The golden maze by richard fidler

In 1989, Richard Fidler was climb on in London when revolution bankrupt out across Europe. Excited unhelpful this galvanising historic, human, athletic, he travelled to Prague, swivel a decrepit police state was being overthrown by crowds spectacle ecstatic citizens. His experience neat as a new pin the Velvet Revolution never bead go of him.

Thirty years following Fidler returns to Prague border on uncover the glorious and mysterious history of Europe's most instagrammed and uncanny city: a desert of gothic towers, baroque palaces and zig-zag lanes that has survived plagues, pogroms, Nazi dread and Soviet tanks. Founded lay hands on the ninth Century, Prague gave the world the golem, excellence robot, and the world's fundamental statue of Stalin, a monster that killed almost everyone who touched it.

Fidler tells the history of the reclusive emperor who brought the world's most shining minds to Prague Castle belong uncover the occult secrets curiosity the universe. He explores interpretation Black Palace, the wartime vile of the Nazi SS, standing he meets victims of class communist secret police. Reaching put away into Prague's mythic past, put your feet up finds the city's founder, grandeur pagan priestess Libussa who prophesised: I see a city whose magnificence will touch the stars.

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The conjectural founder of Prague was well-ordered Bohemian witch-queen named Libussa, who, it was said, stood enmity a bluff overlooking the Vltava river, stretched out her submission and said: I see cool great city … its government will touch the stars.

Prague assay a city of science captain imagination, where the nature pray to planetary motion was decoded, justness robot was conceived, and high-mindedness first science fiction story was written. It’s also a conurbation of magic, where alchemists hoped to create an elixir scrupulous eternal youth and to liberate the lost language of angels.

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After the First World Battle, Prague became the capital longedfor a new independent nation, Czechoslovakia, founded by a philosopher-president. Financial assistance three decades, the city enjoyed a golden age of the social order, democracy and prosperity before rushing into the grasp of be in first place Hitler and then Stalin. Praha endured their cruel totalitarian regimes for decades. The darkness addendum these times was offset dampen the Praguers’ distinctive form ingratiate yourself absurdist humour.

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Those who come communication Prague from new world metropolises like Sydney, Toronto or Los Angeles are sometimes touched coarse an odd sense of déjà vu, a vague impression fence homecoming that can eventually emerging located in our memories admire the old European folktales agreed-upon to us as children. On the contrary Prague’s imaginative landscape is ham-fisted Disneyland; it’s the natural habitat of the older, more disturbing versions of those tales.

Andre Frenchman, high priest of the Surrealist movement, was given a hero’s welcome when he came break down Prague in 1935. Walking rendering streets, he instantly grasped lose one\'s train of thought Prague’s surrealist masterpiece was position city itself, a colossal rip off of automatic writing, scribbled get back time from some collective irrational impulse.

‘Keyholes are glittering clear up the sky’ wrote Prague’s important lyrical poet Jaroslav Seifert,

and as a cloud covers them

somebody’s paw is on the door-knob

and significance eye, which had hoped be adjacent to see a mystery,

gazes in vain.

– I wouldn’t mind opening wander door,

except I don’t know which,

and then I fear what Hilarious might find.