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Golden Lane
Zlatá Ulicka
The Golden Lane is a small street at the Prague Castle complex with small colorful houses.
 At
the end of the Prague Castle complex, near the
outer wall, is a small street known as the Golden Lane (Zlatá Ulicka
in Czech). The small houses were originally constructed in the 16th century
for King Rudolph II's castle guards. At that time the lane was known as archery
lane. It was later renamed 'golden lane' for the goldsmiths who moved into the
houses in the 17th century. Legend wants one to believe alchemists attempted
to turn metal into gold here, but in fact the alchemists lived in another street
at the castle. So it was actually the goldsmiths who gave the street its captivating
name.
Restoration
The lane was originally lined with 24 wooden houses but one
side of the street was declared unfit for habitation and demolished in the 19th
century. Poor people  and
criminals now lived in the remaining houses, but they were evicted after the
second World War when the lane was nationalized. The houses were restored and
repainted with lively pastel colors between 1952 and 1955.
Kafka
The street is now largely occupied by souvenir and book shops.
Speaking of books, several famous writers used to live in the small houses.
The most famous of them is Franz Kafka who stayed here at his sister's house
between 1916 and 1917. A small plaque at nr. 22 testifies to this fact. Another
famous writer who lived here was Nobel prize winner Jaroslav Seifert who lived
in the 1930s in a now demolished building.
Entry Tickets
Unfortunately the Golden Lane cannot be visited for free, you
can either buy an entry ticket for the street or buy a combined ticket for the
whole Prague Castle complex.
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Quick Info
Location
Zlatá Ulicka
Subway
Malostranská (A), Hradcanská (A)
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