Ready to Be awed?

a tale of thRee citiesFrom bridges that connected communities and soaring spires that inspired worship

to medieval castles that deFended cities, europe has been Forged by a unique history

that in turn shaped the creation oF its capital cities.

Andy Round journeys to prague (Czech Republic), lisbon (Portugal) and vilnius (Lithuania) to explore how the secrets of a European city can be unlocked by exploring its architecture.

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prague

From gothic church spires to soviet-era oFFice blocks, prague

oFFers 800 years oF european architectural style in one city.

bohemian Rhapsody

In Prague time travel is possible. Within a few min-utes it is easy to walk from the crooked alleyways of 14th century Gothic Europe, through the pastel arches of the 16th century Renaissance, straight into the extravagance of the 20th century’s art nouveau.

‘Prague is like an architectural text book,’ says Czech architect Michal Fronek of Studio Olgoy Chorchoy. ‘Every style is represented here. The Vltava River gives the city its shape, but it is the diverse architec-tural styles that give Prague its romantic restlessness.’

That restlessness energises the Old Town, or Staré Město, by combining soaring spires, achingly roman-tic towers, meandering cobbled streets, blind alleys, and hidden courtyards into an unforgettable city-scape.

Walk the streets with someone who knows how all these architectural elements connect and history springs into life.

‘The Estates Theatre opened in 1783 and that was where Mozart first staged his 1787 opera Don Giovanni,’ says guide Eva Vondrusová. ‘The Powder Gate is a remainder of the fortifications that sur-rounded the town in the 15th century – and next door, that’s where my parents used to come and dance at the weekend.’

The venue is the extraordinarily beautiful Munici-pal Building. In addition to hosting Eva’s parents, it was also the building that saw the proclamation of Czechoslovakian independence in 1918 and the first meeting between the Czech Republic’s first president, the poet, playwright and dissident politi-cian Václav Havel, and the Communist regime, when the Republic gained its independence in 1989.

Considering it has witnessed such momentous events, the building is beautifully frivolous. Its restau-rants, Prague Symphony Orchestra Hall, lobby and basement are an art nouveau confection of tiles, writhing metals, glittering glass and sensuous art by Alfons Mucha.

Walk five minutes from this Prague highlight and it quickly becomes apparent that no self-respecting building is complete without a legend.

Ghostly teRRoR

With relish, Eva points out the ‘Gold Ring’ Renais-sance house where a gold-greedy husband inspired the ghostly terror of his drowned wife; the 12th century ‘Ungelt’ or ‘Customs Duty’ courtyard of Týn Cathedral, where a spurned lover decapitated a young girl and, so legend has it, the sealed attic window at the Old-New Synagogue where a clay monster was imprisoned.

Of course, the city’s architecture has also witnessed the ebb and flow of European influences.

When, for example, Charles IV became Holy Ro-man Emperor and King of Bohemia in 1346 he brought German architect Peter Parler to design Prague’s Charles Bridge and St Vitus Cathedral. Par-ler took inspiration from French Gothic motifs and made them his own.

When Rudolf II became Holy Roman Emperor in 1576 he immediately moved his court from Vienna to Prague, bringing with him fresh new ideas from Denmark, Austria, Spain and Italy.

At the heart of the city is the photogenic Old Square, overlooked by the Gothic towers of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn and the world’s oldest working astronomical clock.

In the 15th century visitors would stand in awe at its clockwork rotating saints; today they capture an image on a mobile phone before grabbing an ice-cold beer at one of the brightly coloured cafés nearby.

And that colour is significant. In recent years Old Town buildings have enjoyed intense restoration. ‘In the 1980s it felt like Prague was black, white and grey, but the buildings then had a wonderful mystic air and there were no tourists on Charles Bridge,’ remembers Prague guide Zuzana Kozlokova. ‘It seemed very romantic.’

Now guide umbrellas, souvenir sellers, and a United Nations of nationalities illuminate Prague’s famous bridge. Tourists polish the bronze toes of martyred statue saints, photographers sell atmospheric city prints and buskers blast out jazz.

architectural style guide

> the gothic movement is commonly associated with the 14th century in prague due to examples such as charles Bridge, but

the style flourished throughout Europe. A wonderful illustration of classic Gothic motifs is Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

> Graceful columns, symmetric proportions and elements from ancient Greek and Roman styles characterise renaissance.

Italy boasts a wonderful collection of classic European Renaissance from St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to the Duomo in Florence.

> If a building is loaded with architectural flamboyance it is probably baroque. Mdina Cathedral in Malta and Santiago de Com-

postela in Spain offer exceptional examples.

> Inspired by natural forms, art nouveau was an extravagant style that swirled its way into the early 20th century. Sumptuous

art nouveau homes can be found in Riga in Latvia and Brussels in Belgium.

High above in the Old Bridge Tower is Tomas Majer a guide gently shepherding visitors around the 1373 Gothic lookout. ‘A favourite piece of Charles Bridge history? I like the fact that this tower prevented the Swedish army from invading the Old Town at the end of the 30 years war.’

The battles for the bridge were bloody and although the tower was seriously damaged during fighting, the advancing army failed to enter the town.

The bridge connects the Old Town to a district known as the Lesser Town or Malé Straně. If it looks like a film set, that is because it is. Those streets have starred in numerous movies from ‘Mission: Impos-sible’ to James Bond’s ‘Casino Royale’.

‘This area offers intact Baroque areas and palaces. I’ve made several films here such as The Cold Light of Day with the Dutch director Rudolf Van Den Berg and Delta Of Venus with the American direc-tor Zalman King,’ says movie production designer, Zdeněk Fleming. ‘I particularly like to film in the Monastery on Sněmovni Street. Practically every wing has a distinct architectural style.’

Above this street is another photogenic landmark, Prague Castle. At the centre of the fortification, the biggest castle in the world, is St Vitus’s Cathedral, the heart and soul of the Czech Republic itself.

ToMBS

In the crypt beneath the 14th century amethyst-coated walls of the Chapel of St Wenceslas, the cas-tle’s director Frantisek Kadlec points out the tombs of the nation’s founding fathers, princes and kings.

Then, climbing time-ravaged stairs, he tells the tale of the flamboyant silver tomb of St John who was sacrificed from Charles Bridge, points out his fa-vourite stained glass windows and reveals how six centuries of work seamlessly created one magnifi-cent cathedral.

‘The cathedral was started in 1344, but was only completed in 1929 with the help of public dona-tions,’ Frantisek says. ‘The work is so magnificent it is often impossible tell which sections were built when. I enjoy watching concerts here. This is a won-derful place to come at Christmas or Easter.’

It is actually a wonderful place to come any time of the year. From the castle’s fortified walls the pano-rama of the Old Town unfolds like the backdrop to a fairytale – a colourful cast of spires, towers and bridges brought together for an unforgettable happy ending.

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lisbon

shaped by the sea, Funded by exploration, and devastated by

earthquake – the story oF lisbon is as dramatic as its architecture.

city oF DISCoVERy

From the leafy fortifications of Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon is breath-taking. The cool blue of the River Ta-gus frames the endless terracotta reds and oranges that warm the city’s rooftops and the urban land-scape hugs an hourglass topography of voluptuous valleys and undulating hills like a brightly illuminated gown.

‘That view is really extraordinary,’ says Portuguese ar-chitect João Luìs Carriho da Graça. ‘You can see the dramatic theatrical spaces and the auditoriums of un-expected urban areas that have grown organically to fit the landscape. And that clear sharp light reflected from the river and buildings, well, it’s exceptional.’

The river and Lisbon’s relationship with the sea have always inspired the city’s architecture.

‘In just nine kilometres of city coastline you can ex-perience almost 500 years of history from the 16th century Belém Tower in the west to the 20th cen-tury architecture of Portugal’s Expo 1998 in Parque das Nações in the east,’ says Lisbon’s Deputy Mayor, Manuel Salgado.

Boxy Beauty

Nursing an espresso, Manuel is relaxing in a café of the ambitiously expansive Cultural Centre in Lisbon’s Belém district.

Manuel designed the centre’s boxy beauty with Ital-ian Vittorio Gregotti to accommodate the Portu-guese European Union Presidency in 1992. Manuel describes it as a monument to modern Portugal.

‘Lisbon may not have the monuments of Rome, the parks of London or the boulevards of Paris,’ he says. ‘But I tell visitors to walk from the geometric, ordered Baixo area in the city centre to the chaotic medieval layouts that wrap around the hills. The streets are packed with secret courtyards and hidden palaces.’

Outside the Cultural Centre, multi-storey cruise ships glide beneath the suspended elegance of 25th of April Bridge following the same river flow that de-livered Portugal’s 15th and 16th century explorers.

In Belém their legacy of discovery is carved into the architecture: the Unesco-protected Belém Tower, whose cannons once guarded the river; the 50-me-tre-high Monument Of Discoveries that immortalises Portugal’s adventurers in stone; the ornate Maritime Museum and the stunning Mosterio dos Jerónimos.

Inside this monastery, Nuno Figueiras and Emanuel Romão, founders of www.tura.pt, a company de-signed to showcase Lisbon’s architectural history, are pointing out the stone motifs that celebrate Portu-gal’s age of adventure. Carved sea monsters, ropes and exotic plants writhe across columns, archways and ceilings.

Later after a lunch of traditional meat and vegeta-ble stew, they walk the city discussing how different styles were shipped into Lisbon, refined by the city’s international influences and then exported around the world.

The city’s famous black and white ‘mosaic’ pavements, for example, can be found as far afield as Copaca-bana Beach in Rio and adorning the streets of Mo-zambique’s capital of Maputo.

In Lisbon, architectural history unfolds in minutes from the gloomy 12th century drama of Sé Cathe-dral and the shattered Gothic ribs of Convento do Carmo to the 19th century Moorish romance of Rossio Railway Station and the 21st century glow of Alvaro Siza’s metro tunnels.

The city soundtrack is equally impressive. Clanking trams wheeze up cobbled streets, chattering tour-ists meander across vibrant mosaic squares, guitarists fill castle walls with contemporary music, and cherry liqueur drinkers laugh outside hole-in-the-wall bars.

In the century-old poet and artist hangout of Café A Brasileira, Teresa Duarte and Paulo Pais from Lisbon’s Urban Planning Department are discussing how the earthquake of 1755 devastated the city but created a fresh architectural vision.

MEDIEVAL STREETS

‘The Baixa area in the centre of Lisbon is unique in the world because it was built quickly and according to strict architectural principles,’ says Paulo. ‘A uni-form grid pattern replaced the previous organic me-dieval streets.

‘Each building had equally proportioned dimensions and each was built from new earthquake-proof ma-terials.’

‘The result is an architectural rhythm that is incredibly harmonious,’ nods Teresa.

In front of Baixa, 18th century engineers created the imposing Commerce Square and a century later the Triumph Arch was added.

architectural celebration

the third edition of lisbon’s architecture triennale is in 2013. entitled

‘close, closer’ it will dominate three months from september with lectures,

exhibitions, prizes and public events. ‘in addition to food, sun and sea we

have added another reason to enjoy lisbon… architecture,’ laughs triennale

president, José mateus.

lisbon useful weBsites www.tura.pt

european inspiration

there have been two portuguese winners of architecture’s highest prize, the pritzker,

Àlvaro siza in 1992 and eduardo souto de moura in 2011. both have worked extensively

outside of portugal. “For example siza has worked in spain, the netherlands, germany and

italy,” says architect emanuel romão. “due to this recognition many portuguese architects

have been invited to teach at european universities and many young architects can easily

find positions in European studios.”

Resplendent in glorious statues, motifs again cele-brating the age of discovery, this is architecture load-ed with authority. A space designed to impress, just as it had once inspired docking seafarers hundreds of years ago when the Royal Palace dominated the square.

Just 10 minutes along the coast by car is another im-pressive area, Parque das Nações, the site of Portu-gal’s 1998 Expo that was held to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Vasco de Gama, the explorer whose discovery of a sea route to India revolutionised Eu-ropean trade.

Today the riverbank pavilions remain, converted into stores, restaurants, bars and public buildings. The giant Expo Oceanarium continues to attract thousands of

visitors, but for Architect Emanuel Romão, the co-founder of www.tura.pt, the main reason to visit is the contemporary architecture.

‘The Expo generated great energy at the time and attracted the world’s best architects,’ he says, driving past spitting volcano-shaped fountains.

‘For instance the station over there was designed by Spain’s Santiago Calatrava and the Portuguese Pa-vilion was created by Portugal’s Álvaro Siza,’ he says. ‘You can see that the giant suspended canopy is made from tonnes of concrete but looks as light as air.

‘It also floats like the river. In Lisbon the river has always been the gateway to a wider world for the Portuguese.’

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vilnius

In the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in the Lithuani-an capital of Vilnius, the silver offerings nailed next to the miraculous icon of the Madonna speak of centuries of devoted pilgrimage.

In the artistic city district of Užupis, a ‘Constitution’ plaque underlines the area’s eccentric character by promising ‘A dog has the right to be a dog’ and ‘Peo-ple have the right to be unhappy’.

In the dusty basement of the capital’s former KGB headquarters, bullet holes speak volumes.

To stroll Vilnius barely takes a few hours, but you need more time to read the history that is written on every wall.

Take Bernadine Church, for instance. Here history stacks up like the devoted bones that once filled its dry crypts and the layers of paint that hid its extraordinary cloister frescos.

During the late 20th century, the church’s sacred interior was converted into a Soviet warehouse, but the power of all those historic layers remained undiminished.

‘I came for mass for the first time in 2002 and there was only a wooden altar,’ says guide Sandra Krušnaitė. ‘But there were a lot of people here and it felt incredibly powerful. Incredibly special.’

MAGICAL

Peering from the church’s now-restored loft the view of the strikingly diverse range of towers, spires and cupolas that punctuate Vilnius’ Old Town sky-line and overshadow its crooked, cramped and confused streets is beyond special. It’s magical. No wonder it is a Unesco World Heritage site (see box-out).

vilnius is a small city with a big history. and that history is

at its most eloquent in the old town.

capital ATTRACTIoN

Explore the medieval streets of the Old Town and the vibrant architectural legacy of the European religions that made Vilnius their home quickly be-comes apparent.

‘In the 14th century, while the Grand Dukes of Lithuania were celebrating pagan gods up in Vilnius castle, Orthodox believers and Catholic Germans were building their houses of worship down below,’ says Marija Drėmaitė, Secretary-General of Un-esco’s Lithuanian National Commission.

‘In Vilnius there are 21 monasteries and 20 Catholic churches, four Orthodox, one Lutheran, one Evan-gelical and Jewish houses of worship that formed the layout of the town.’

And every house of worship has a story to tell.

NAPoLEoN

‘When Napoleon saw the rare brick Gothic of St Anne’s Church, he said he wanted to take it back to Paris in the palm of his hand,’ laughs Vilnius’ mayor Artūras Zuokas. ‘It still makes me smile every time I think he didn’t get his way.’ ‘I’m fond of Vilnius Cathedral even though it doesn’t appeal to me aesthetically,’ says Gediminas Tech-nical University’s architecture professor, Jūratė Jurevičienė. ‘I appreciate the way it encapsulates important historic events.

‘For instance, this is the site of the nation’s baptism, which inspired faith across the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and extended from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea.

‘From the top to bottom there is history. Installed above are the new statues that replaced those dur-ing the 20th century and buried below are ancient pagan sites.’

The cathedral is also the final resting place for some of the country’s most important historical figures such as Alexander Lithuania’s Grand Duke (and later also King of Poland) who died in 1506 and Vytautas the Great whose 1410 defeat of the Teutonic Knights at Grünwald ensured he became a national hero.

Historical strata stack up everywhere in Vilnius. Be-neath an Amber Museum in the Old Town, guide Eglė Mickevičienė reflects on the excavations of 16th century ceramic kilns.

‘You can see how the layers of the city grew above them,’ she says, pointing at the rocky walls. ‘About a metre deep for every hundred years.’

‘NoRThERN JERuSALEM’

Some centuries-old layers still feel fresh. In the mid-dle of the Old Town, Eglė stops to describe how the postcard-pretty streets around her were once populated by hundreds of thousands of Jews and the area was celebrated as a ‘Northern Jerusalem’ until the dark days of 1939.

Nearby is Vilnius’ Old Town Renewal Agency, an organisation dedicated to preserving the capital’s architectural legacy. When the agency’s director Jūratė Raugalienė walks the city, stories unfold at every corner.

She reveals how the Gothic, Baroque and Renais-sance buildings of the 500-year-old university be-came ‘an important centre of learning in Central and Eastern Europe’.

She discusses how Teutonic Knights gave Germans Street its name and how an Italian Duchess brought both pasta and a new Renaissance style to the city.

Then, of course, there is Vilnius’ famous Baroque. ‘It was introduced as a result of the great fires of the 18th century,’ Jūratė says. ‘Austrian architect

european inFluence

For a small city, Vilnius had a big architectural influence. It was the most northern Baroque city

of Europe and thanks to the late 18th century style of Johan Glaubitz influenced the then territory

of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Many significant churches in Belarus and Latvia echo this style.

unesco status

“the historic centre of vilnius was inscribed on the unesco world heritage list in 1994,”

says marija drėmaitė, secretary-general of unesco’s lithuanian national commission.

“vilnius was presented to the world as the political and cultural centre of the grand

Duchy of Lithuania of the 13th to 18th century, and the most significant city of Gothic,

Renaissance and Baroque style in Eastern Europe where cultures of the East and West

meet. vilnius, the capital of the grand duchy of lithuania, formed on the border of

two civilisations – byzantine eastern and latin western ones.”

Johann Glaubitz arrived as an answer to the city’s prayers (see box-out). He renovated the churches and his style quickly became influential across the continent.’

But it is the capital’s sweeping panoramas that cast a spell over this Vilnius-born director. ‘I love the views from the Hill Of The Three Crosses, but I also spent the first five years of my life close to the tallest building in Vilnius, the 68-metre-tall St John’s bell tower. It’s still inspiring.’

Another Old Town view worth savouring is from the top of the ‘New Town’ 21st century municipal building that houses Vilnius’ Planning Department and its Director, Artūras Blotnys.

‘If you were an architecture student you could come here and study every era from early Gothic to 20th century architecture,’ says Artūras, survey-ing the forest-fringed city beneath him. ‘That in itself makes the city special, but the atmosphere on the streets, well, that is completely unique.’

useFul weBsites

http://www.visiteurope.com/home.aspx

more inFormation

about europe’s unesco sites:

www.visiteurope.com/Discover/Themes/UNESCO

© Pictures: European Commission