I have been in Prague this week for the first time. While I love many European and Eastern European capital cities such as Vienna and Budapest, Prague knocks those two places into a cocked hat. The architecture is stunning and mainly intact as the Allied bombing here in the Second World War was very light and, on one occasion, accidental.
In common with Budapest and Vienna, the city is bisected by a river which is crossed by several magnificent bridges, including the historical Charles Bridge. There is an historical and beautiful old town, and the skyline is dominated by the twin spires of St Vitus Cathedral.
The Czech Republic is reputedly the most atheist country in Europe. I beg to differ. The Christian culture is strong here. Wherever you are and in whatever direction you look you’ll see a Catholic Church. Now I appreciate that this may not excite some people as much as it excites me, but there are consequences which are visible in the streets. Of course, not all of these are a direct result of the strong Christian Catholic culture, but I think some are.
Not gone to pot
People seem polite and helpful here, the streets are pristine, there is not a single boarded up shop and prices in restaurants – even fine dining Michelin-listed ones – are reasonable. Drinking alcohol in the street is illegal here so there are no displays of empty beer cans on walls and window sills. As a result, there is also a remarkable lack of piles of vomit and streams of piss emanating from shop doorways. I had heard that it was a popular place for stag parties but, so strongly are the rules enforced here, there was no evidence of pre-marital revellers anywhere.
This is reputed to be a ‘cannabis friendly city’ and there are cannabis and THC shops everywhere. There are regulations for how many cannabis plants you may grow at home and how much you may carry on your person. I am not, necessarily in favour of this, but the notable thing in this regard, and in contrast to London and my home town of Hull, there is no smell of cannabis on the streets.
Clearly that is not done here, and it is also illegal to smoke cannabis on the streets. It is illegal in the UK too but our timid police force, too busy looking out for incidents of Islamophobia (sorry, Anti-Muslim hate), refuse to do anything about it. The result is that our streets are thick with a fug of cannabis smoke and that pervading smell of cat piss that accompanies it.
Caliphailed
However, the most notable feature here, and one which I am convinced stems directly from the strong and confident Christian culture is that the streets are virtually Muslim-free. I think, in three days of walking many miles here, I have seen no more than a single hijab.
The population of Muslims, who live mainly in Prague, is approximately 0.2%. Ours in the UK is 6% and growing. And it lifted my spirits to see that the desire of the local Muslims to establish a central mosque is being thwarted at every turn. Efforts to find a suitable building are being ‘rejected by landlords unwilling to accommodate the Muslim community’.
Good for them. If only we took this robust approach to Islam in the UK, we would be a very different country. Our city skylines are increasingly blighted by mosques and many, like the ‘massive carbuncle’ on George Square next to The University of Edinburgh, are funded by Saudi Arabian money.
Ironically, the expression ‘massive carbuncle’ was a phrase coined by our glorious King, many years ago referring to a proposed extension to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I imagine now, if there were proposals to build a mosque on Trafalgar Square, he would be all in favour of it.
A city like Prague, while it undoubtedly has its dark side (Dan Brown seems to think so), shows what can be done if you have sensible laws and those laws are enforced. But it must be more than the application of the law. It is also notable that, while police cars can be seen occasionally, there is no heavy-handed policing. Police are barely visible on the street.
The inhabitants of Prague seem to take pride in their city and are determined to show visitors its best face. The contrast with the streets of almost any city in the UK is stark. We have not only lost something in the UK, we have mostly forgotten what it is that we have lost.
Roger Watson is a retired academic, editor and writer. He writes regularly for a range of conservative journals including The Salisbury Review and The European Conservative. He has travelled and worked extensively in the Far East and the Middle East. He lives in Kingston upon Hull, UK.
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Perhaps the condition of Prague’s historic architecture is due to a) the restitution of private property to former owners after the fall of communism and b) EU funding that benefitted countries like the Chech Republic (or whatever it’s now called) by being paid for by ‘richer’ countries.
I’m surprised Roger didn’t draw parallels between the absence of Police on the streets of Prague and the same invisibility in Hull!
A very interesting and enjoyable article – successful, too, in that it makes me want to visit Prague!
The concluding sentence, in particular, struck me, referencing the people of Prague who take pride in their city and want to show it to visitors at its best – contrasting that attitude with the UK, the author writes: “We have not only lost something in the UK, we have mostly forgotten what it is that we have lost.”
This struck me because recently – following the catastrophic fire in Glasgow city centre (I live in Glasgow but not right in the city centre) – I have noticed that, in several conversations I’ve had with people in various social settings, when I bemoan the state of the city centre before the fire and remark that now it’s even worse, I always add something to the effect that it’s a wonder any tourists come here at all, it’s such a mess, the response has been, almost without exception, words to the effect that “Well, “they” have to do roadworks and “they” are trying to improve the city.” It doesn’t matter about tourists/visitors seems to be the general opinion – the shrugs of the shoulders says it all.
Personally, I thought the city centre was fine the way it was and when I took some friends visiting from England into town and into George Square, in recent years, they had their phones out right away snapping the various statues and city chambers opposite. Impressed. The new version of the Square is likely to be no different from any other European city square – in fact, I think that was, essentially, what the “city fathers” promised when they announced the renovation.
So, yes, I agree – not only have we lost something (I’d say “a lot”) in the UK, but we’ve mostly forgotten what it is that we have lost. History and character, I’d say – that’s what we’ve lost.
There are no “city fathers” (since 1950s) only self-serving ‘adminstrators’ and party hack councillors who’d willingly destroy everything in the name of net zero and multiculturalism. Many councillors are more concerned with foreign climes (to which they should permanently relocate).
Yes, Nathaniel, we don’t call the members of the Glasgow City Council “city fathers” any more – that’s why I put the term in inverted commas. We elect Councillors who, as you indicate, don’t seem remotely concerned with the city but seem to want to be busy behind their desks dreaming up ever new ways to change everything – perhaps your word (destroy) is more accurate.
I lived in Prague for two years in the mid 90s and, believe me, it was far far better then than it is now. Tourism has changed it massively, for the worse, of course. It was just getting going in my second year, but mostly, fortunately, in the sex/stag party sector. Most of the town was unaffected. On a weekend I could wander around and always find some small church or other old building where small concerts would be held with amateur musicians. Amateur in the original sense. All free. And if I wanted opera, a few words of Czech at the ticket office would get me tickets at about ten per cent of the price the tourist paid. And in the second hand book/art shops one could pick up humorous, bawdy etchings from the 19th century quite cheaply. A couple still decorate my walls.