A
view of Old Town Square, the heart
of Prague's medieval Old Town. Apparently, the square has been around
since the 14th century. As can be expected, the Old Town is one of
Prague's main tourist spots, featuring myriad restaurants,
cafés, bars, bookshops, and other attractions on its
cobblestoned streets. Although Czechs themselves love the district as
much as anyone, the prices here are clearly aimed at the foreigner's
pocketbook. Old Town Square itself is home to several terrace
restaurants with outdoor heating in winter -- and some very expensive
Turkish coffee.
The square also features a statue of Jan Hus (1369-1415), a religious
reformer whose movement was a precursor to the Protestant Reformation.
Hus was burned at the stake, and his radical followers were crushed by
the Catholic nobility. Hus is also credited with reforming the Czech
script to make it more phonetic by adding diacritical marks to it such
as the háček.
His legacy in this sphere
survives not only in Czech, but in several other languages as well.
