HradÄany
Hradcany ( German: Hradcany, rarely also: castle town ), in German means literally " The Bürglein, the little castles " and originally referred to the west next to the Prague Castle ( Pražský hrad ), this castle town. Immediately west of it is the Strahov Monastery, which is no longer counted to Hradcany. In German, has come to be misleading, in contrast to Czech to understand the " Hradcany " the Castle Hill or indidrekt the Prague Castle. Matthäus Merian performs the original meaning ( Topographia Bohemiae, Moraviae et Silesia, 1650, p 59): " ... auff the other pages but is a hill or Berglein, auff which the little town Hradezan / Hraczinum, or how mans insgemein calleth has Hratschin liget, which partly are also called the Upper city of Prague, so its mayor and council, also eigenses city - book. "
History
The adjoining the castle district of Prague Castle ( Hradcany ) was probably founded in 1320 by the Viscount Hynek Berka of Dubé as the third city after Prague's Old Town and the Lesser Town. Unlike the other towns of Prague, however, she was not a free city, but was under the Viscount ( until 1598 ). Initially, the settlement had taken only the space around the Hradcany Square ( náměstí Hradčanské ). Under Charles VI. the city system was expanded and included in the common wall with the Lesser Town.
After a devastating fire in 1541, the city experienced a complete transformation by building palaces for the Clergy ( archbishop and canons ) and the nobility. Important Bohemian noble families such as the Salm, Black Mountain, Czernin and Lobkowicz ' built their magnificent palaces here. Only the system of the market or place itself remained largely unchanged. The Hradcany City in 1598, raised by Rudolph II to the royal city.
Fire Place ( Pohořelec ) was the suburb of the city Hradcany. It was founded in 1375 by the Viscount Aleš z Malkovic. It took its name from the numerous fires, especially the three major fires in 1420, 1541 and 1742. Its present appearance is mainly determined by the Baroque style.
In the 18th century the Castle District was combined with the city of Prague. In 1991, the district had 2797 inhabitants. In 2001 it consisted of 212 houses where people lived in 2313.
Attractions
The Loreto Square ( náměstí Loretánské ) was 1703-1726, when the noble family Czernin / Czernin bought the previously reported here houses will wear away and let make the new place. Slightly elevated stands the mighty Czernin Palace, now the seat of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with its 150 m long main front. Opposite is the Prague Loreto. The end of the square is the Capuchin monastery.
Around the Prague Castle there are also several picturesque gardens.
Loreto in Prague
The places of pilgrimage known as Loreto Loreto chapel has always been among the most visited in the Catholic world.
After the victory of the Habsburgs at the Battle of White Mountain, 1621, led to the establishment of a comprehensive Rekatholisierungsprozess Loreto pilgrimage sites throughout Bohemia. This seemed at the time as an appropriate means to regain the interest of the Czech population to the Catholic religion.
In Prague, it involves a windowless house, which is a replica of the Italian community located in Loreto in the province of Ancona Casa Santa. According to legend, the small building was transferred by an angel from Palestine in the 13th century to its present location. It is said to have acted at that house where the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary appeared to her and announced the coming birth of the Savior. The rather small Casa Santa stands in the courtyard of a building complex with a large nave, tower and side wings. The Santa Casa, founded in 1626 by the Begina Katharina von Lobkowicz, was completed by the commissioned Italian architect Giovanni Batista Orsi 1631. In the 18th century the farm was equipped with two created by the Prague sculptor JM Brüderle fountain.
Construction of the Prague Loreto Shrine ( Loreta Monastery ) lasted from 1626 to 1750. In 1721 the Baroque front was built later by Christoph and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. The organ in the Loreto Church comes from Leopold mirror. The author of the sculptural decoration is H. Kohl. The created in 1694 in Amsterdam, consisting of 30 bells carillon is housed in Early Baroque tower. The Watchmaker of the complicated musical mechanism that makes the hourly Song to Mary " Hail thousand times, oh Maria " sound, was the Prague Peter Neumann.
The treasure trove of jewels, with paintings of great artistic and historical value, especially with the numerous monstrance is a valuable part of the Loreto Shrine in Prague. World famous is the Prague Sun, a 1699 made in Vienna monstrance made of gilded silver, decorated with 6222 diamonds. It is 89.5 cm high, 70 cm wide and weighs 12 kg.