The Clementinum also contains two churches, an observatory, the
archbishop's printing office, and a seminary.
In one of the courtyards we see a statue (by J. Max) representing a
student. It was erected in 1848 in commemoration of the second centenary
of the siege of Prague. The students, then all Catholics, greatly
distinguished themselves in the defence of the bridge against the
Swedes.
Continuing to follow the Vltava, we soon reach the equestrian statue of
the Emperor Francis I., which stands in the middle of a small garden.
Near here, in the Karolina Svetla Street, is the interesting Romanesque
Chapel of the Holy Cross, one of the three earliest ecclesiastical
edifices of Prague. It is one of the three Romanesque chapels which
still exist at Prague. Its date can only be conjectured, as though it is
first mentioned in the fourteenth century as a parish church, it is
undoubtedly of much greater antiquity. In the seventeenth century it
ceased to be an ecclesiastical building, and might have continued
unknown if the 'Umelecká Beseda' (artistic society) had not acquired the
building and (1863-1865) caused it to be very skilfully restored. It was
re-consecrated by Archbishop Prince Schwarzenberg in 1879.
Continuing from the Karolina Svetla Street to the Bethlehem Street we
soon reach the square of the same name. It is on this spot, for ever
connected with the memory of Hus, that it is proposed to erect a
monument to the great Church-reformer. Here once stood the Bethlehem
Chapel, the cradle of Church reform, and the modest dwelling of Hus. A
tablet on the door still reminds the traveller of the spot. On the
Bethlehem Square also is the very ancient house known as 'U Halanku,' a
fine specimen of the ancient civic architecture of Prague. It belonged
for a considerable time to the family of Krocin Z Drahobejlu, whose arms
can still be seen in the courtyard. Wenceslas Krocin was for some time
'primator' (_i.e._, burgomaster) of the old town of Prague. This house
now contains an Industrial Museum, with reading-rooms erected by the
late Mr. Naprstek. Mr. Naprstek resided for a considerable time in
America,
[Illustration: JEWISH TOWN HALL AND OLD SYNAGOGUE]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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