Prague’s places of dramatic history

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The Mirror Maze on Petřín Hill and the Old Town Bridge Tower
If you want to see Prague’s echoes of ancient history clanking with military arms, an interesting option is to go to Petřín and visit the mirror maze, at the end of which is a realistic diorama depicting the Battle for Charles Bridge.

Bělohorská pláň (White Mountain plain)
The Thirty Years’ War not only ended in Prague, it began there. If you visit the Czech capital in the second half of September, do not miss the great re-enactment of the Battle of White Mountain that takes place annually on the plain by the wall that goes around the Hvězda deer park.

The Vítkov memorial
Medieval and modern history are distinctly interwoven atop Vítkov Hill. This is where, in 1420, one of the first major battles of the Hussite wars took place; at which the Hussites, led by the then still not entirely known though respected Hetman Jan Žižka of Trocnov managed to repel the attack of the Crusader army.

The Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius and the Petschke Palazzo
The crossroads of Czech and Czechoslovak statehood are to be seen elsewhere, too. One of the notable events is that of 27 May 1942, when the paratroopers Jan Kubiš and Josef Gabčík made their attempt to assassinate the then third highest ranking Nazi officer, Reinhard Heydrich, who was at that time the Deputy Reichsprotector in Prague, where he was conceptualising the euphemistic “final solution to the Czech question”.

Wenceslas Square
If there is one place in Prague which can unquestionably be called the “boulevard of history” it is Wenceslas Square. The number of major events that have taken place under the statue of St Wenceslas would fill a book. Let’s first take a look at two of them – the tragedies that marked the “Prague Spring” of 1968.