King Wenceslas and His Vineyard

Roses in King Wenceslas' vineyard © A. Harrison

Good King Wenceslas looked out

On the feast of Stevan

I knew very little of the good king, other than this carol sung at Christmas. I tended to think him a myth, until I came across his vineyard in Prague.

The Good King's vineyard © A. Harrison

King Wenceslas heralds from Bohemia — a name full of romance. Shortly after his death in the 10th C, Wenceslas was hailed as a saint by the people of Bohemia. Although during his lifetime his title was merely Duke Wenceslas of Bohemia, Wenceslas was posthumously given the title of king by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I.

From the walls of Prague Castle I looked over the city as the morning sun tried to bring some warmth to the spring air. To one side an artist had set up her easel, oblivious to onlookers as she painted the scene before her. A local walked past with an enormous fluffy dog which simply begged for a cuddle.

View from the castle over Prague © A. Harrison

I loved walking through the precinct surrounding Prague Castle. Wishing to be nearer the court, many nobles had their own palaces built here, which now house galleries and museums — and numerous cafes. Here I found the Schwarzenberg Palace Museum with its sour-faced guards and a wealth of European art. (A hint: should you find yourself in Prague, the museum was virtually empty when I visited late in the day, and has works to rival the more famous museums of Florence and Paris.) Nearby is the Strahov Monastery with its libraries and cabinets of 'curiosities'.

Details of the vineyard © A. Harrison

After a fortifying coffee, I set off down the hill from the castle towards the old town. My path led past some grapevines, part of a vineyard said to have been planted by Wenceslas in the 10th C, thus making it the oldest vineyard in Bohemia. I like to think of him ploughing the fields on a sunny day, though perhaps not as formally attired as he is so often seen in paintings. There is also a restaurant where the wines are sold, along with, apparently, delicious meals. I was strong and walked by, but simply finding this piece of land cultivated by the patron saint of the Czech republic was intoxicating enough.

A good king indeed.

A grapevine in bud © A. Harrison.

A Literary Traveller

Like much of Kafka's writings, The Castle can prove an acquired taste, but Prague is the perfect place to tackle both Kafka and his works. Prague is Kafka's city, and a museum dedicated to him is in the Malá Strana, or the Little Quarter.

The novel's protagonist is known only as K; he arrives in a village, and the novel is spent as he tries to gain access to the castle from which the place is governed. It is a surrealistic work, emphasised by the fact Kafka died of TB before finishing it.The people of the castle live in a remote world of 'perfect' bureaucracy; they govern the town below, yet do not physically interact with the townsfolk. K enters a world of unknown rules and laws, of solitude and alienation and unexpected companionship. Like his earlier works, the Castle explores our alienation from an omnipotent yet unseen authority, which is forever protected by a bureaucracy which runs to its own convoluted, illogical and ultimately unknowable rules.

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