20th Century – Page 6 – The Unexpected Traveller

Finding Prague’s lost Old Town fortifications

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2018-01-222023-03-7
Posted in Experiences, History

Tourists from the New World chuckle when they read that Prague's New Town dates back to the 14th century. The New World barely existed in those days. Prague's Old Town Fortifications have been lost but if you know where to look, you can rediscover the medieval limits of the Old Town of Prague.

A photo of the gas tank as seen from the tram bridge - Prague, Czechia

The Bullet Holes in the Gas Tank

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2017-10-22022-01-14
Posted in History

A gas tank is not the sort of thing most people put on your “Must see” list. In the Prague suburbs, there is one of the world’s last surviving gas

A photo of the Municipal House by night - Prague, Czechia

The not-so-old part of historical Prague

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2017-09-42022-07-14
Posted in History

As tourists, we tend to make the mistake of assuming that any structure which looks suitably old is automatically ancient. It’s easy to walk around any city and make this

A photo of Castello Lanzun - San Gwann, Malta

The Knights of St Lazarus

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2017-08-142020-10-13
Posted in History

The Knights of Malta (to give them their full name, the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta) are certainly familiar to followers of this site. I was

The view from the Metronome - Prague, Czechia

Prague’s Metronome – and Communist Past

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2017-04-242022-01-13
Posted in History

With a hand that is around 75 feet long (22.8 metres), the metronome that waves above Prague is impressive enough as it is. Its location is no random choice and

A photo of the Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

The con man who sold the Eiffel Tower

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2017-04-172025-02-5
Posted in History

One of the smoothest con men who ever lived managed to fool people into buying France’s Eiffel Tower from him. Twice. His name is Victor Lustig and he was Czech.

Hearst Castle

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2017-01-92021-01-23
Posted in History

You expect to find castles everywhere in Europe. You can barely drive for an hour without seeing signs for some stately home, castle or palace here. I wasn’t expecting to

A photo of Soviet Sgraffito - Prague, Czechia

Renaissance Pavillions … and Communism?

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2016-12-52023-03-7
Posted in History

The Royal Garden beside the castle in Prague is a joy to behold. There is a Renaissance pavilion there which seems to have a connection to Czechia’s recent communism-tainted past.

A photo of the Communist Astronomical Clock - Olomouc, Czechia

The Communist Clock of Olomouc

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2016-11-142023-07-5
Posted in History

In Prague, tourists push one another to catch a glimpse of the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square. In Olomouc, there are not that many tourists in front of the

A photo of the Church of St John of Nepomuk - Czechia

The Tongue of St John (Of Nepomuk)

Posted by Antoine P Borg
Posted on 2016-04-252022-11-20
Posted in History

I’ve written before about the Czech saint St John of Nepomuk – but I hadn’t visited the main church dedicated to him, right in the middle of Czechia.

Tag: 20th Century