Medieval Underground and Dungeons

This day began with a Tour of Underground Prague as well as some above ground points of interest. Those medieval dudes were a pretty sadistic lot by the sound. Executing someone (which could be for merely stealing a piece of bread) wasn’t enough - breaking their bones or stretching them may precede the death.
We heard an interesting story about the local executor. Saw his pub of choice where of course nobody would sit next to him. He was actually trained in medicine but long story short because of lost love he wound up being in this heinous profession. He made lots of money of course.
Pretty much all the houses and palaces have these underground areas. One we went to was a private Palace from 1300 and the servants lived in their underground rooms. You can see an old original window in the photos.
Many basements have been broken down by floods but the cost makes it prohibitive for the owners to repair. One image shows 2002 written on the wall by the stairs. This is where the water came to in the 2002 flood.
Some professions who needed to work incognito would have underground premises- the likes of a chemist. They were at risk of being labelled as performing Witchery type behaviour so they had formulas hidden in books, secret doors etc which we saw.
These buildings, though seven hundred yrs plus old, look fresher since they have been plastered over on the outside. The bumps on the outside of lanes and up against buildings are to prevent the wagon wheels from damaging the properties.
I visited a number of Jewish Synagogues and the Jewish Cemetery. The earliest tombstone dates back to 1439. Although the cemetery was expanded several times over the centuries, it was still not big enough to meet the needs of the Jewish community. As space was scarce, bodies were buried on top of each other, with graves layered up to 10 deep. The surface of the cemetery is higher than the surrounding streets because of the soil that was heaped on top of the graves. Retaining walls were built to keep the soil and graves in place. It’s estimated there are up to 100,000 buried there.
Next I headed for Letensky Profil as I’d heard you got good views of the Bridges from there. Further up was a gorgeous restaurant/cafe.
An Aperol Spritz was required by this point - I headed for a rooftop top bar and a lovely view.
Later that night I went to listen to the Royal Czech Orchestra at what they call the Mirror Synagogue - ( mirrors in ceiling). The concert was outstanding, including a woman who played the Organ which appeared to be a major workout. An Opera singer featured too. All stunning.Read more