Prague is an old city, and even more so the Old Town. And where, if not here, all sorts of ghosts appear - in palaces and old houses, in gardens and on roofs, or even just in the middle of the street.
Prague is an old city, and even more so. And where, if not here, all sorts of ghosts appear - in palaces and old houses, in gardens and on roofs, or even just in the middle of the street. The old city - old legends...
headless nun
A wealthy nobleman, the owner of gold mines, dreamed of marrying his only daughter to a nobleman from the family Rozhmbergov but she fell in love with a young poor rural nobleman. Angry, her father sent her to the Dominican monastery, which at that time was located on Purple Street. The guy in love walked around the monastery for a long time, seeking a meeting with his beloved, and in the end agreed with her to escape. But the girl's father found out that the lovers were about to run away and, after watching them, cut off his daughter's head with a sword, saying at the same time terrible curse. Since then, the unfortunate headless woman has been walking through the streets, where there was once a monastery ...
fiery chariot
This chariot is not driven by horses, it is harnessed by fiery goats. She leaves the Jewish Ghetto after midnight and goes to the Goat Piglet. This is a terrible, but harmless ghost, you should not be afraid of him. Only one case is known that ended tragically. On the Goat patch lived a girl who was beautiful and loved only music and dancing in her life. This is how I would dance day and night. And then one day she ran away from home to dance and stayed there until midnight. The girl's mother guessed where to look for her, and went on a search. The girl, having learned that her mother was looking for her, ran home and almost ran to the Goat's Piglet, when a team of fiery goats jumped out right in front of her, the wool of which was blazing with flames. The girl fell from fear and died, right in front of her mother. But the wagon did nothing to her, in three steps the goats stopped in front of the lying girl and disappeared along with the chariot.
Calling nun
There was once a lady in Prague, angry and greedy, who treated her maids very badly. And among the maids there was a girl, very pious, and as soon as she heard the bell that was nearby, she folded her hands for prayer. The evil lady, seeing that she was praying instead of working, tortured her to death. But after the death of the girl, the lady's conscience woke up and she became a nun, distributing all her property to the poor. But some bequeathed to spend on a new bell of the Tyn Church. And now at night on the Tyn Tower, with her own hands, she shakes the tongue of the bell, which she herself gave.
Butcher with fire ax
Old Town butchers are serious people. More than once they left their mark in the rich history of Prague, speaking in defense of the city. It was the butchers of the old city who let King John of Luxembourg into the city by cutting through the city gates. The memory of this remained in their professional banners - a red banner with a white lion.
Skeleton begging
One strange Prague doctor was very fond of collecting human skeletons. And he especially dreamed of the skeleton of his servant - he tall man was, stooping in the door, and sleeping in two beds. The doctor persuaded him to bequeath his skeleton, promised to place it at the entrance to the anatomical room and give him a staff with a gold tip, but the servant did not agree. But he was very fond of drinking and, when there was no money for a drink, he agreed, signed the contract. Anyway, I thought I'd survive the doctor. And he went to a tavern, where he drank himself to death, so with a mug in his hand he died.
The doctor kept his word, the skeleton is in a place of honor. But only until midnight - just strikes twelve, he takes his staff, goes out into the streets and stops passers-by: he politely asks for money - to redeem his skeleton back.
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We visited both of these museums, and we bought tickets for both at once in the ghost museum. As far as I understand, these are private museums and you can bargain there, for example, they gave us a discount and turned a blind eye to the fact that our daughter is no longer a child by selling a family ticket.
These museums do not contain any valuable exhibits and are built entirely of theatrical scenery based on Prague legends. These museums are quite small. And they are within walking distance of each other.
Ghost Museum. Prague.
The Ghost Museum is located very close to the Charles Bridge in Malaya Strana.
Museum of Ghosts and Ghosts in Prague - the tower of Charles Bridge is visible on the right
The Ghost Museum consists of only two floors - a room on the ground floor of the building and several rooms in the basement, built in the 12th century, with total area with a room upstairs. With us there was an excursion in the museum for Czech schoolchildren, the excursion was led by an employee disguised as a monk, he said very artistically, the children obviously liked it.
To make all this seem interesting to you, you first need to read a book about Prague legends. I recommend the book Legends and Stories of Old Prague. Guide". The author of this book is a wonderful woman, a passionate person - Galina Puntusova, lives in St. Petersburg.
The museum gives out laminated sheets with a translation from Google, you yourself understand a very clumsy translation, it is not at all interesting to read it.
Golem in the old Jewish cemetery - decoration in the ghost museum This museum made an impression on our 10-year-old son, it all seemed not at all interesting to adults, perhaps a good guide can revive the situation.
There you can press the buttons and the eyes of the ghosts will flicker, the skeleton can be pulled by the strings, in general, this is fun for children school age, small and impressionable children may be frightened.
Museum of the Alchemists. Prague.
In reality, there are only 700 meters between these two museums through narrow streets.
On the ground floor there is a toilet decorated as a barrel, inside everything is standard.
and the room of the famous mystic and alchemist Edward Kelly from the house of Faust, about whom I wrote in the article "".
The legs sticking out of the ceiling were left from a man who, according to legend, was dragged away by the devil. This is all on the first floor, then you need to climb the spiral staircase to the attic.
There is also a small attic room, decorated in the spirit of the laboratory of Edward Kelly (1555-1597), who by the way was a famous swindler of his time, there is evidence that he did not have ears, but he cleverly hid it under long hair. Ear deprivation was a very common punishment for fraud in the Middle Ages. But despite this, he managed to convince King Rudolf II to finance his experiments on turning lead into gold. When he could not present the gold to the king, he was arrested and he ended his days under mysterious circumstances.
All those thick alchemical books can be read if you know Czech, at the entrance they give Google translation with explanations for the exposition.
All the exhibits can be touched, since they are all decorations, there are no originals, which is exactly what children like.
That's the whole exposition of this museum.
On the official website of these museums you can find prices, and in the photo gallery you will find absolutely all the museum exhibits. Many visitors feel that visiting these museums is not worth the money the founders want for a ticket.
Praguers are proud of their ghosts and are happy to promote them to tourists. There are so many ghosts here that you can even single out a whole category - “headless”.
Trumpeter
The most curious among them is probably the ghost of the trumpeter Ruprecht. Ruprecht lived in the 7th century and boasted that no one could play the trumpet louder than him. In Prague (Czech Republic), Prince Waldstein then ruled, who did not shy away from music and even had his own court musicians. One of them, fearing for his bread place, decided to cunningly lime a rival Ruprecht.
Many ghosts can be "seen" in the Museum of Ghosts and Legends of Prague
He made a bet with him that he would not be able to blow ten minutes without stopping. Ruprecht accepted the bet and proved that he could do it. However, his treacherous colleague deliberately chose the moment for making a bet when Prince Waldstein was terribly tormented by a toothache.
The deafening sounds of Ruprecht's trumpet multiplied this pain tenfold. To appease her, the enraged prince grabbed a sword, jumped out of his palace and personally beheaded the trumpeter.
Since then Street musicians on Wallenstein Square they often complained that they saw the ghost of Ruprecht, who holds a pipe in one hand and his head in the other. As soon as they began to play, the ghost immediately began to trumpet, as if competing with them.
They say that Ruprecht will calm down only when a person suffering from inflammation of the periosteum asks him to blow his trumpet over his ear. But so far no such person has been found.
Templar
One of the noblest ghosts lives in Prague, which locals called Templar. Once the Templar was the leader of the Knights Templar in the Czech Republic. Although during his lifetime he was distinguished by nobility and honesty, but one of the envious managed to compromise him before the leadership of the order. On the slander of the Templar, they were put to death and beheaded.
Since then, day after day, this templar knight dresses in armor, throws a cloak with a red cross on top, mounts a horse and leaves at exactly eleven o'clock in the evening to patrol the night streets of Prague.
Although the Templar is a headless horseman, because it is enclosed in a helmet with ostrich feathers, which he holds on his hand, he sees everything. And in his trips around the night city, he vigilantly keeps order.
Bride
In Prague there are headless ghosts not only of men, but also of women.
Once upon a time, the only daughter of a wealthy nobleman fell in love with a young man from a family of Zemans - small landed nobles. The girl’s father, who dreamed of strengthening his position by marrying his daughter to a representative of the noble Rozhmberg family, was very unhappy with the choice of his daughter and sent her to a Dominican monastery to think about her behavior there in the silence of her cell.
However, the young man also loved the girl and wandered near the walls of the monastery until he managed to contact his beloved and arrange an escape with her. But the stern father of the girl found out about their plans, he set up an ambush near the monastery, and when he saw that his daughter was secretly getting out of the holy monastery, he cut off her head with his own hand.
Since then, the restless spirit of the poor thing has been wandering the streets near the monastery.
Actress
And along the corridors of another, now destroyed monastery, the headless ghost of the actress Laura walks. During her lifetime, she was considered one of the beautiful women Prague. Her husband played with her in the theater and was very jealous of her. Among admirers of Laura's talent most attention a certain count showed her. He went to all Laura's performances, filled her with flowers and gifts.
The husband did not like this very much, and he managed to persuade Laura to leave Prague. At the last performance in the capital, Laura surpassed herself on stage when she left the theater, a crowd of fans crowded at the entrance.
Laura swam out to meet them with a dazzling smile on her lips. Looking around at the fans, she suddenly buried her big brown eyes in her husband, and the smile clearly began to slip from her face. This detail hurt her husband's heart, already tormented by jealousy.
And finally finished off his other detail. When at home Laura took off the scarf tied around her charming neck, a beautiful and very expensive necklace shone on her. The husband considered that this necklace was a gift from his lover, was inflamed with jealousy, after which he deprived his wife of his head, which he wrapped in a curtain and sent by courier to the count.
What happened to the jealous husband is unknown, and Laura's spirit still wanders in search of her head.
Knight
At the corner of Karlova and Seminarskaya streets there was a house called "At the Golden Well". There was a well in the courtyard next to him, the water in which sparkled, as if flakes of gold were floating in it. One of the servants of this house admired the water of the well for so long that she became dizzy, she fell down and drowned.
When her body was pulled out, gold was actually found at the bottom of the well. And the ghost of the maid then creaked the steps in the house for a long time at night and left wet footprints on them. But over time, he disappeared, and instead, this house was inhabited by other ghosts - a headless knight with his also headless wife.
When this house was bought by a confectioner, he got it with a “makeweight” in the form of ghosts. The confectioner was a great inventor and began to make cakes in the form of a knight and his wife, who appeared to him at night. And in order not to scare the buyers, he attached heads to the figurines in the form of marzipan, nuts or grapes.
These confectionery products are used in great demand, but one day at midnight the ghosts came to him with their heads on their shoulders. The knight, holding his hand on the hilt of the sword, said sternly that he and his wife did not like it when faceless grapes were attached to them instead of heads, so they decided to show their faces to the owner of the house so that he would continue to reproduce them on confectionery.
The poor confectioner, with his hands trembling with fear, quickly fashioned the heads of ghosts from the dough and presented them uninvited guests. Those noted the similarity and expressed their approval of his work. But before disappearing into thin air, they told the confectioner that if he did not find their remains, they would forever remain in his house.
The next morning, instead of baking, the confectioner went to the basement with a shovel. Having dug up the floor in the basement, he found not only the remains of the murdered knight and his wife, but also gold coins.
Turk
A young Turkish merchant who kept a warehouse in the Ungelt district of Prague fell in love with the daughter of a tavern maker. The girl also fell in love with him, and the tavern agreed to give his daughter to a Turk, but only if they got married in Prague. The merchant went to his homeland to ask permission for the marriage of his parents, and for a long time did not return to Prague.
The girl got tired of waiting for him and married a merchant's son who lived next door. But as soon as she became a married lady, a Turk returned to Prague. Upon learning of the infidelity of his beloved, he asked her only one thing, last date. The girl went to the inn where he stayed - and no one else saw her alive.
According to the customs of his country, the Turk decided to punish the bride, who did not remain faithful to him. He killed poor girl, buried the body in the basement, and put her severed head in a box and took it with him to his homeland.
Since then, wherever he was, he did not know peace. Everywhere it seemed to him that muffled weeping and reproaches of his beloved were heard from the box. No longer having the strength to endure these torments, he secretly returned to Prague and buried his head at night in the same place where he buried the body of his former bride.
A lot of time passed until the half-forgotten story about the tavern's daughter and the foreign merchant reminded of itself. One night a certain tailor saw a ghost in one of the deserted streets of Ungelt. A Turk with a turban on his head, dressed in wide silk robes, silently passed by him.
The eyes of the ghost shone like coals, and in his hand he held a severed girl's head by a long blond braid. The Turk went down to the basement of one of the houses, and the frightened tailor asked the goose. Later, when he told about a strange night meeting, there were daredevils who decided to check the basement in which the ghost had disappeared and dug up the remains of a poor girl there.
However, the ghost of the Turk-destroyer still wanders around the Old Town with the bride's head, frightening Praguers and tourists with its appearance.
67 ratings (average: 3,04 out of 5)
The Ghost Museum (Muzeum pražských pověstí a strašidel) located in Prague will definitely attract the attention of all lovers mystical stories. The museum contains the most significant characters local legends and legends, which, according to the citizens of Prague, actually exist. So, lovers and connoisseurs of everything mysterious, mystical and mysterious are strongly recommended to visit this museum.
The museum was created with the assistance of the mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, who was personally present at its opening. "Mysteriae Pragensis" is located in a residential building erected on the remains of an ancient building dating back to the fourteenth century.
What to see
Acquaintance with otherworldly forces begins at the entrance to the museum, visitors are greeted by a ghost dressed in a black hoodie. The purpose of the exhibits presented here is not to frighten visitors, but simply to acquaint them with the ancient legends and traditions of Prague, allowing you to get an unforgettable experience. The museum itself can be divided into an upper floor and a basement.
Top floor
In the first hall, all guests are given booklets containing detailed description presented exhibits. Here guests are welcomed by the Keeper of Prague Legends with a huge book of all mystical stories. Pages from the book are pasted on the walls, explaining the stories of the characters, of which there are a great many. Everywhere you can encounter ghosts immured in the wall as punishment for certain offenses.
There is a wooden cross here, all upholstered with nails. According to legend, the cross was once decorated with silver and precious stones, but the blacksmith's apprentice once stole all the jewels. Since then, everyone who is related to blacksmithing considered it his duty, upon arrival in Prague, to hammer a nail into the cross as a sign of condemnation of a bad deed.
It is also worth noting the “magic” mirror, by pressing the button located on it, you can see not your own reflection at all. A local inhabitant looks at the visitors from the mirror.
Basement of the museum
Going down the steep spiral staircase, museum guests find themselves in a completely different environment than in the first hall. If there is enough light on the top floor, then going down, visitors plunge into the mysterious atmosphere, the abode of the venerable Prague ghosts. The basement, dating back to the fourteenth century, is a copy of the streets of the Old City. Twilight reigns here, disturbing music and all kinds of sounds complement the surroundings. Anticipating spectators are waiting for silent inhabitants, gnomes, mermen, skeletons, some of them are worth mentioning separately.
fire skeleton
On Fridays, at midnight, along one of the streets of Prague, a fiery skeleton on a black carriage rushes with a roar. No one knows for what sins he has been forced to travel around Prague for many years, how to rid him of this curse is also unknown. Arriving at the house "At the Three Golden Crowns", the skeleton knocks on the gate, after which it disappears, only to reappear on Friday.
baby ghost
During the construction of the Charles Bridge, the architect who built it had the imprudence to make a deal with the dark forces. The essence of the deal was as follows - in exchange for the soul of the first person to step on the bridge, the Devil promised to complete the construction in short term. The deal went through, and as soon as the construction was completed, the first person to set foot on the bridge was a child. The baby's soul was forced to wander long years. Once, when the ghost of a child sneezed, one of the passers-by wished him health, thereby freeing him from the curse.
Actress Laura
The beautiful Laura, a Prague actress, was popular for her beauty and talent. Many admirers of the woman irritated her husband, he tormented the beauty with his jealousy. Once it happened that Laura reciprocated an ardent admirer and was going to leave for him. But the jealous husband could not come to terms with this and beheaded the unfortunate.
Water Kaburek
Water Kaburek is perhaps the cutest character. The harmless beer lover frequents Prague's numerous beer gardens. Where it appears, the beer is considered excellent, as the water one immediately feels whether it is diluted with water.
Headless Ghosts
The group of headless figures represent the victims of a real historical event. In 1620, during the uprising, 27 nobles of Prague were executed. The heads of twelve of them hung in cages for ten years until they were secretly buried.
Visiting the ghost museum, you can get acquainted with the stories of all the other local ghosts, choosing any convenient time for this.
Schedule
- 10.00 – 22.00 seven days a week
Prague is famous not only for its wonderful beer, which is definitely worth tasting in the daytime, not only for cultural and architectural monuments, which are also in abundance here. Prague is also ancient city with many interesting and mysterious places, and in such places there are always ghosts.
In order to be ready to meet these otherworldly inhabitants of Prague, it is worth visiting unique museum- Prague ghosts.
Here they do not aim to scare visitors, the task is different - to acquaint them with the history of the Czech Republic, its legends. There are many such stories. For example, in the museum's exposition there is a story of a medieval usurer who was punished for his greed. Some divine fiery avengers showed up in his house, the dwelling burned down, but the usurer himself and his remains were never found. His repentant spirit or ghost has been in this room ever since, frightening the modern inhabitants.
Photography at the Prague Ghost Museum
After this day tour, it makes sense to sign up for a night tour, which is carried out by many - just in places where, according to Czech legends, ghosts are still found today. Such excursions are organized with great skill and a fair amount of imagination. Just imagine: you are taken to the most ancient streets of Prague, led along them, and suddenly a magician comes out to meet you, tapping his wooden shoes on the cobblestones of the pavement, who offers to see your near future in his amazing crystal ball. Or a “headless horseman” will ride out towards you on a horse. Once he fell victim to the machinations of those who did not like his truthfulness - he was beheaded. And now he appears in old Prague before midnight to remind others that his fight against evil was not in vain. Usually such an excursion is in any travel agency. "Evening Prague with ghosts«, « Ghosts of old Prague«, « Mystical Prague" and so on.
IN Prague Ghost Museum pretty dark. All photos were taken with flash.
And yet, the main thing for a closer acquaintance with Czech ghosts is excursions to Czech castles. Meticulous Czechs even conducted a census of ghosts to find out where to lead tourists in the first place, and also so that guests of the country themselves could decide on routes. There were more than two thousand such objects. Those who want extreme emotions, for example, are offered to visit the Ungelt Compound, where you can chat with an evil ghost who has the head of a beautiful blonde under his arm. Alas, no body.
At the church of St. James, tourists are usually met by another unpleasant character - a one-armed robber. True, over time, he lost his predatory instincts and will not do anything bad to the guests.
However, these vicious routes mystical characters are not limited. Among them there are quite sane. Some souls that haven't found a home in realm of the dead, can give their good emotions to tourists. Especially if they choose exactly such “good” routes in travel agencies.
Many legends have been written about the ghosts and ghosts of Prague. The city is very rich in gifts and mysterious events. In ancient times, the Celts lived on this land. In the Middle Ages, alchemists lived on this land. Why is Prague called the mystical city? For the sake of a red word, or is this place really one of the most unusual in Europe?
They say that Prague stands not only at the great crossroads of Europe, but also of history. The city is rich in legends and real mysterious events. In ancient times, the land where Prague is located was inhabited by the Celts. Here they performed rituals, hid treasures. Those interested in this can be advised to buy the book " Mystical Prague. Story. Legends. Traditions" by Vadim Burlak. The book tells about the “House of the Seven Devils”, about a ghost from the Ungeltsk Metochion, about a “fiery man with a stone heart in his hand”, about the mysterious amber mask of ancient artists that disappeared somewhere in Prague and about many more interesting legends.
It is located next to Charles Bridge, from Malostranska. In the first room there are several books where on different languages, including in Russian, some legends are told about what you will see when you go further. In general, the museum is 15 minutes.
Photos at the Prague Ghost Museum.
Photos at the Ghost Museum of Prague.
The Ghost Museum is located in Prague in an ordinary residential building.
