PRAGUE CASTLE around the year 1250

Until the reign of King Charles IV (1346 - 1378), only old buildings, dating back to the Romanesque period were found at Prague Castle. A view from the southwest shows a probable appearance before the emergence of such typical architecture as the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert by Parléř, or the Vladislav Hall by Rejt. There is an obvious emphasis on defence – the massive walls are furnished with galleries, ditches, palisades, the fences have high prismatic towers and bastion towers (in a line on the right) already from the time of the reign of Soběslav I († 1140). The Royal Palace is completely hidden »behind« a big walkthrough tower, the massive White Tower in the foreground reliably controls the entrance from the west side. In the background, there are towers of the churches of St. Vitus (it is partly shielded by the White Tower) with the Chapter building and of St. George (behind the South Tower) with the convent compound; further roofs of the church authorities – the Bishop’s residence, priory; in the background a roof of the burgraviate tower and the Black Tower (completely on the right). The forecastle (left; later Pohořelec and Hradčany) is built entirely of wood. Today’s Lesser Town (formerly New or Lesser Quarter) is a settlement around the castle of Prague connected with the Castle by a stone wall (in the foreground the western Strahov Gate).