Good King Wenceslaus – Greg and Mandy's Travels

Did you know that Good King Wenceslaus was a real person, and not just a mythical person in a Christmas Carol? Well, if you knew that, then probably everything else you thought you knew about him is wrong. Firstly, just to confuse you, he wasn’t actually a King but only a Duke, and as Phillip of Greece will undoubtedly tell you if he wasn’t calling you names, there is a huge difference.

And I bet you thought that ‘Good King Wenceslaus’ was a Christmas carol, but actually it’s a Saint Stephen’s Day Carol, published by John Mason Neale in 1853, some 950 years after Wenceslaus became the Duke of Bohemia, which today is largely the same as the Czech Republic.

Being good and pious didn’t a long life guarantee, and in September 935 after about 9 years of sitting on whatever Dukes sit on, his brother stuck a sabre through him, and assumed the Dukedom. Outraged, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I posthumously conferred on Wenceslaus the title of King and Saint, because that’s what Popes do for their friends, and that is why he is referred to as a king in the song. Of course myths and legends about his generosity and piousness grew up and flourished, and over 500 years after his death Pope Pius II asserted these legends as truth, which is what Popes do, and that led to the carol.

After they split from Slovakia, the carol was proposed for the Czech Republic’s new national anthem, but they settled for making him their patron saint instead. So you actually find his remains buried inside St Vitus Cathedral within the Prague Castle grounds, which we visited on our Prague tour today. Prague Castle is actually the largest castle in the world occupying an area of almost 70,000 square metres, though as our guide was quick to agree, it’s more like a fortress than a castle. The castle is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic, and was also a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia.

Our tour took us through the Old Town, the New Town (founded in 1378 so its not that new), the Jewish Quarter, a walk over Charles Bridge, then a ride down the Vltava River on a boat under the Charles Bridge, some lunch in a cafe in the Little Quarter, and finally on a tram ride up the hill to the castle. Our Urban Adventures guide was great, and 6 hours and a couple of unscheduled stops later we had got around a huge chunk of the city.

Back in the late afternoon to air the room and get rid of the wet laundry smell, and a quiet evening at home resting in the heat. Heat waves are so unusual here that almost no houses and hotel rooms have air conditioners so we headed to a mall for tea.