The Prague Castle and Its Treasures

From a window in the Prague Castle, Hitler looked down on an occupied city in 1939. Fifty years later, Vaclav Havel took the oath of office in the castle, the Czech president's official residence. Begun in the ninth century, the magnificent Prague Castle has been home to saints, iconoclasts and Bohemia's monarchs; the site of confrontations between Christians and pagans; and an emblem of political independence. Czech martyr Prince Wenceslas built St. Vitus's Church on its grounds around 926. This ravishing album combines 250 color photographs and engaging essays by art historians. Because the Prague Castle complex includes the National Gallery, the Royal Palace and noted churches-all documented in text and pictures-the book provides a unique window on Czech and European art and history, evoking the interplay among architecture, painting and sculpture. (Nov.)