Prague, Dresden & Berlin
30 August - 15 September 2013
Tour Highlights
Join Kenneth W Park and Dr Iva Rosario on an unforgettable tour of lovely small towns in Bohemia, and of two great Central European cities and one fascinating Northern metropolis. The tour examines the physical and cultural development of Prague, Dresden and Berlin. Each city has a particular history of conflict and revival, which we shall explore by visiting diverse urban spaces, monuments and cultural institutions like museums. The tour's special characteristics are:
- • Extended stays in these three cities so that you may achieve a full understanding of their development and present character
- • One day excursion and 2 days' touring to some of the most beautiful, untouched historic cities of Bohemia: Cesky Krumlov, Tabor & Kutna Hora
- • Two concerts (1 in Prague & 1 in Berlin)
- • A comprehensive program of visits to major art collections, museums, palaces and castles
- • An extraordinary feast of architecture from every century since 1000AD, from Romanesque churches, through Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo Classical and Early Modern masterpieces to buildings by many of the world's leading contemporary architects
- • An opportunity to understand the emergence since 1989 of transformed national identities in the free, democratic Czech Republic and new, united Germany, and the cultural consequences of this transformation.
17 DAYS Prague (6 nights) • Cesky Krumlov (2 nights) • Dresden (2 nights) • Berlin (6 nights)
SITES INCLUDE Prague (Old Town, New Town, Charles Bridge, Castle District, Municipal House) • Kutna Kora • Tabor • Cesky Krumlov (castle, theatre & gardens) • Dresden (Gallery of Old Masters & Green Volt) • Berlin (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Bundestag, Unter den Linden, Sanssouci, Gemäldegalerie in the Kulturforum, Jewish Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, Alte Nationalgalerie, Pergamon, Potsdamer Platz)
About The Tour
This program investigates the cultural ambience of each city, as expressed in its art, architecture and cultural life. We shall compare the three cities through the lens of their diverse histories, and shall also contrast these metropoli to smaller, more intimate, and very beautiful Bohemian towns. Each city has its own distinctive plan and mix of architectural styles that have been determined by its history. These histories have created stark contrasts. Whereas Prague escaped despoliation, Dresden was nearly destroyed, and Berlin riven into two cities. Prague, in the rhythms of its urban spaces and the mix of its architectural forms, reflects a wonderfully intricate but cohesive structure, in part determined by the uniform scale of its diverse buildings. The four original towns which make up the city boast masterpieces of the Romanesque, Bohemian Gothic, Renaissance and the Baroque, wedded in an inimitable architectural symphony. Despite years of Communism, Prague is one of the most intact historic cities in the world having managed to preserve its urban cohesion and architectural beauty despite the upheavals of the Hussite revolution, the Thirty Years War and Communist era, which gave successive power-groups the chance to rebuild precincts in diverse styles.
Dresden’s early reputation as an architectural paradigm of magnificent Central European Baroque, Neo Classicism and Romanticism was substantially destroyed during the World War II. A massive restoration program has now reinstated the city to its rightful position as a resplendent jewel of architecture and urban design. Berlin, meanwhile, is undergoing a renewal in art & architecture, planning & performance, music & the myriad aspects of modern urban life that makes it one of the most exciting and fascinating cities in Europe. The reunification of the city has unleashed a vibrant and creative wave of energy that is transforming its great monuments, extensive art collections, and cultural life. It has become a showpiece of the very latest architecture, counterpart to the lovely monuments of its 18th century rulers, and a symbol of German identity in the 21st century.
Within the broad framework of comparing these diverse urban histories we shall also explore topics such as the courtly culture and conspicuous consumption of the Bohemian, Habsburg, Saxon and Prussian dynasts. We shall explore the magnificent collections they accrued, now housed in some of Europe’s finest galleries. We shall also look at the diverse ways in which different peoples construed the symbolic meaning of place; Hussite Tabor, for example, was named for the Mount upon which the Transfiguration took place; its population was creating a mystical landscape. Prague’s Coronation Route and Berlin’s Unter den Linden, on the other hand, were designed both to rationalise urban space and symbolise the secular power of rulers. You will explore the development of palace complexes and merchant districts, market places and aristocratic precincts, great parks and crowded historic centres. Above all, this tour will enrich your view of world history, seen from the perspective of Central Europe; we so often see this history only from the perspective of Western Europe and the British Isles.
