A No.7 tram took me to the fortress of Vyšehrad, high over the Vlatava about 3km south of the centre of Prague. The main attraction for me was the Vyšehrad Cemetery [Vyšehradský hřbitov], which is reserved for artists and intellectuals. I found Smetana in a clean, bold tomb, out in the open near the Slavín monument, the communal resting place for more than 50 Czech artists including Alfons Mucha. Dvořák is under one of the arches that frame the cemetery, in a sort of black art nouveau affair designed by Ladislav Šaloun. Much black everythere in Czech cemeteries, in contrast to the white and lighter greys of Austria.
One feature of Vyšehrad is the view it gives of the city and the Hrad over the river from the fortifications, but the weather was really grey and I only took a couple of shots for the record before heading off on foot to find the Suk memorial plaque in Trojacká, a street a couple of hundred yards north along the river bank. I walked the length of the run-down street without finding it, then saw it high on a dirty building where I'd started. Josef Suk deserves better. A couple of pics in the gloom, trying not to get run over. |
