Gardens bellow the Prague castle II

After the 30 year war that ended in 1648, the  stability and relative prosperity encouraged,mostly catholic nobility to build up the splendid Baroque palaces  that are an essential part of the Lesser town bellow the Prague castle.With there Baroque palaces came Baroque garden which were often landscaped in an attempt to mach the Baroque splendor of the owners Baroque palace.

A cascading staircase in the Baroque gardens.

  www.robsarchitour.com, Prague private tour guide, specialized in Prague historical architecture

A sitting area around a fountain, in the Baroque gardens bellow the Prague castle.
www.robsarchitour.com the best private tours of Prague.

An open air theater in the Baroque gardens bellow the Prague castle.  

Order your own Prague private tour on www.robsarchitour.com

The Baroque styling is visible from the fact that the gardens have cascading  terraces, with Baroque  sculptures, monumental staircases, fountains ponds, pavilions and galleries. And best of all the garden offer a enchanting view of the Charles bridge and the Old town on the opposite bank of the river.

From the mid 1950s the garden as a whole were closed because of their diminishing state and it was only in the mid 1990s, that they were restored to their former glory and present state.

Garden bellow the Prague castle I

Palace gardens under Prague Castle  are a beautiful collection of  cascading baroque gardens on the southern slope  of the Prague castle hill.Today it forms a historical complex of interconnected gardens.

The Garden on the Ramparts, at the Prague castle.
Prague private tours, we look at Prague through is history and architecture  www.robsarchitour.com

The south side Ledeburk garden and Small Palffy Garden cascading below the Prague castle.

Prague private tours,we look at Prague through is history and architecture  www.robsarchitour.com

.

Great Palffy gardens cascading below the Prague castle.

If Prague on day tour and want to discover Prague in depth, join our tour.

Kolowrat garden cascading below the Prague castle.

 Our guided tours of  Prague, are  private tours for small groups of people.

Kolowrat garden cascading below the Prague castle.

If Prague on day tour and want to discover Prague in depth, join our tour. 

In the 16th century the fortification surrounding the Prague castle lost its defensive purpose and  there fore most of the fortification was pulled down.
This allowed nobility and wealthy townsmen to buy up land and first established market garden, orchards and vineyards.

The southern gardens of the Prague castle were founded in the mid 16th century .
 If in Prague on day tour and want to discover Prague in depth, join our tour. 

In the 1920 they were re-reconstruction by Josip Plecnik, on the request of the first Czechoslavak president.

www.robsarchitour.com are Prague private tour made to order. 

Josip Plecnik is best known for designing Lublanja the capital of Slovenia.

Order your own Prague private tour  on www.robsarchitour.com

During this era a stone fountain bowl was installed.

www.robsarchitour.com the best private tours of Prague.

sgrafitto

A hallmark  decoration of the 16th century Italian Renaissance were relief pictures or geometric patterns on the facades of  decoration on  Renaissance buildings known as Sgrafitto.

The  sgrafitto  covered house at The Minute, with its depiction of a world in movement.
 Prague private tours we look at Prague through is history and architecture  by www.robsarchitour.com

"Sgraffito  is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an outline drawing."From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roman styled sgrafitto on the facade of the Ungelt  seen as  part of a Prague guided tour focused on the history and architecture of Prague.

Fragments of the original sgraffito facade, with mythological depictions.
 If Prague on day tour and want to discover Prague in depth, join our tour.

Fragments of the original sgraffito facade, with mythological depictions.
If Prague on day tour and want to discover Prague in depth, join our tour.

During the 16th century sgrafitto came to Prague  from Bavaria in Germany,and it was brought to Germany by Italian  Renaissance architects, it was adopted with considerable enthusiasm.

 A example of 3D like pyramid  sgraffito on the Schwarzenberg  palace at the Prague castle.
www.robsarchitour.com are Prague private tour  made to order.

Floral motive sgraffito  order your own.
Order your own Prague private tour  on www.robsarchitour.com

 Or on other facades it was  depiction's of Greco-Roman gods.

The Ball Game hall, covered by sgraffitto, built in 1569, as a indoor area for playing various ball games. www.robsarchitour.com the best private tours in Prague.

Another kind of renaissance house facade appears on the palace Granovský from Granov in theTyn in Old Town.Chiaroscuro is  a type Renaissance  sgrafitio,with a strong emphasis on contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts  affecting a entire painting. In this type of sgrafitto  the  painter  drew  from the paper's base tone toward light using white gouache, and toward dark tone using ink .                                                    

Chiaroscuro covered facade from 1558 depicting biblical figure of Adam, Eva, Abel and Lot

www.robsarchitour.com, Prague private tour guide, specialized in Prague historical architecture

Chiaroscuro covered facade from 1558 depicting biblical figure of Adam, Eva, Abel and Lot.

Order your own Prague private tour on www.robsarchitour.com

Baroque statues

Baroque architecture uses  a considerable amount of statues  and depiction of  human or celestial beings.

A dynamic composition of Baroque statues on the facade of the originally Gothic  St. Jacobs church. www.robsarchitour.com the best private tours of Prague.

This creates the impression that the viewer can identify with something personal on a baroque building,  and it is usually a statue.

Baroque statues are made to convey human emotion with an expression of enlightenment. www.robsarchitour.com, Prague private tour guide, specialized in Prague historical architecture

Baroque uses dynamics in its statues, there is movement and human emotion speaking to the viewer, and sometime these statue are convening a certain message trough their emotional expression, but by all means Baroque statues are used to make the building come alive.

Baroque statues are made to convey human emotion with an expression of enlightenment. www.robsarchitour.com, Prague private tour guide, specialized in Prague historical architecture

A dynamic composition of Baroque statues on the facade of the originally Gothic  St. Jacobs church. www.robsarchitour.com the best private tours of Prague.

Baroque II

And very well so, Baroque had to do a job in new type of religious Europe, in which there was not only the Catholic church, but people had learnt that there were also other options , such as the newly formed Protestant movement.

The Onion dome typical for Central European Baroque architecture, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

Through,  architecture, the catholic church tried to woo the population back into its fold, with the message  that God loves us so that is why he blessed us with such opulence. 

The richly decorated interior of the Baroque St. Nikolas church on the Old Town Square, in Prague, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

The richly decorated interior of the Baroque St. Nikolas church on the Old Town Square, in Prague, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

The theme of baroque is piety, this emphasis on religious devotion led to the emergence of places of pilgrimage such as  the Loreta at the Prague castle, and cult of St. John of Nepomuk, who was said to have been thrown off the Charles bridge

The spot where St. John of Nepomuk is said to have been thrown off the Charles bridge, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com

A depiction of St. John of Nepomuk,with his trademark 5 star hail glow over his head, seen on private tours of Prague by www.robsarchitour.com