Geocaching

[EN] Your steps shall follow the route taken for the coronation and funereal processions of the Czech kings of the 16th to 18th centuries. The so called Royal Road connects the King's Court to the Prague Castle. The King's Court, where the Municipal House stands today, was the original seat of the Czech kings from 14th to the end of 15th century. This road traverses Prague's four original towns: New Town (Nove Mesto), Old Town (Stare Mesto), Lesser Town (Mala Strana) and Hradcany. Along this route, the city welcomed royalty to its most impressive buildings.

The first royal procession to travel this road was that of Emperor Maximilian in 1562. The most spectacular processions were those of Maria Theresa in 1743, Leopold II in 1791, and Ferdinand V in 1836.

Get off the subway at Namesti Republiky (yellow B line). Start your tour at

STAGE 1 (START) The Powder Tower (N50 05.232 E014 25.672)

STAGE 2 The House of The Black Madonna (N50 05.228 E014 25.538)

This pearl of cubist architecture was built in 1912 as a department store. Its architect, Josef Gocar, used the progressive steel frame and took inspiration from the Samaritaine Shopping Centre in Paris. Nowadays the building is a part of the National Gallery hosting the Museum of the Czech Cubism. Look at the golden cage at the house corner. You should see [D] crowned head(s) there.

If you have time enough then get a cup of coffee and enjoy the atmosphere of the stylish Grand Cafe Orient located in the first floor.

Refreshed? Let's walk further along the Celetna Street. It is one of the oldest streets in Prague receiving its name after "tsalts", ie. kind of rolls produced by the local bakermen. Actually, since middle ages the street has been more important for its mint and many goldsmiths' as they stood in the way where gold and especially silver entered the city. Pass by a collection of Baroque palaces, Romanesque and Gothic houses and you will get soon to the...

STAGE 3 Old Town Square (N50 05.218 E14 25.245)

Too crowded? Well, no wonder. This is the centerplace of the Czech history. The Old Town Hall on the west side was built in 1338 as a visible symbol of the town's autonomy after King John of Luxembourg accorded the citizens of Prague the privilege of having their own district council. Drop your eyes to the sidewalk at N50 05.232 E14 25.250. You can see 27 crosses commemorating 27 representatives of the anti-Habsburg insurrection executed at this place in 1621. The balcony of the nearby Golz-Kinsky palace witnessed Klement Gottwald, the communist leader, announcing a successful coup in the former Czechoslovakia in 1948.

Now, back to our business. If your GPS shows 0m distance to the coordinates of the stage then you should stay between the crowd and the foot of the famous Prague's astronomical clock. All the muggles there expect the march of 12 apostels who show up in the upper windows of the clock about one minute before the bell chimes annouce every whole hour. Shorten your waiting time by finding the rusty iron sign located about at the height of your eyes. Read the exact height above the sea level. The first number is [N].

STAGE 4 The Little Square (N50 05.196 E14 25.172)

After the king's procession left the former market place it passed by a public fountain at the Little Square. Notice the [I] lions caged INSIDE the Renaissance iron gating dating back to 1560.

Now it is the time to get accross the river. First, pass the narrow streets with pitoresque shops. (Sorry for the russian matryoshkas and fur-caps. The king would have most likely ordered a public denouncement or even an execution of those sellers.) It is better paying attention to the Baroque Clam-Gallas Palace, or to the House at the Golden Straw and House at the Red Snake stemming from 12th century. You will soon get to first of the three Bridge Towers guarding both sides of the Charles Bridge. If you wished to see from where the most notoriously known pictures of the Charles Birdge with the panorama of Hradcany are taken then check the cache at the viewpoint of Prague Tribute (GCVNTM).

STAGE 5 Charles Bridge (N50 05.196 E14 24.652 )

The 516 meters meters long Charles Bridge was constructed in 1357-1400 on the debris of its predecesor - Judita's Bridge. It is one of the oldest stone bridges in Europe. The structure was absolutely crucial for business of the Middle Age. It attracted files of merchants having only a little alternative choices of how to cross the river.

Asking you to count the 30 Baroque statues staying on the edges of the bridges would be to easy. Instead, find the spot from where St John Nepomuk was thrown to the waters of Vltava. This priest got drawned allegedly because he didn't want to reveal queen's confessional secret to the king. After John Nepomuk left this world several stars appeared above the place. The exact spot has been marked by a horizontal bronze plaque on the stone railing.

You would need at least [A] rods to construct a frame of this sign. Touch it with your open hand and your secret wishes shall come true Enjoy the unique atmosphere of the bridge with its artists and musicians of all kinds. Soon you will skirt the opposite two bridge towers and reach the...

STAGE 6 St. Nicholas's Cathedral (N50 05.292 E14 24.150 )

The cornerstone of the fane was laid down in 1673. Many architects of the Baroque era including Orsi, Dientzenhofer, or Lurago left their signatures on the structure.

The given coordinates should lead you to the Plague Column of the Holy Trinity. It was a symbol of gratitude for the end of the Black Plague. It also became a memorial dedicated to those who died in the famine of 1722. Take look at the upper statues column. Do you remember that nobody except Moses has ever seen the God's face alive? Well, here you have an opportunity to see at least the image of His face. Below God-father and Jesus you can meet with Virgin Mary. Count the stars on her golden glory and subtract 3 to get [G].

STAGE 7 Nerudova Street (N50 05.318 E14 23.803)

Continue uphill along the Nerudova street. Notice the signs above the doors of almost every house there. They served instead of addresses. If you told e.g. "House at the two suns, Prague" to the messenger then he would deliver your writing correctly to Nerudova No. 47.

Now you reached the end of the street. There is a statue of a priest with two angels at his feet at the given coordinates. Does the angel at his right foot (i.e. on the left from your point of view) want you to drop a prayer ([O]=1), to stay quiet ([O]=4), or to come closer ([O]=8)?

You have many ways of where to go next. You will most likely opt for the shortcut directly to the Prague Castle in order to find the last clue.

STAGE 8 Prague Castle (N50 05.376 E14 23.892)

You stay at the main gate of the Prague Castle. The king's procession would continue further to the St. Vitus's Cathedral for coronation. You would need a lot of time to explore the entire castle. Instead, you'd better count all [R] golden crowns above the ENTIRE fencing you see from the coordinates.

Now you have all the clues needed to find the...

STAGE 9 (FINAL) The cache is a tiny box hidden at a dry place different from the wall. Find it at

In case the cache is inaccessible or missing then your log will be acknowledged also if you send your picture with your GPS taken from the location of the final to my mailbox (see hint). Don't attach such picture to your log! Bon voyage!

Hint: The sum of K+I+N+G+R+O+A+D is a prime number.

[CZ] Ja vim, ze Kralovskou cestu znate a vsechno o ni vite. Tato cache je urcena hlavne zvidavym cizicum, kteri se tu zastavi na dele nez jen par rychlych tradicionalek. A protoze tu trasu perfektne znate a indicie urcite vyguglite, muzete si prece dojit rovnou pro finalku, nebo ne? . Anebo se misto zoufaleho stourani v hlubinach netu pujdete radeji projit? Zkuste se na chvili stat cizincem a ve svem vlastnim meste

STAGE 1 (START) Indicii K hlida jeden ze dvou andelu na strope uvnitr brany. Hledej dvojici letopoctu ve formatu 1475-xKxx.

STAGE 2 Za zlatou mrizi je D korunovanych hlav.

STAGE 3 Prvni cislo na rezave zelezne cedulce ve vysce oci N.

STAGE 4 UVNITR renesancni klece je uvezneno I lvu.

STAGE 5 K sestaveni kostry znameni, jako je to bronzove na zabradli, je treba minimalne A tyci.

STAGE 6 Od poctu zlatych hvezdicek nad hlavou Panny Marie odectete 3 a ziskate G.

STAGE 7 Andel po pravici kamenneho kneze chce, abyste se pomodlili (O=1), abyste byli zticha (O=4), nebo abyste pristoupili bliz (O=8)?

STAGE 8 Na CELEM plote je celkem R zlatych korun.

STAGE 9 (FINAL) Mrnavou kesku, na kterou neprsi, najdete na

Pokud by nahodou byla finalka nepristupna nebo ztracena, poslete mi na mail v napovede vasi fotku s GPS a skrysi. V zadnem pripade takovou fotku neprikladejte k logu! Bon voyage!

Napoveda: Soucet K+I+N+G+R+O+A+D je prvocislo.

Caches on the route: Domovni znameni / The House Signs of The Old Prague (GC1CEB8), Prague, Stare Mesto (GC6F37), Jewish Cache (GCV17D), Vltava - MyCountry (GC11C9N), Prague Tribute (GCVNTM), Cache my Czech (Prague), Bambino di Praga (GCXABC), Fane - Prague Castle (GCRRD1), Plynove lampy - Gaslamps (GCWWE1), ... and maybe many others

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