Almost all the best hotels of Prague are situated near the State Railway Station, in the Hybernská Ulice and the adjoining angle of the Graben. This will therefore be the usual starting-place for those who have sufficient time to walk leisurely through the streets of Prague. As the former divisions of the town have great historical importance, I shall refer separately--firstly to the old town, then to the new town and Vysehrad, lastly to the Malá Strana and Hradcany. For the last-named walk the traveller will start from the bridge. Immediately opposite the Hybernská Ulice is the powder tower. The original building on this spot, as already mentioned, formed part of the ancient fortifications of the old town, which King Wenceslas I. erected in the thirteenth century. The present building was built in 1475 by King Vladislav II. It is in what is known in Bohemia as the Vladislav style, and is the work of Matthew Reysek, one of the originators of that style of architecture. The building was used as a powder magazine during the reign of Leopold I., and then acquired the designation that it still bears. The powder tower was skilfully restored in 1883 by the talented architect Joseph Mocker. Walking down the Celetná Ulice we pass on our right the spot where a Royal residence, known as the King's Court, Kraluv Dvur, which was inhabited by several Bohemian Kings, once stood. We soon reach the market-place of the old town. Both the Celetná Ulice and the market-place contain many ancient houses--the family residences of citizens of the old town--that well deserve notice. The recent demolitions have not as yet much changed the character of the market-place, while the Celetná Ulice is happily, as yet, untouched. The market-place, the forum of Prague, plays a great part in the story of the town. During the days of independence the burghers assembled here, and the meetings were often very stormy, particularly when the citizens were displeased with the decisions of the town council that met at the radnice. It was on the market-place too that the memorable executions on June 21, 1621, took place. In the centre of the market-place a statue of the Madonna, erected by Ferdinand III., commemorates the successful repulse of the Swedish attack on Prague in 1648.