The reign of Rudolph II, patron of esoteric knowledge

When Rudolf II moved his court to Prague in 1583, the city became an academy of the occult.
Angelo Ripellino, Magic Prague

Rudolph was a strange and melancholic ruler, but he had an open and intelligent mind and a fascination for esoterica and hidden knowledge. He filled the Castle with huge numbers of alchemists, astrologers, astronomers, makers of automata, painters, sculptors, botanists and other makers of marvels and mysteries. He also built up an astonishing collection of everything rare and strange - from art, artifacts and occult objects to exotic animals and plants. Most of this collection was lost, stolen or sold over the years, but rumour has it that a few pieces continue to surface in Prague from time to time.

In those days the Danish-born Tycho Brahe was one of the most famous of the astronomer/ astrologists working for Rudolph (there was of course much less distinction between the two studies in those days). He was known for his prosthetic nose, the original having been cut off in a duel, which was made of gold and silver and stuck on with a special glue. It was Brahe who told Rudolph that his fate was tied to that of the African lion Oskar, kept at Prague Castle. In fact, Rudolph did indeed die only a few days after the lion, so Brahe's warning seems to have been true. Images of lions still occur all over Prague, in all styles and all colours. In part, they are depictions of the Lion of Bohemia, the regional symbol of identity, but many of them are much more explicitly mystical beasts, often symbolically connected with alchemy, and hence with Rudolph himself.

 

 

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Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, but is it the capital, in addition, of something purely abstract, a quality of mind perhaps--something that might fascinate a puzzled world? Every great city is constructed around a principle all its own… In Prague, the principle appears to be metaphysical…Are we to conclude that it is a city of mysteries that will never be fathomed--of mysticism and the occult?
Paul Berman Slate. June 1997

 

Prague has long had the reputation not only as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but also as one of the most mystical and atmospheric. There is nowhere quite like this capital of Bohemia with its chaotic and rich mix of symbolism and imagery. Even from the time of its mythical foundation by Libuse, a Celtic queen who was also a magician and oracle, it has been associated with enchantment.

Of course, it’s true that to see Prague only as a mystic city is to caricature it. But, while nowadays it is a modern, growing hub of Central Europe and more obviously full of Mercedes than magicians, it is, undeniably, still a place that often seems to be saturated in a distinctly strange atmosphere with a vague and attractive sense of otherworldliness.

Where else, after all, can you sit in a pretty café courtyard, only to look up and see looming over you the tower where, it is reputed, infamous alchemist Edward Kelley lived and practiced in the 16th century? Where else would your local greengrocer explain that the quaint old rococo house on the corner used to be inhabited (and only 50 years ago) by a wizard? Where but Prague can you meet a hip young fashion designer who will confidently and matter of factly show you exactly where in the city the Gate to Hell is? (Apparently gates to hell are becoming a rarity in Europe, but I’m afraid can’t direct you to our local one as I’m not sure I’d want to go near it, just in case…) Even the surrealist Andre Breton called Prague the magic capital of Europe. This reputation began centuries ago during the long reign of Rudolph II in the 16th century.>