Министерство образования Российской Федерации

Муниципальное автономное общеобразовательное учреждение

Гимназия №21 с углубленным изучением иностранных языков

РЕФЕРАТ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ НА ТЕМУ:

«Mythical Prague»

Выполнил: ученик 8 «Б» класса

Иван Кичеров

Проверил: учитель английского языка

Емельянова Мария Валерьевна

Тюмень 2019

INTRODUCTION: 3

WHITE LADY 4

CHARLES BRIDGE 5

ONE-ARMED THIEF 6

THE FAUST HOUSE 7

THE GOLEM OF PRAGUE 8

IRON MAN 9

CONCLUSION : 11

REFERENCES : 12

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Introduction:

What attracts Prague a large number of tourists? its architecture is no different from the

architecture of other European cities, there is no sea, no beach holiday, no Eastern exotics, but

being in Prague at any time of the year you will always see a huge number of people of different

nationalities. What draws them here? It may be the case in mystic? Let's try to understand.

This report is devoted to the topic “Mythical Prague”. Each country has its own mystical

stories. Prague is no exception. The aim of the report is to learn some Prague mystical stories of

the 14th-16th centuries.

The interest of this topic is aroused by the difference of it’s mythical stories, their

extraordinary.

The aim of the report is to analyze the most famous Prague mythical stories, to find them in

common and to get acquainted with the culture of the Czech Republic

The objectives of the report are:

To know about mythical stories about supernatural

Identify, what these stories have in common

To find out what is different about these stories

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White lady

Legend has it that White lady appears in the castles of Český Krumlov. Her smile and white

gloves mean that there will be happiness in the house, but if she is wearing black gloves and

veils, something terrible is approaching. Bílá paní has always loved the children of her relatives

and protected them from all evil. When the tired maids went to bed, she took the babies in her

arms, played with them and lulled them. The maids who knew her did not prevent her from

approaching the children.

The white lady paid the closest attention to the last descendant of her kind, Peter Wok. One

day, when the maids were asleep again, she went to the cradle and nursed little Peter to keep him

from crying. Among the maids was one who had recently come to the castle and knew nothing of

the white lady. She woke up and raised a terrible cry, seeing that Petricek in the hands of the

unknown woman. The maid wanted to take the child from the white lady, but she pulled him to

her and angrily said wthat she will no longer appear. When Peter Vok grew up and heard the

message of the white lady, and commanded him to open the wall where she disappeared. In that

place was a treasure.

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Charles Bridge

For centuries from the height of several meters 30 statues of saints have been tirelessly watching

citizens of Prague and tourists. You are also under sight therefore don’t forget to raise your head

up. Each of the statue on Charles Bridge has its story. But the most interesting one has the St. Jan

of Nepomuk statue. He was the Vicar of Prague Archdiocese. Everything was good, but

suddenly by the order of King Wenceslas John was thrown off the Charles Bridge into the river.

The legend says that in water where Jan Nepomuk drowned appeared the glow of five

stars.Official church claimed this fact as miracle and from that very time St. Jan Mepomuk is

depicted with five stars overhead. Historians still do not know the exact reason for the execution,

since there are several versions. Discover the legend together with your personal photographer

during a walking tour around Prague. The Charles Bridge history is based on man.

One-armed thief

If you look up at the Church of St. James in the center of the old town of Prague, you will find

that you are looking at the petrified bone of the hand. The bone of the hand in question once

belonged to an aptly named armed thief, a man who deliberately hid in the Church and waited

for the Church Minister to lock the doors.

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After being securely locked up, he continued to steal jewelry, gold and precious items in front of

the Church statue of the virgin Mary until the statue grabbed the thief's hand. In the morning the

man was found with his hand cut off. What happened to the one-armed thief? Did the statue

come to life, or did he imagine it because of his terrible sins? One thing is certain: his hand is

hanging inside the Church and his Ghost is haunting the entrance. A one-armed thief will try to

make contact with you if you pay attention to him; make sure to listen to his story while he

shows you his stump hand!

The Faust House

Under the rule of Rudolf II, astrologer Jakub Krucinek lived there with his two sons. The

younger son killed the older one for treasure that was allegedly hidden in the house.

Among other dwellers of the Faust house were the famous alchemists Edward Kelley and

Ferdinand Antonin Mladota of Solopysky, whose chemical experiments (which sometimes led to

big explosions making holes in the roof!) scared people in the neighbourhood. Mladota’s son

was good not only at physics and chemistry but also at mechanics. He astounded his visitors by

making a door open by itself, creating a flying staircase and creating electric shocks while

touching door handle.

Following that, a pure student lived in the house. He tried to cover the holes in the ceiling but

was unsuccessful. Legend says that he found a secret book, read some spells and was taken

through the holes by the devil like Dr Faust.

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THE GOLEM OF PRAGUE

In the 16th century, during the reign of Rudolf II, an old Jewish man named Rabbi Judah Loew

lived in Prague. During that time, the Jewish people of Prague were being attacked and lived

their lives in fear. Rabbi Loew decided to protect the Jews against pogroms by creating the

Golem, a giant who according to the Cabala could be made of clay from the banks of the Vltava.

Following the prescribed rituals, the Rabbi built the Golem and made him come to life by

reciting a special incantation in Hebrew. The word “emet”, meaning “truth”, was placed on the

Golem’s forehead.

The Golem would obey the Rabbi’s every order and would help and protect the people of the

Jewish Ghetto. However, as he grew bigger, he also became more violent and started killing

people and spreading fear. Rabbi Loew was promised that the violence against the Jews would

stop if the Golem was destroyed. The Rabbi agreed. By removing the first letter from the word

“emet”, thus changing it to “met” (meaning “death”), life was taken out of the Golem. According

to legend, the Golem was brought back to life by Rabbi Loew’s son, and may still be protecting

Prague today.

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Iron man

The Iron Man is a true ghost of Prague and one of the only ghosts in the world to have a

monument built for him! The name of the Iron Man in question is Jáchym Berka, a man in ghost

form that has been waiting for his freedom from his ghostly servitude for over four hundread

years! Jáchym Berka was engaged to be married to his sweetheart when he left to defend his

country. Upon his return he heard evil rumors regarding his betrothed’s fidelity and without an

explanation he married a different girl from his neighborhood. Jáchym Berka’s former finace

was so heartbroken, rejected and unwanted that she drowned herself in the Vltava River and her

father was so ashamed that he flung himself from a high tower.

After hearing this horrible news, Jáchym Berka realized what he had done and promptly

strangled his drunk wife and hung himself in his cellar on Good Friday. His death was not a

peaceful one and he has continuously wandered Platnéřská Street simply waiting for his

freedom. Freedom however does not come at an easy cost and Jáchym Berka gets only one

chance every one hundred years. In order to be freed, he must find a pure virgin girl and have a

friendly chat with her for one hour, a task that seems so very simple, yet not many good girls

wish to chat with a ghostly murderer! Sadly enough the Iron Man lost his chance once again in

2009, now he must wait another hundred years.

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The name of the story Characters of the story When was the story created

White Lady White Lady In the 14th century

Charles Bridge Jan Nepomuk In the 15th century

One-armed thiefThief, Statue of the

virgin MaryIn the 14th century

The Faust HouseEdward Kelley and

Ferdinand AntoninIn the 16th century

The Golem of Prague Rabbi Judah Loew In the 16th century

Iron man Jachym Berka In the 15th century

Conclusion:

As you can see, Prague has a lot of myths and legends. We can safely assume that this is a reason

why a lot of tourists prefer travelling to Czech Republic. The myths of the 14th-16th centuries

have a lot in common. Speaking of it I can say that practically all the myths are about

supernatural. We have every reason to believe that this place a vital role in Czech culture. Also,

the legends end tragically. Despite the fact that these stories are from one country they also differ

a lot. The main thing is that all the stories can be divided into two groups: the legends about the

history of the country («White Lady», «Charles Bridge», «The Golem of Prague») and the myths

about individuals («One-armed thief», «The Faust House», «The Iron Man»). Moreover, some

characters help people while others harm. Anyway, all the legends are worth studying.

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References:

1) https://pragueeventery.com/good-to-know/prague-myths-and-legends/

2) https://www.prague-stay.com/lifestyle/category/176-prague-legends-myths-and-ghosts/177-

haunted-prague-and-czech-legends

3) http://www.praguego.com/tips/myths-legends/

4) https://www.prague-stay.com/lifestyle/review/176-prague-legends-myths-and-ghosts/177-

haunted-prague-and-czech-legends/845-the-one-armed-thief

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