The Speculum Alchemiae. Dating back to 900 a.d., this house is one of the oldest in Prague (second oldest if you want to be precise). But it wasn't until 2002 that its true history was discovered, quite by accident.
That year, the city of Prague flooded. And by flooded, I mean it was FLOODED. The metro system was completely underwater and over $300 million dollars worth of damage was done to historical sites. In the case of this particular house, it also caused the tunnel that runs underneath the building to collapse and reveal the secrets that it had been keeping since time untold.
The house is located smack dab on the Gran Via - an ancient trade route that ran 1000's of Kilometers from Spain to the Far East. The house was probably an herbal pharmacy in the 15th century and was a place where tradesman bought and sold elixirs and potions. Sometime in the 16th century, it is believed that Emporer Rudolf II established an alchemic laboratory underneath the pharmacy and invited famous alchemists to come and practice here. Which was a no-no in the Catholic Church. But because the house was located in the Jewish quarter, it is believed that it stayed under the radar and thus kept itself from the scrutiny of the church and a sure fate of being closed for good.
There are a lot of legend that come with this house but to hear them all you will just have to come to Prague and take a tour. We have an extra bedroom for you to stay. And we even have a tunnel under our back yard (still buried thankfully) that would connect you directly with the museum. Yep, our house sits on the Gran Via also. Fantastic, huh?
I give you a phtographic tour of the Alchemiae museum...
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| An encrypted text of potions and elixirs. Perhaps the secret to everlasting life is in these pages... |
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| The secret staircase is behind the bookcase... |
