation, is frequently depicted with his robes turned up, trampling out the vintage in the wine tub.  And indeed, Czech winemakers have always regarded St. Wenceslas as their special patron.  

Additionally, the martyred Prince Václav is linked to the earliest reference to the existence of a vineyard at the foot of Prague Castle, where he is said to have raised and harvested the grapes with his own hands.  

Nonetheless, the greatest expansion of wine growing in Prague, and the Czech lands in general, took place only with direct support for the diffusion of the vine from King Charles IV.  Through his edicts, the Prague vineyards, which then began directly outside the city gates, expanded far beyond the circle of the ramparts.  And yet today, there remain in the territory of the city of Prague a mere two vineyards:   Grébovka in the district of Vinohrady (literally the former "Royal Vineyards") and St. Clara Vineyard in Trója.

St. Clara Vineyard in Trója

Villa Gröbe (Grébovka) located in park Havlíčkovy sady, Vinohrady

Today the building is home to Restaurant Zlatý Hrozen, where you can enjoy limited quantities of wines imported to the Czech Republic from France, Italy and Chile by Víno Zlatý Hrozen

Location:  Železná 7, Praha 1, Staré město (Old Town)

Friday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - The Golden Tiger (U zlatého tygra)

The Golden Tiger (U zlatého tygra)

Many different names and insignia were applied to this building throughout its rich history; only during the course of its remodeling in the Baroque style at the end of the 18th century did its owner have installed on the façade the stone relief of a tiger, illustrating the house's new and permanent name - The Golden Tiger.  By the 1820s, the building housed a coffeehouse renowned in literary circles, where the leading figures of the Czech National Revival debated long hours over their newspapers.  Now, though, for a great many decades the "Tiger" has depended far less on its coffee than its exceptional Pilsner Urquell beer.  

Of the connoisseurs of the frothing golden pints poured from the "Tiger's" taps, the most famous was certainly the writer Bohumil Hrabal, though the beer itself was far from the only reason he frequented this historic Prague locale.  

"The pub for me is not simply too loud a solitude, not simply the place where beer is drunk, but where the beer sets the tongue in motion, into creation; the pub is where language grows and new argots and phrases come into being", Hrabal wrote.  

Bohumil Hrabal

In 1994, U zlatého tygra played host to the American president Bill Clinton, at the invitation of the then Czech president Václav Havel.  The two statesmen joined Bohumil Hrabal and other members of his circle for a glass of beer after the duties of the state visit.

Address:  Husova 17, Praha 1, Old Town

Thursday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - U Modrého Hroznu

House at The Blue Grape (U Modrého Hroznu)

"In vino versus" - in wine lies truth, states the oft-cited proverb of ancient Rome.  The history of man's cultivation of the grapevine, however, is far older than the Eternal City itself, dating back at least 8,000 years. Wine holds within itself the sun and the vital forces, and has long been seen as a divine gift and the means of salvation; without wine, neither the Christian mass, nor the celebratory dinner ending the Jewish holiday of Passover would be possible.  The earliest direct written reference to wine, in fact, can be found no place other than the Bible:  when Noah's ark landed on Mt. Ararat at the end of the Great Flood, he concluded a new pact with God - and perhaps from joy at having been saved, Noah began at once to plant vineyards.

The "Blue Grape" house on Husova Street is known to have stood on its site since 1714.  Towards the end of the 18th century, it was the residence of the Prague chronicler Isaac and his family, and it is said that Isaac commissioned the beautiful insignia in reference to the fourth book of Moses in the Old Testament.  When, after 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses finally brought the Israelites within sight of the Promised Land of Canaan, he sent two informers ahead to bring back reports.  In the words of the Bible, "And they came unto the brook of Esh'-col, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff..."  The image of two men bent beneath a single giant grape carried on a pole is known as a symbol of fertility, prosperity and welcoming.

Today the building is mostly flats with a small Czech restaurant on the ground floor, aptly named U Modrého Hroznu.

Location:  Husova 15, Praha 1 – Staré Mesto

Wednesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed...House at The Three Wild Ducks (U tří kačerů)

House at The Three Wild Ducks (U tří kačerů)

I was hoping you'd know what this insignia symbolizes.  If anyone does, please let me know.  I can tell you that there is a wonderful gallery housed in this building, Michal's Collection Galerie - drop by!

Location:  Husova 13, Old Town

Tuesday's House Insignia of the Day Revealed - The Three Standard-Bearers

The figures of three men, most likely cavaliers or standard-bearers, appeared in the gable of the building during its Renaissance remodeling in the latter half of the 16th century.  The current appearance of the standard-bearers, painted on metal sheets, dates from the 19th century.  However, the tale of the three comrades-in-arms that they are supposed to represent is of a much more recent date, and hence most probably inspired by the insignia itself.  There once lived in the house, as the story goes, three standard-bearers, all inseparable friends.  Nonetheless, each served with a different regiment, and when the men were called up to war, they had to be parted - yet they promised one another that if any of them were to fall in battle, he would by some means strive to let the others know.  Months passed; two of the comrades returned in good health from the war, yet the third still remained missing.  That is, until one night his ghost appeared to the other two, and prophesied their own rapidly approaching ends.  To avoid the evil prediction, the two living friend left military life behind and entered a monastery.  Yet to no avail; within a year, death had overcome them both.

Today, the building is home to Cream & Dream, an Italian-style ice creamery, cafe and chocolate shop, with locations all over the world including Venice, Paris, New York, Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

Location:  Husova 12, Old Town