Page:Guide to the Bohemian section and to the Kingdom of Bohemia - 1906.djvu/39

29 may be seen and close to them the lower spires of St. Clements’ church. Above them we behold the silhouette of the University-Observatory, farther on the blueish steeples of St. Nicolas’ church and the two scaly belfries of the Týn, which form a contrast to the dark picture of the watch-tower of the Town-Hall and all round we see a whole group of steeples and towers projecting above the red masses of roofs of the Old town.

It would be hard to tear oneself away from this beautiful picture, if in front of the beholder did not open another sight of equal attractions: a group of grand old trees, whose great branches clothed with many shades of green, embellish the isle of Kampa, lying far below the level of the bridge.

Close to the pillar of the bridge where it touches this isle on the left hand side under the double statues of St. Vincent and St. Prokopius, in fact, on a sharp edge of the pillar itself there stands a rare symbol of the middle ages, the period that produced Charles’ monumental work: the statue of Bruncvik; or rather Roland, in the picturesque attire of a mediaeval knight, bearing the coat of arms of the Old town and an unsheathed sword in its hand. There are many quaint stories afloat about this statue; in reality it was once the symbol of the staple and duty-right of the community. The original of the statue is in the Town Museum, a modern reproduction of it stands at the pillar of the bridge. Close to it we remark; in the gable of the first house, which stands on the isle of Kampa, a small balcony railed in with a nicely wrought iron paling within which there is a picture of the Virgin Mary, surrounded by a wreath of flowers and before it an eternal lamp burning a light for those that are in the throes of death.

A great contrast to this sign of simplicity and unsophisticated religion is the opposite grand sculpture of Braun: St. Luitgard as she in a mystic dream clings to the side of the crucified Saviour, and He with one of his hands released from the cross bends down and blesses the blind saint who embraces His knees. Another splendid view is seen from this spot, the baroque mansards of the palace of the Counts Bouquoy, the dark apsis of the church of the knights of Malta overshadowed by a gigantic plane-tree,