colors of my life: Colors Of Prague 2011

The Old Town (Stare Mesto)
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The Old Town is the original place of settlement of Prague, Czech Republic. Records dating back to the 12th century show that a market was held weekly at the Old Town Square and large military gatherings also took place at the same site.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_(Prague)

Horse-drawn carriages at the Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti).

Enjoying the coach ride... :-)

Going back in time... Roaming in the Old Town on a horse-driven carriage.

The horses were trotting along a narrow street surrounded by beautiful buildings.

Passing by the Neo-Renaissance Rudolfinum Concert Hall.

Designed by Josef Zitek and Josef Shultz, Rudolfinum was constructed during the years 1876-1884 and named in honor of Crown Prince Rudolf of Hapsburg.

SOURCE: http://www.prague.net/the-rudolfinum

A memory with the coachman and his fine horses.

The stalls promoting Czech arts and crafts, traditional foods and souvenirs at the Old Town Square.

A stall selling Czech souvenirs at the Old Town Square.

A stall selling Czech traditional sweet pastry called Trdlo.

Trdlo is made from soft dough that is wrapped around a metal stick, then grilled over a gas flame, and finally rolled in ground sugar and nut mix.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trdelnik

Grilling the Trdlo.

A unique stall selling Trdelnik.

Trdelnik is a traditional cake or dessert originated from Skalica, a town in Slovak. The word "Trdelnik" comes from the word "Trdlo", i.e. the wooden or metal stick that is used to make the cake to have a hollow interior.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trdelnik

The Old Town City Hall Tower.

The Old Town City Hall and Tower.

The Old Town City Hall (Staromestske Radnice) was established in 1338 when King John of Luxembourg granted the permission to set up a city council. Later, the tower was added in 1364 and the City Hall Clock@Astronomical Clock was mounted in 1410.

SOURCES:
http://www.prague.cz/old-town-city-hall/
http://www.prague.net/old-town-city-hall

The Astronomical Clock (Orloj) and the Gothic main entrance to the Old Town City Hall and Tower.

The famous Astronomical Clock was constructed in 1410 by the clockmaker Mikulas of Kadan, with the help from Jan Ondrejuv, a professor of Mathematics and Astronomy from Prague Charles University.

SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock
http://www.prague.net/astronomical-clock

The Swarovski Shop on the old Celetna Street (Celetna Ulice).

Swarovski is famous for its finely-cut crystal products. Daniel Swarovski, the founder of Swarovski crystals, was born in 1862 in Northern Bohemia (now Czech Republic) to a father who was a glass cutter at his own small glass factory.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarovski

The Moser Shop on the Celetna Street.

Ludwig Moser founded the Moser Glass Factory in Karlsbad@Karlovy Vary in Northern Bohemia (now Czech Republic). Moser first became famous due to the finely-engraved decoration on its products. Today, Moser is world known for its wide range of hand-made, lead-free, luxury Bohemian crystal products.

SOURCES:
http://www.moser-glass.com/en/
http://antiquecolouredglass.info/History of Moser Glass.htm

A shop selling Bohemian garnet (Cesky Granat) jewelery on the Celetna Street.

The blood-red garnet is the official Czech national gem. Most Bohemian garnets are mined near Teplice, Prague and produced by an association called Granat Turnov.

SOURCE: http://www.prague-guide.co.uk/articles/czech-garnet.html

Another shop selling Bohemian crystal products on the Celetna street.

A bookstore on the Celetna Street.

The majestic Powder Tower at the end of the narrow Celetna Street.

The Powder Tower cum Powder Gate (Prasna Brana) is the one of the 13 gates leading into the Old Town of Prague. The tower was built in 1475 and designed by Matej Rejsek based on Peter Parler's plans for the Old Town Bridge Tower.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_Tower