are the tower and the Chapel of St. Lawrence, which date from the year 1381. To the left of the tower is the main entrance to the town hall, and on the first floor we enter the ancient council chamber, which adjoins the Chapel of St. Lawrence. It was built during the reign of Vladislav II., and contains a ceiling with very fine carvings. The walls are adorned with carvings that represent the armorial bearings of the Prague guilds. One of the halls that the traveller should also visit is that of the primator or burgomaster. It contains portraits of all the burgomasters of the old town—afterwards of the whole community of Prague—since the sixteenth century. Recently a modern large council chamber has been erected. It contains two paintings by Brozik representing Hus before the Council of Constance, and the election of George of Podebrad as King, an event which took place within this building. The town hall has, however, been so much changed since that period that it is not exactly known in what part of the building this momentous event occurred. Of historical interest are the dungeons of the town hall, which have remained exactly as they were when the Bohemian patriots were confined here in 1621 on the eve of their decapitation. Immediately behind the town hall is the Renaissance Church of St. Nicholas,[50] which, by permission of the city, is now used for the services of the Russian community.
Turning to the right we reach the Joseph Street, which marks the boundary of the Jewish town, now called Joseph’s town, the ancient ghetto of Prague, that still preserves its mediæval character. Entering the Rabbi Street, we see at our left the Jewish town hall, perhaps one of the most picturesque buildings in Prague. Immediately opposite is the far-famed old synagogue, built in the early Gothic style about the beginning of the thirteenth century. Over the vaulting is a large flag given to the Jews by the Emperor Ferdinand III. for their bravery during the siege of 1648. It was ‘the highest honour that could then be conferred on a Jew,’ as the guide rather pathetically states. Adjoining the synagogue is the Jewish cemetery, one of the best-known spots in Prague. It is very extensive, and contains countless monuments, on many of which we see the emblems of the tribes of Israel, and the quaint devices—such as a hare, stag or fish—which with the Jews did duty as armes parlantes. The somewhat gloomy outlook is enlivened in spring by the gleam of the numerous elder trees that have been planted here.
Immediately outside the precincts of the Jewish town, on the banks of the Vltava, stands the Rudolphinum, a modern institution named after the late Crown Prince. It contains a concert room and a small picture gallery, which is worthy of notice as containing paintings by little-known Bohemian artists. Perhaps one of the most interesting pictures is a holy family by Master Detrich of Prague, a votive offering of Archbishop Ocko of Vlasim, who is represented as kneeling before his patron saint. In one of the rooms is an interesting collection of engravings by Wenceslas Hollar, a native of Prague, who principally worked in England. Turning to the left, and following the course of the Vltava, we reach the famed Charles Bridge (Karluv Most). At the eastern end is the monument of King Charles, erected in 1848 in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the University by that Sovereign. Quite close to the bridge—which I shall mention later—is the vast agglomeration of buildings known as the Clementinum, a Jesuit college founded in 1556 by Ferdinand I. The building was constantly enlarged up to 1715, and became one of the most important centres of the Jesuit order. The former Utraquist University of the Carolinum was in 1654 joined to the Jesuit college. The building is still used for the lectures of the philosophic faculty of the University, the valuable library of which is also housed here. It contains over 170,000 printed works, and many interesting MSS. of the period of the Hussite War. Of special interest is the ‘Malostransky Kancional’ (liturgy), dating from 1572. It contains on the page dealing with the martyrdom of Hus (July 6) three miniatures, in which we see superposed Wycliffe striking the fire, Hus lighting the coals, and Luther holding the already flaming torch. The Clementinum also contains two churches, an observatory, the archbishop’s printing office, and a seminary.