Until recently, it was almost impossible to walk through the center of Prague – for example, along the royal road – without sighing. In addition to the crowds of tourists, a lot of visual smog, which abounds in the historic center of Prague, obstructs our pleasant view. Although the coronavirus epidemic has temporarily almost depopulated the center of Prague, the number of tourists has returned the city to thirty years ago. However, Prague was completely different in many ways back then, and looking at the pictures offers an interesting comparison of how our capital has changed over the past thirty years.
Some places, as you can see, have not changed much. Jindřišská Street connecting Wenceslas Square and Senovážné Square still looks very similar, even though there are now different tram numbers. You may only find Charles Bridge full of locals very early in the morning, when the tourists are still sleeping. Seeing children playing in Rytířská street is almost a utopian idea, even though it was not so long ago when people also lived in the center.
The Old Synagogue, on the other hand, looks much better – it still has an old, unworthy facade in the picture, and if we take a look inside, we will also notice the neglected interior. Fortunately, there are no more signs like “With the Soviet Union forever” on Wenceslas Square, and the National Museum has finally been decently repaired. If it weren’t for the highway, maybe you would like to go for a walk around it.
The pictures by an unknown author that you can find in the gallery are probably from the mid-1980s, based on the condition of the buildings and the clothes of the people.
