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Libuše, the founder of Prague -

One of the oldest legends about Prague stems from its foundation in the 8th century. Libuše was a princess and a mythical figure who one day had a vision standing over the Vysehrad fortress. She saw a mighty and marvelous city called Praha (Prague in Czech). Praha comes from the word prah, meaning "threshold."

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Libuše, the founder of Prague -

Being a woman, Libuše was met with doubt by her tribesmen. She told them to set off and look for a specific man in the area she had envisioned Prague. In the location pointed out, they found a farmer who was building a threshold to his new home, and that became the foundation of Prague.

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The Golem of Prague - You will find countless references of the Golem around Prague, which is a legend dating back to the 16th century. During this time, Prague had a large Jewish population, which was being persecuted by the wider community. To protect the Jewish community, Rabbi Loew created the Golem from clay, and wrote the Hebrew word for truth, emet, across its forehead.

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The Golem of Prague -

The Golem would be awakened by a simple inaction. However, each time it was used, he would become more violent and unpredictable. The Golem began killing people, and Rabbi Loew was asked to destroy him in exchange for the promise of peace to the Jewish community.

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The Golem of Prague -

Rabbi Loew ended Golem's life by removing the letter “e” from the word emet, changing it to the Hebrew word for death, met. The remains of the Golem were left in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue, and legend has it that the Rabbi's son brought the Golem back to life, who to this day wanders around the streets of Prague.

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The legend of the astronomical clock -

One of the main landmarks of Prague is the astronomical clock from the 15th century. However, not many know the gruesome legend behind it. The clock is said to have been created by the clockmaker Jan Hanuš, who was commissioned by the city counselors.

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The legend of the astronomical clock -

Amazed by its beauty and splendor, the counselors decided that this clock would be the only one of its kind in the world. To achieve this, they hatched a cruel and barbaric plan that involved breaking in to the home of Hanuš and gauging his eyes with an iron rod, making him blind and incapable of recreating the astronomical clock.

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The legend of the astronomical clock -

Blinded by the counselors, Hanuš knew the motive behind their plan, and with the help of a loyal pupil, he made his way to the clock and destroyed it. It took over 100 years until someone skillful enough could fix it.

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A pact with the devil -

Legend has it that the astrologer and alchemist Faust made a pact with the devil to sell his soul for all the knowledge and pleasures of the world for a period of 24 years.

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A pact with the devil -

When the time was up, the devil took Faust straight through the roof, and legend has it that the hole was visible for many years in his Prague home. Nowadays, you will instead find alchemical symbols on the walls of the building.

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The mysticism of the Charles Bridge -

The Charles Bridge is a must-visit in Prague, and one of its biggest landmarks. The story of the bridge starts with Emperor Charles IV, who ordered the construction of the bridge, after consulting astrologers to make sure when would be the best time for the bridge to be completed.

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The mysticism of the Charles Bridge -

The emperor believed that the exact moment a thing came into being was highly important in terms of the relationship to the world around it. The last stone of the bridge was put into place at 5:31am on July 9, 1357. The significance of this date becomes clearer when looking at the numbers, 135797531, showing ascending and descending odd digits.

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The mysticism of the Charles Bridge -

The attention to detail is remarkable, and to this day it's still debatable if the numbers had any effect on the durability of the bridge. It's walked on by thousands of people daily, has survived wars and floods, all while staying intact.

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The legend of Jan Nepomucky -

One of the many statues that can be seen on the Charles Bridge is of the priest Jan Nepomucky, with five stars around his head. Nepomucky used to do confessionals with one of King Vaclav IV's wives. But the King was extremely jealous and suspected his wife of committing adultery. He demanded the priest reveal what had been said during the confessionals.

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The legend of Jan Nepomucky -

However, Nepomucky refused to share what had been said in confidence, and as punishment he was locked in a casket and thrown into the Vltava river. The legend says that when the casket sank, five stars appeared floating on the surface of the water, which represent the five stars of the statue.

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The friendly water ghost -

Karbourek is a friendly water ghost, popular in Czech folklore. He is believed to live in the Čertovka stream, part of the Vltava river, and can allegedly occasionally be seen appearing from the surface and asking passersby to bring him a mug of beer. During the olden days, he is said to have visited the local pubs to drink beer with the people.

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The friendly water ghost -

To make Karbourek feel more at home, bartenders would give him a bucket of water to rest his feet in. However, as time went by and the bartenders stopped offering the bucket of water, Kabourek started to hate everything new and wished to stay underwater. But, every once in a while, he will resurface thirsty for beer, and the legend says that those who aid him will be rewarded with a pike or an eel.

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The fires of Petřín Hill -

Visiting Petřín Hill, you will find a beautiful green park with a marvelous view over Prague. However, many don't know that there was once a pagan grove here that was believed to be a sacrificial altar where pagan priests would burn young, beautiful virgins as sacrifices to their gods. During the reign of Prince Boleslav, pagans were hunted, and the sacrificial grove was destroyed due to a church being built nearby.

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The fires of Petřín Hill -

Even with the efforts to erase the pagan faith, it's believed that the pagan gods made their presence known, by starting mysterious fires around Petřín Hill. Witnesses are believed to have seen, in the flames, the faces of the peasants killed under the orders of Prince Boleslav.

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The ghost of the murdered nun -

If you ever wander around the Convent of Saint Agnes in Prague, watch out for the ghost of the murdered nun. She is a moody one, and can allegedly be seen weeping or smiling at unhappy lovers. The child of a wealthy nobleman, she fell in love with a poor knight, which her father was against of. As a punishment, she was sent to live in the convent.

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The ghost of the murdered nun -

The night before her transfer, she tried to escape with her love, but was met by her father, who stabbed her to death for shaming him. The murdered nun has been haunting the convent ever since. But it's not all bad! She's believed to have helped a girl who wanted to poison herself because of an unhappy love affair. The murdered nun grabbed the poison from the girl's hand and gave her a bag of coins for her to live a prosperous life with her true love.

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The knight of Daliborka Tower -

Part of the Prague Castle complex, Daliborka Tower was used as a prison up until the end of the 18th century, and named after its first prisoner, a knight called Dalibor.  He was imprisoned after sheltering a group of rebellious peasants instead of sending them back to their masters. During his imprisonment, he learned how to play the violin so beautifully that it would gather crowds of people to listen from the base of the tower.

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The knight of Daliborka Tower -

His execution was never formally announced, but the people knew he had been killed, as the violin could no longer be heard. The story of Dalibor later became an opera in 1868 by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana.

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The drowned maid -

This chilling legend is said to have occurred in a building called the House at the Golden Well. Located in Prague's Old Town, the legend tells the story of a maid called Lubomíra, who was intrigued by a rumor of a treasure hidden in the well of the building.

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The drowned maid -

One night, she went to the well looking for the treasure, but lost her balance and fell in. She cried for help, but no one was there, and she eventually drowned. The building is said to be haunted to this day by a dripping wet ghost with drooping hair, shivering from the cold.

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The obese merchant ghost -

A mystical city like Prague is believed to have a lot of ghosts roaming around. One famous ghost is the obese merchant. When alive, he was believed to be very greedy, without taking into consideration his fellow countrymen who were starving during difficult times. He did not care about his obesity, and would eat non-stop until he was out of breath. One day he went to his favorite pub and ate two roasted geese, one large turkey, and dumplings, washed down with 20 pints of wine, until he was finally satisfied.

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The obese merchant ghost -

At this moment, a beggar walked into the pub and asked the obese merchant for the piece of bread he had left. Instead of sharing the bread, he scolded and laughed at the beggar. Humiliated and angry, the beggar wished the merchant would explode, which was exactly what happened. The obese merchant now roams around Prague as a ghost, feeling sorry for himself. The only way for him to be freed from his torment is if a homeless person feels sorry for him, shown by shedding a tear and offering him a piece of bread.

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The ghost of the mad barber -

The mad barber is a ghost seeking his freedom around the streets of Prague's Old Town. He was a successful barber from a middle class family, but he wanted more money. So, he turned to magical alchemy and would practice old rituals at home. He magically started to produce gold, which his wife and three daughters warned him would come to no good.

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The ghost of the mad barber -

In the end, his greed cost him all his money, and the family was left with nothing. The barber had to sell his house, his daughters became sex workers, and his wife ended her own life. This drove him mad, and he started to slash passersby with his razor. He ended up provoking a group of soldiers, who beat him to death.

Sources: (Visit Czech Republic) (PragueGO) (Prague Stay)

See also: Venice: The myths and the legends of the floating city

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