The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-16
BY C.. F. MARKELL

placed there by relatives of the deceased
as tokens of tender regard,
The Bradschin contains the imperial
palace and is, of course, we'll worth
visit, but to the cosmopolitan, who is
ually surfeited with palaces, 1t is of little
interest beyond its historic associations.
1t was renewed and restored repeatedly
throughout many centuries and was rim
ally completed by Maria Theresa. It's
Hall of Homage and the German and
Spanish halls are Of note for their rich
late-Gothic ceilings.
The Graben is the principal business
street of the city and as Vienna converted
its ramparts into its finest asplanade, so
Prague utilized what was once an ancient
moat. The public buildings and private
palaces present alternate displays of the
Gothic and baroque styles of architecture,
while religious and doctrinal emblems
are encountered galore. One often sees
upon the facades the huge glded chalce,
typical of the Hussite doctrine that the
communion should be administered in
both kinds, and even the buttresses of the
bridges are adorned with figures of the
saints.
st. John Nepomuc was the patron saint
of Bohemia and legend has 1t that be-
cause he refused to reveal TO Wenzel "
what the empress had confided to him in
the confessional, he was by order of that
monarch thrown from the bridge which
spans the Moldau. in Prague, and addition
to the rs statues which adorn that brid ge
a marble slab marks the spot from which
Nepomuc was cast According to the
legend the body floated for considerable
length OF time upon the surface of the
river with five brilliant stars lowering
over the head The holy man was can
onized In 1929 and the bridge, once known
as Judiths bridge, is now the goal of
thousands of pilgrims.
1t seems that most of the saints of Bo-
hemia were fighting men and In the cath
edral at Prague are shown the helmet
and coat of mail of ST. Wenzel, who was
murdered at the foot of an altar. Though
a man of war. Wenzel won much of his
sanity reputation by carrying food and
fuel to the poor and it is related of him
that while engaged in such a mission one
cold winter night, his aged servant, who
accompanied him, was so overcome by
cold that he could go no farther. The
saint, however,. bade him place his feet
In the footprints he made going in ad-
vance, and when the old man did so the
warmth from the footprints was such that
he was enabled to accompany in comfort
his master in his mission of mercy.
The large ring upon the door of the
chapel dedicated to him in the cathedral
is said to have been grasped by the saint
when he was slain by his brother in 935.
Even Ste. Budmiller. although a woman,
conducted as Queen of Bohemia, a bloody
war. She was the grandmother of Wen
eel and was strangled to death with her
own veil by murderers hired by her own
daughter to commit the deed.
The University of Prague lays claim to
being the oldest in Europe It was found
ed in 19fS and was soon attended by stu
dents from all over the continent. In
fact. so great was the throng of outsiders
that when it was proposed to limit their
number many quit Prague and founded
the University, of Leipzig. Since 1889 it
has been known as "Carolo-F Ferdinsndea
and has about 60N0 students 1000 of whom
are Czechs and the remainder Germans.
Despite its antiquity and qaintness
Prague has many modern buildings. It's
museums and Conservatory of Music are
Of extremely ornamental architecture, it's
banks are up to date edifices and its new
German theatre is a model playhouse.
Many of its cafes are magnificent struc-
lures. the Bohemia ranking the famous
"Rheingold' of Berlin. An odd feature