Prague Journal

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Another rainy day. My morning meeting was cancelled, so I didn’t go out until afternoon, at which point both Rick and I got thoroughly drenched.
We went to the Wallenstein (Valdštejnská )Gardens for the 6th Nine Gates International Czech- German-Jewish culture festival. The festival is named after a famous book by Jiři Mordechai Langer, which has recently been made into a film that is scheduled to be released this fall. The main theme of this year’s Nine Gates festival is the history of the Jewish people in Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and the current Russian Federation, in the context of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. The festival boasts a selection of Russian artists from different disciplines. There are also artists from many other European countries, representing Jewish culture. Music and theater performances this week highlight two Russian theater ensembles: the the theatre U Nikitinskykh vorot, which will stage the drama “Mein Kampf Fars” by George Tabori and “The Magician from Lublin” by Isaak Bashevis Singer, and the Shalom theatre. The festival opened yesterday with a concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra, which played film music composed by Sergei Prokofyev, Dmitri Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke, accompanied by some film sequences. Concerts at the Wallenstein Gardens feature Russian bands Shmerl, Berl and Son, Mitzvah, and Marimba Plus, along with musicians from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine.
We went to hear the Russian ensemble Shmerl, Berl and Son, which was sparsely attended because of the persistent rain. The Wallenstein Garden is a large expanse of geometric garden areas in Baroque style. This garden was only open for the public in 2002, so this is the first time Rick and I have been inside.
The garden is tucked behind the Wallenstein Palace (near the metro station at Malá Strana), which was built between 1621 and 1634 by Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland and of Mecklenburg. The palace was to be his Prague residence which, in its size and splendor, would cast a shadow over all the other buildings of its kind and even compete with Prague Castle itself. Wallenstein invited the best architects, painters and artisans from Italy, an unusual choice for a city historically dominated by German artists and craftsmen. Nobody knows exactly who designed the building but the architect is thought to have been either Andrea Spezza or Giovanni Pieroni. The site originally contained twenty-six buildings. As one of the largest complexes within the city, it transformed the surrounding area. Over the centuries it has served many purposes. In early 1996, the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic’s parliament decided that the official and legislative residence of the Senate would be located in Wallenstein Palace. The key objective of the Palace’s restoration for this purpose would be the full architectural rehabilitation of all its parts, including artistic decoration. Restoration of the main building began in mid-1999 and represented the most challenging restoration and conservation works in the entire complex. The most valuable parts of this building in historical and artistic terms are the Main Hall, the Knights’ Hall, the Antechamber, the Audience Hall and the Mythological and Astronomical Corridors. The restoration and reconstruction of Wallenstein Palace has preserved the architectural and artistic heritage of one of the largest and most important building complexes in Prague.
We walked in the rain toward Old Town, to meet Regina for dinner. She is staying at the Residence Řetĕzová, a historic 16th century residence between the Charles Bridge and Old Town Square. Residence Řetĕzová has been converted into nine apartments, each of which is named for a city. Regina was in apartment New York, a royal suite as big as our flat. We went to dinner at U Medvídků and then to Cream and Dream for ice cream cones. Fortunately, by the time we finished dinner, the rain had abated. However, our jackets were still quite wet and soggy when we got home.

posted by JWinn @ 10:32 PM