"Like the city on the Vltava River, this book also will be dominated by the Hradčany Hill, an acropolis commanding the Prague basin. In the contrast to the Baroque Lesser Town that is rhythmically divided by oases of greenery, on the Hrad.any Hill the Gothic style of St. Vitus Cathedral is triumphant, with its buttresses, flamboyant tracery in pointed arches and mocking grimaces of gargoyles." Angelo Maria Ripellino, an Italian Slavicist, translator and expert on Czech literature and history, wrote these words in his book The Magic Prague. If Prague is described as magic and enchanting, then this special charm is further magnified at Hradčany, a "town above the town". The Prague Castle is in an exceptional position not only as a dominant feature of the Czech metropolis, but also because the panorama it creates belongs to the most beautiful in the world. Moreover, it works as a magnet: approximately five million people climb up the Hradčany Hill every year. It is no wonder that Ripellino felt inspired to speak in such a high-flown poetic tone. For more than a thousand years, Hrad.any has been regarded as the center of Prague and the heart of the entire country and as a seat of kings and presidents.
