A Very Special Restaurant

By
Kavarna Slavia
Prague is known for it's many and varied restaurants and cafes, but the Karvarna Slavia is one of the most famous in the city. This karvarna, or cafe, open since 1884, is located in the perfect spot. It's right on the Vtlava River front with a beautiful view of the Prague Castle across the river. It's also across the street from the National Theatre.

Because of this ideal location, Karvina Slavia has a history of being visited by famous people. The theatregoers step across the street for pre- and post-show drinks. They can enjoy the view of the river traffic as they chat with their friends.

View across the river
Among these famous patrons, Vaclav Havel was often seen in the Slavia. Havel, a rebel playwright, would gather with his friends in this restaurant often in 1989. That was the tumultuous year when Communist ruled people in Eastern Europe held mass protests against the government. Havel was one of the leaders in Prague who organized the students in November, 1989, leading up to the Velvet Revolution, which freed Czechoslovakia from Communist rule.

It is said that Vaclav Havel met with the communist rulers in Karvarna Slavia to work out the agreement that turned the government over to the rule of the people. The government changed hands without a shot fired - so named the Velvet Revolution. In December, 1989, Havel was elected president of the newly formed government. So this restaurant is the site of the birth of the Velvet Revolution.

President Havel visited his favorite restaurant often even after he became president. In fact in 1997, he pulled strings to get it reopened after it was closed because of a business dispute. I'm sure the owner was thrilled that the president of the country was a frequent patron.

 In August, my husband took me to this historical restaurant. Just sitting in the 300-seat cafe was an experience in itself. The windows in the cafe advertise another fact that makes this eatery unique - it's air conditioned. Not many businesses in Prague can boast this fact, so Slavia is packed in the summer with people who are trying to escape the hot, humid weather.



The patrons of the restaurant enjoy a famous painting by Viktor Oliva called "Absinthe Drinker" which dominates the wall above the most-reserved tables in the cafe.

As we watched people come and go in Karvarna Slavia, we marvelled at the culture and history that took place where we sat. Add this location to your list of "to dos" when visiting Prague.

Information taken from Prague Visitor.eu - Cafe Slavia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Home Sweet Home" - Not American Version

By
Image
Older apartment buildings We've lived in St. Petersburg for close to two months and have yet to see "the American dream" - a single family house. Here, everyone lives in an apartment, located either in an old building in the historic city center or in a new high-rise farther out. The high-rise buildings are everywhere you look--in the center of everything, or at the edge of one of the many rivers. We keep hearing about the communist era cement buildings, but we haven't seen many that look too old and dilapidated. They are probably replaced by the new high-rises built since freedom came in the 1990s. We live in one of these new high-rise complexes. Our third-floor apartment is in a 21 story building in a complex of five other buildings (called korpus in Russia). We live in Korpus 3. This complex includes several modern, colorful play areas for the children. It also includes an underground parking garage for the many cars that people own. In fact, the pl
Read more

The Golden Domes of Riga

By
Image
Orthodox Cathedral - Riga  The golden domes of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral stand out above the trees near Old Town Riga. We walk past this large building in the park not far from our apartment.  The domes shine out to the citizens on sunny days. Surrounded by the trees in the park, the walls of the cathedral are not easy to see in summer, but the size is undeniable. Of course, the golden domes tell everyone that this is a Russian Orthodox Church. After living in St. Petersburg, that is easy for us to define with the Russian style architecture. This cathedral was built between 1876 and 1883 when Latvia was a part of the Russian Empire under the reign of Tsar Alexander II.  Main Door This is the largest Orthodox Church in the entire Baltic area. A massive tower rises toward the sky when a visitor approaches the front door.  Entryway painting I visited several orthodox churches during my years in Europe. The thing that they have in common is that the interiors are covered with images
Read more

Why Roosters?

By
Image
Rooster on top of Dom Cathedral  Last week I wrote about cats being on the roof of a building, but today I'm going to share the reason that we have roosters sitting on the tip of churches in Riga. When we first moved to Riga, we noticed that some churches have the usual crosses on the top of them, but others have roosters sitting on top of the steeple. I couldn't recall ever seeing a rooster on top of a steeple. On doing more research, I was wrong to think that other countries don't have these on steeples. I found out that's it's common in European countries to see roosters on top of Lutheran churches. Our Lady of Sorrows Church The more common cross on the top of a steeple is found on Catholic churches in Europe. We have a couple of them in Old Town Riga as well. And, some Catholic churches in Europe have roosters sitting on top of crosses. So, the question popping into my head is why a rooster? After looking at several sources, it seems like ther
Read more