Eerie Tales From Prague - By: Stepan Stich

On my Prague airport transfers, the one tourist attraction that most people are already aware of is the famous Charles Bridge. The one thing that most visitors aren’t aware of, however, is the Bridge’s sinister past. Indeed when I tell my passengers the ghost stories lurking behind some of Prague’s top tourist attractions, most are suitably scared and have to rethink taking a visit. So only read on if you’re brave enough - you have been warned.

Charles Bridge

Prague’s famous Charles Bridge is normally the first stop for many visitors taking my Prague airport transfers. The bridge is lined with the stone statues of saints, giving visitors the feeling that they are being watched as they make their way to the other side. However, legend has it that one of these saints wasn’t exactly dead at the time he was transformed into a statue.

The tale goes that in the 14th Century, St. John of Nepomuk had just taken confession from Queen Johanna, King Wenceslas’s IV’s wife. When the saint refused to tell the king precisely what was confessed, the king had the priest tortured before he was thrown off the bridge and left to die. His ghost walked the bridge for 300 years, until the 17th century when it was frozen and placed into a statue. Touching the statue is supposed to keep any secret safe and ensure that it is discovered by no-one.

Although St. John no longer haunts the bridge, it isn’t advisable to cross the area at midnight. This is when the ghosts of ten lords, executed in the Middle Ages, appear singing mournful songs, with the intention of scaring anyone crossing the bridge during the witching hour.

Josefov

Josefov was the former Jewish Ghetto area of Prague and it is here that the famous ghosts of Rabbi Loew and the Golem of Prague still walk. Although the area is not that popular with visitors on my Prague airport transfers, I often recommend it to travellers after a taste of the supernatural. In the early 16th Century, when the Jews were accused of murdering Christian children, Rabbi Loew created the Golem, a figure moulded from the clay of the Vltava River to help save the Jewish population. Rabbi Loew bought the figure to life by reciting Hebrew incantations and then released the figure into the community. The Golem grew larger and larger until the Emperor begged the Rabbi to destroy him. However, the Rabbi was reluctant to destroy the figure as it had saved the Jews from many attacks, so he placed the figurine in the attic of the New World Synagogue where it stands to this day. Loew ordered that no-one should ever enter the attic and even the Nazis were unable to penetrate this area of the Synagogue.

Strahov Monastery

The beautiful Strahov Monastery has two stunning gothic towers that dominate the city skyline. This is somewhere that many passengers on my Prague airport transfer choose to check out, and, when they do, I am eager to share with them a well-known ghost story surrounding the area. The tale tells of a poor woman who lived during the time of the plague. As her children were struck down one-by-one by the pestilence, she used what little coins she had to ring the chapel bells. When she died, the bells continued to ring and on moonless nights a hymn to Mary is heard long after everyone has left the chapel.

About the Author

Štìpán Stich is a Prague airport transfers driver for Shuttle Direct. They provide pre-booked shuttles to major destinations all over Europe. Wherever you travel, Shuttle Direct can make sure that you don’t miss your car on your holiday abroad.

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