Keys to Prague

After World War Two most of the old cities in Europe were destroyed - Warsaw, Dresden, Berlin (etc.). However the buildings in Prague largely survived and they are spectacular sites to behold. While the city was once overrun by the Nazis and thousands of Bohemian Jews were persecuted and mercilessly sent to their deaths, the city shows no signs of the devastating war because very little actual fighting occurred in Prague.

Ancient churches, towers, and other historic buildings line the cobblestone streets painting an idyllic picture of Old World Europe. It's truly like stepping back in time and walking through a living history.

However, these entrancing sites only begin to tell the story of this small nation. The people of the Czech Republic has lived through so much turmoil and history in just the last century or so. As our guide, Justin, pointed out if a Czech was born in 1917 he or she would have lived in 8 different nations! Including reigns under the Nazis, under Communist rule, under the Czechs in Czechoslovakia and then in Czech republic or Slovakia (etc).

The last changeover happened in 1989 when Communism fell and democracy was established in the Czech Republic - and for the past 20 plus years has continued on that path of a free nation. On the day communism ended in the Czech Republic, Czechs gathered in Wenceslas Square and celebrated by shaking their keys - their way of saying they were taking back Prague and their nation.

(By Jaya Bird:Picture One: Sculpture made from Keys and spelling "Revolution." It commemorates the day Communism ended in the Czech Republic. Picture Two: Old Town Square, Prague.)