A few more weeks passed since my last travel blog about what I've seen in Prague, and I thought it was about time to revive those memories once again, today having in plan to speak about, perhaps, one of the most historical parts of the city.
With a big sorrow in my heart I had to think twice about the place I will include in today's article because initially, I wanted to write about a different area of the city, but based on all the floods and disasters that are currently in Prague, I thought it's better to wait a bit longer so I won't create even more sadness than those tragedy produce to all of us, either we live there or not.
Based on this though, I figured out that I will finally write about The Brick Gate (Cihelná Brána) which seems like not being one of the victims at the moment I'm writing this, and which also represents some sort of portal as it's only the door that will transpose every tourist to a long list of things to see every few hundreds of meters. But as always, I will take them one by one.
Even if the gate is the main point of interest, there is a long wall that makes the gate stand still even in 2024, which is more than 140 years later since it was raised, following an Empire style as the governor of Prague, Karel Chotek, has requested.
This wall made entirely of brick was supposed to divide two separate parts of the city, the gate being the single option to get through Vyšehrad on the way to Tábor.
The gate is composed of three passages, one being used for vehicles and two for pedestrians with guardrooms on the sides. They also represent an information center and the main entrance to Casemates.
While the gate was built in the 19th century, the wall that became one and the same with the point of interest of today's post is actually known as representing the fortress that used to exist inside, dating back to the 10th century.
Hence why, even if on a first look might seem just like another interesting place of Prague, the whole place is home to immense cultural and historical value, having plenty of places that can offer a glimpse into Prague's stories past to those who want to find out more.
But even if the gate was implemented a lot later than the wall, this one used the same style, serving as a proof to the fortification techniques used during the medieval times, also playing the role of the city's symbol for resilience and architectural prowess in 2024.
Just as in the case of most of the fortresses on this planet, the remains of the Prague's citadel are also resting on a hilly surface that can become a pain for people with mobility issues or who are not used with hiking.
In fact, we had to follow some stairs at the bottom of the hill that were placed close to locals' houses making them easily be passed without noticing, but as soon as you go all the way up, the cobblestone paths will guide you further. And once you begin spotting the wall, you'll know that you are on the right path to your destination.
The access to The Brick Gate (Cihelná Brána) and right after it is free, but if you want to see The Casemates and the Gorlice Hall you will need to buy a ticket and wait until a few more tourists are gathering because there are only guided tours.
As we visited this place off-season, there weren't lots of people around so we skipped this part of the trip. In fact, from what we understood there was held some sort of temporary exhibition inside of the gate which would require a different kind of ticket and schedule for visiting so we thought it's enough for us to see this place from the outside and rest on one of the benches nearby while admiring the view.
Because as you might have guessed, rest places and seating areas are available throughout the complex. There are also cafes and restaurants where you can take a break and enjoy local cuisine but most of them are closed when visiting off-season.
Even if it doesn't seem so, the gate is not always open to avoid destruction and undesirable behaviour from those visiting it, hence why it comes with a schedule. When we visited The Brick Gate (Cihelná Brána), it was open daily from 10 AM to 6 PM but it's better to check the official website regarding this aspect, as this might defer depending on the period of the year you are visiting it.
As mentioned previously, the access through the gate and in the complex is free, but to visit anything else that you can find within will come with a unique ticket that usually ranges from CZK 60 to CZK 120 (approximately €2.50 to €5).
The official address of The Brick Gate (Cihelná Brána) is V Pevnosti 46/1, 128 00 Praha 2-Vyšehrad, Czechia and you can reach it either by walking (as we did) or through public transport the most convenient way being to take the metro to the Vyšehrad station on Line C. There are also some other options like tram lines 3, 7, 16, or 17 to the Výtoň stop. Either way, both of the cases will leave you at the bottom of the hill, from where you will need to walk all the way to the top.
In case you are not a fan of hiking or encounter problems doing it, services like Uber and Bolt are available in Prague and they can take you directly to the main entrance of Vyšehrad.
Other places I've seen during my stay in Prague:
- The "John Lennon" Wall
- The Nustle Bridge also known as "The Suicide Bridge" of Prague
- Street Art in Prague
- The Dancing House
- Idiom Installation - the book tower of the Prague library
- Vyton Naplavka and Palackého Most
- Grotta, Havlíček Gardens
- Vyšehradské Sady (Vyšehrad Gardens)
- National Library of Technology
- Prague's Astronomical Clock (Pražský Orloj)
- The Narrowest Street of Prague
- The Brick Gate (Cihelná Brána)
more coming soon...
Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (300+ articles written on this field), but also approaching other topics as well, like game reviews, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 700+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, editing, cooking, and doing various sports activities.
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