Hey everyone, at the beginning I would like to welcome you all to my new contribution and hope you have a week so far which is full of interesting experiences! In my new article I would like to talk about alchemy and share some experiences I made during my trip to Prague.
I spent a few days in the Czech capital Prague to learn more about the culture and anyone who has ever been to Prague knows that it's a very special city in which is connected with many mysterious places or themes. Prague was considered for a long time an important centre for alchemists which is noticeable in many places in the city and there used to be some laboratories which were partly very well hidden and are located in the underground and a great supporter of alchemy was the former Emperor Rudolf II. (1552 - 1612) who was generally known as a huge supporter of science and was particularly interested in the occult or hidden sciences. Rudolf II. is probably one of the persons from the House of the Habsburgs who were not only interested in this topic, but also supported it and he brought many alchemists to his court at the time who carried out experiments for him and he was firmly convinced that he could succeed in finding the quintessence with which base metals can be transformed into gold.
Even if he was an influential person, the occult art of alchemy was considered very controversial and was not popular with everyone and it was also important to always work in secret so that the secrets do not come to public and underground laboratories were a valuable safety measure and it's like a second world which is located below the streets of Prague. Right on the first day after my arrival, I visited the Museum Speculum Alchemia which focussed on presenting the history of alchemy in more detail as well as the role that Prague plays in it and the special thing is probably that one of these underground laboratories can be visited in the museum. The museum cannot be visited alone, but as a tour which takes place at regular intervals and was led by a friendly woman who goes a little closer to the history full of passion and during the tour she suddenly opened a hidden entrance which was behind a bookshelf and leads directly into an underground laboratory. It was very interesting and definitely an absolute insider tip for anyone who want to visit the city and is more interested in alchemy or to see much of the equipment that was needed for the experiments.
There is also a second museum near the castle which is called the Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of old Prague which is also equipped with an old laboratory and the visit is divided into two parts and in the first there was much to read about the history of alchemy and there were also many other occult things like magic which were presented in more detail. In the second section a tour started in which the visitors were brought to the attic in which there is an old laboratory and the interesting thing is that obce the alchemist Edward Kelley (1555 - 1597) lived in this building and also here there was a lot to experience about the work of alchemy and I found that the visit had its own flair and it also has many extravagant things to see which revolve around the creation of the Homunculus and I liked the visit very much and was worth its money. Also the tour was really nice and explained everything well and it was nowhere a problem to take pictures and I can definitely recommend visiting both museums! There was also the possibility to book a guided tour which takes about 3 hours and during the Trip the Alchemy is explained in more detail, but unfortunately I did not manage to visit it because I did not could make it in time anymore but this is also at the top of my list when I should be in this breathtaking city the next time.
In the evening I was also in a bar called the alchemists bar and also here the name is program and the topic is this occult science. There are various drinks which were named after alchemical themes and also for people who do not drink alcohol it is worth a visit and there is also a large selection of non-alcoholic drinks. The building in which the bar is located is itself several centuries old and for that reason alone worth a visit and in the bar hang many mythological works of art as well as of course things to see which are based on the alchemy. During a conversation with the friendly bartender, I learned that in this building probably a few centuries ago even an alchemist lived whose name is unknown and also about other buildings or other parts of Prague there are legends which are associated with the life of some alchemists and it was a great experience for me to visit these rather hidden things of Prague city and who should be there and is interested in this topic, I can recommend visiting the two museums, the bar and maybe also the tour.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about this exciting city! I captured these pictures with my iPhone 16 and Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens.