Milan Kundera Milan Kundera
NERUDA’S STREET When you head out to walk to the Prague castle, make sure to pass along Nerudova Street. Part of the Royal Road, it heads steeply up- hill to Malostranské Square, lead- ing to the castle. One of Prague’s most beautiful streets, it is also in- teresting due to its old but pre- served townhouses with symbolic names, “Three Small Violins”, “Gold- en Key”, “Two Suns” etc. Many of them have monumental entranc- es, and house number 47, or “Two Suns” house, was the home of writ- er Jan Neruda. NERUDINA ULICA Kad krenete u šetnju do Praškog zamka, obavezno prođite Neru- dinom ulicom. Ona je deo Kra- ljevskog puta i strmo vodi uzbrdo do Malostranskog trga, ka dvor- cu. Jedna je od najlepših praških ulica i zanimljiva je i po tome što se u njoj nalaze stare, ali očuva- ne gradske kuće sa simboličnim imenima Tri male violine , Zlatni ključ , Dva sunca … Mnoge od njih imaju veličanstvene ulaze, a kuća broj 47, ili kuća Dva sunca, bila je dom pisca Jana Nerude.
THE ALCHEMIST FROM NUMBER 22
sister Ottilie, in the famous Golden Lane, where royal goldsmiths and alchemists had lived in the Middle Ag- es. In a stone house with the number 22, hidden within Hradčany, the Castle District, home to the world’s larg- est and most imposing castle, this alchemist of litera- ture wrote his best works. When you wander through this castle district, which contains all architectural styles of the previous millen- nium, (there is the grandiose Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, the Romanesque-interiored St. George’s Basilica, a mon- astery and several palaces, gardens and fortifications), it is difficult to overlook the similarity in the beauty and weight of Kafka’s writing and its architecture, especially if you read ‘The Trial’ or ‘The Castle’. Seated there in the past were Czech kings, kings of The Holy Roman Em- pire and bishops, while today it is the home of the Pres- ident of the Czech Republic, offering exquisite views of the entire city. The best-known palaces in th castle com- plex are the Old and New Royal Palaces, while St. Vitus Cathedral is Czechia’s most important church. And regardless of how important Kafka is, and how important the museum dedicated to him on the Malá Strana, or Lesser Town, and his grave at the New Jewish Cemetery are as stops on the map of Prague, the pres- entation of his character and work is freed of the fear and the darkness of the‘TheTrial’.The Czech elite say that this is some strange Kafka adapted to the masses and the charm of the beer house with a view of the castle.
Although he wrote his works in German, Franz Kaf- ka was undoubtedly a son of Prague, spending his en- tire life in the city. He was born next to the Church of St. Nicholas, in Josefov, on the periphery of the Jewish Quarter. The house burnt down, leaving nothing but the front door. Kafka spent some time living, with his
Spoljašnjost muzeja Franca Kafke u distriktu Mala strana Outside Franz Kafka Museum in the Mala Strana
| 69
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator