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Strolling Down the Golden Lane in Prague

Within the confines of the huge Prague Castle complex is an ancient, narrow street with small, colorful houses. Entering Golden Lane (Zlatá ulička) felt like walking into a fairy tale village. The 16 houses on the picturesque street are a combination of stores, museums and historic exhibitions of its residents and artisans from different periods. This was called Goldsmith’s Lane in the 1560s when it was occupied by goldsmiths.

Prague Golden Lane

The Golden Lane was built when an outer wall to the castle complex was added. The houses were constructed for and occupied by Emperor Rudolph II’s castle guards or marksmen in the 16th century. The space wasn’t very big so very small houses were built for the 24 marksmen and their families. It was once known as Archery Lane which just doesn’t seem to have the same appeal as its current name.

Prague Golden Lane House 19

As the need for castle marksmen dwindled, other people moved into the houses. The Czech President’s office bought all the houses from its owners in the early 1950s. Many of the Golden Lane houses were reconstructed, restored and its facades painted in various colors between 1952 and 1955. Seven of the houses are used commercially which include souvenir, toy and book shops.

Prague Golden Lane House 18

The other nine houses have permanent room exhibitions and staged scenes documenting what life was like here. We enjoyed looking through the houses and seeing the rooms behind glass panels. Most of the rooms were based on real people who lived here.

Prague Golden Lane

Houses on the street used to be regulated to be built in an arch of the wall so it’s facade doesn’t protrude. House No. 13 is the only house that followed this regulation. This was also the exhibit for the residence of the Red Artillerymen which were the castle guards. We saw what their uniforms looked like and weapons they carried.

Prague Golden Lane artillery men

House #14 belonged to a psychic and fortune-teller named “Madame de Thebes”. This table setting was laid out daily as she waited for her son’s return from World War I. Sadly, he never did.

Golden Lane psychic house

This room was where she entertained customers to read their fortunes. She was arrested and killed by the Gestapo due to her frequent predictions of Nazism’s end and fall of the Third Reich.

Prague Golden Lane fortune teller

The Golden Lane’s most well-known resident was renowned Czech writer, Franz Kafka, who stayed at his sister’s House #22 from 1916-1917. This is now occupied by a souvenir shop.

Prague Golden Lane

Golden Lane became famous during the early 20th century for the charming houses. As tourists and history buffs flocked here, many of the owners redecorated their houses with furnishings, wall stencils and embroidery among other things. They charged visitors for an open house tour like Mrs. Magdalena’s house (#24) below.

Golden Lane House of Magdalena

House #26 showed a seamstress’ room who we can imagine was kept pretty busy with fixing and sewing clothes throughout the neighborhood and the castle grounds.

Prague Golden Lane Seamstress House
I always enjoy seeing any types of exhibits showing what herbalists back in the days used to cure ailments and diseases. We got a glimpse of a room in House #27 showing some herbs and plants they probably had in their house.

Golden Lane herbalist
This olden day version of a doctor’s office and pharmacy had shelves of bottles of various botanical extracts here. It almost looked like a magic potion shop. It would have been interesting to find out what some of the jars contained.

Golden Lane Herbalist House
House #12 belonged to an amateur film historian, Joseph Kazda, We saw recreated portions of his house where he entertained guests and also where he hid contemporary Czech film copies against the Nazis and saving many of them. There was a room that was continuously showing a film which almost felt like the owner just stepped out of the house momentarily.

Prague Golden Lane Film house
We also ventured up the stairs to some of the displays. The upstairs portion was a long walk through exhibits of armors and weapons which connected most of the houses on the street.

Prague Golden lane Exhibit

Of course, my son enjoyed this armory display including the knights.

Prague golden lane armory
The most disturbing exhibit was the torture chamber room full of instruments that can make most of us cringe. It was a bit hard for my 10-year-old daughter to grasp what humans were capable of doing and what some endured back then using these contraptions.

Prague Golden Lane Torture Chamber
I got chills just looking at this chair.Ouch!

Golden Lane Torture chair
Our stroll down the lane ended at the Daliborka Tower. This was a round cannon tower that was once used as a torture chamber, dungeon and prison until the mid-1800s. A few torture instruments could still be seen here.

Daliborka Tower
We also found these sculptures lining one side of the wall. I’m not sure if they once belonged here or were leftovers from another museum.

Prague Golden Lane sculptures
But, one of the best parts was seeing this wonderful view of Prague and its spires.

Prague skyline
A visit to the Golden Lane doesn’t take up much time but definitely worth a stop and a stroll.  My kids loved the small houses and neighborhood that felt like it was made for their size. We really enjoyed how the room exhibits were laid out inside some of the houses. It gave us some sense of how the residents lived here but also gave us some history lessons. Don’t miss this small part of the castle complex but one that’s very much a part of Prague’s colorful history.

Prague Golden Lane

Visiting Golden Lane Basics and Tips

  • Entry to Golden Lane isn’t free. Tickets to street can be purchased separately just for the street or combined with the Prague Castle complex ticket. We had the combination self-guided visitor ticket for the castle which was a better deal.
  • Tickets: 250czk ($13 USD) for a short visit ticket or 350czk ($18.70 USD) for a long visit ticket and can be purchased at the ticket center across from St. Vitus Cathedral. Family admission tickets are also available.
  • Golden Lane is located in the northeast corner of the the Prague Castle complex. Walk along the side of the church and monastery of St. George with the red facade to reach it. There were some signs pointing towards the street.
  • Take your time walking around the lane and looking at the room displays closely. The shops are also wonderful for browsing. You’ll never know what interesting things you’ll find.

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36 thoughts on “Strolling Down the Golden Lane in Prague”

  1. I really enjoyed the Golden Lane and you’ve given us a lovely tour. The only thing I would have done differently is I would have gone their early in the morning. The crowds can be a bit daunting!

  2. Hi Mary, I was really hoping that you would have a post on Golden Lane. When I visited te lane during my first visit to Prague, it was way too crowded that I didn’t get to see all the houses. I was excited to visit it when I returned to Prague with Keith but, alas, it was closed for renovation. So I’m very thrilled to virtually visit it through your lovely post and got to see some of the houses that I missed. So great for kids to experience such place that they feel is built for their size!

  3. I’m afraid that we did miss going inside the Golden Lane when we visited the castle. I think it was getting late and it was closed. Seeing torture chamber artifacts always gives me a chill. I saw very similar things up close in Italy this summer.

  4. Madame de Thebes sure had the last laugh.
    I love the way these places have been preserved. That torture chamber is a jarring reminder of Prague’s past.
    Thanks for the tour, Mary!

  5. I am all about storybook villages my friend. I really enjoyed my walk down Golden Land and my journey through history too! What a great way to combine education and fun into one! Wonderful pictures too!!

  6. Looks like a great side trip to take in Prague. I looked at the seamstress room where the bed is right beside the sewing machine. Nothing like having your work staring at you. When I FINALLY make it to Prague I’d love to spend a few hours following in your footsteps.

  7. Prague is a very colorful and pretty city. Thank you for sharing so much history and sharing the everyday way of life in pictures. I am cringing at that torture chamber too. I may never get to visit there so thank you for allowing me to travel with you and learn about this city and some of its history.

  8. I love going into ‘as they were’ museums and seeing how people used to live many MANY years before I was born, it makes we appreciate what I have now and how – in some cases – life was very very much harder from day-to-day than it is now.

  9. This is one my favorite of your most recent posts, Mary! The header pic with your daughter inviting us all to come along and follow the tale you had to tell captivated me. Loved it! I was mesmerized by the torture chamber. Even after I post this I’m going to back and look at those pics a fourth time! Great post!! :)

    1. Michele, I read somewhere that he was inspired to write The Castle here while living here but I’m not sure if he wrote part of it there. They did such a great job making the houses living museums.

  10. Thanks Maria! This was a very touristy spot so it doesn’t have the same feel of a concentration camp or other sacred places. I think the open street concept also helped because people were wandering everywhere. i think the closest eerie feeling I felt was at the torture instruments museum.

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