Now that is one strange looking creature---would probably be a very uncomfortable ride. I love how you find a foto, and go off on wonderful journey of remembrances and good times. Pavl seem to be in a lots of these jaunts--he is definitely someone I'd love to have a beer with. Hanka sound like a lot of fun as well--throw in a few of those Aussies, and I can only imagine the way it would go!!

I like this horse very much. The bust is only interesting in its proximity to the horse, but in that, it is interesting enough. Beautiful street with the many colored buildings. I like the blue and green one on the far right. Very entertaining read, as I have come to expect. Excellent narrative and image.

fine image. looking at it i thought the artist must have had an identity crisis or he could not decide weather to be a sculptor, a table designer or specialise in portraits. there are also some technical influences to be seen. or maybe it is more simple and did he find the same watering hole you found.

A very strange and rather cold statue that goes well with the warmth of your good times with Pavl. CC

This statue just need a couple of matching bar-stools with rungs to access them..I should be very keen to make use of the table for dejeuner en plein air. I so enjoyed joining you on your ramblings, and am extremely relieved that you failed in your attempt to get a beer gut!

It is a very excellent capture of this STRANGE statue, but I am not sure I like it, LOL !

The present-day district of Žižkov was originally part of the sparsely populated countryside outside of Prague. Change came through the decision of Emperor Charles IV in 1358 to establish vineyards around Prague within a radius of about three miles. Residents of the hor viničních (“vineyard hills”) were given special rights, which were confirmed by other sovereigns, such as exemption from taxes.[1] A village named Hory Viničné, whose economy was centered on vineyards on the slopes of Vitkov Hill, was first mentioned in 1788. Other vineyard settlements, such as Hrabovka, Ohrada, Parukářka, and Pražačka, would disappear in the course of the 19th century, but they are remembered in local names. According to a census in 1837, the district (including present-day Žižkov and Vinohrady) had a total of 66 houses and estates with 169 inhabitants and 216 head of livestock.[1] In 1679 and 1680, and again between 1713 and 1716, major plague epidemics broke out in Prague. So many citizens of Prague were killed, that in 1680 new cemeteries needed to be established outside the city walls. The city authorities specified that these cemeteries be able to accommodate one thousand burials. Cemeteries were founded by the town councils of the Old Town, New Town, and Jewish Quarter near the village of Olšany (or Volšan), in present-day Žižkov. The Old Town cemetery eventually became the heart of today's Olšany Cemetery. The Old Jewish Cemetery of Žižkov still exists, as a part of the Mahler Gardens (Czech: Mahlerovy sady) adjacent to the Žižkov Television Tower.[2] The New Town cemetery, to the east of the Žižkov Jewish Cemetery, is no longer extant. Originally measuring about 50 by 100 m, this cemetery became the official cemetery of Prague's New Town in 1713.[2] During the French occupation of Prague in 1741 and 1742, approximately 6000 to 7000 bodies of French soldiers were buried there in shaft graves.[3] In 1771, a large influenza epidemic, enhanced by famine, led to over 2000 people being buried in the cemetery that year. In 1839 the cemetery, already having a high concentration of burials in a small area (over 8,000), was closed. When Tchaikovsky Street was built in 1957, a large number of skeletal remains from the former cemetery were found.[2] In June 1849 the whole area received the name Vinohrady. In 1867, Emperor Franz Joseph I renamed it Královská Vinohradská (Czech for Royal Vineyards, Königlich Weinberg in German). After the middle of the 19th century, Prague went through tremendous growth. Construction near Prague’s city walls, however, was discouraged by the military administration, which enforced the demolition of buildings close to the fortifications because they threatened to allow a breach of the walls in the event of war. After Austria’s defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prague was declared an open city and, after lengthy negotiations, the municipality of Prague began with the cutting of the walls in 1874. The area near Vitkov received the majority of the railways, allowing the smooth connection of Prague and Žižkov.[1] Žižkov, drawing on the advantage of its proximity to Prague, experienced extensive development. Earlier, as indicated by census figures, population growth in present-day Žižkov was slow and steady in the mid-1800s: 83 residents in 1843, 197 in 1850, 268 in 1857, and 292 in 1869. After 1865, however, development began in the space between Vitkov hill and Holy Cross (Sv. Kříže) hill and the population increased rapidly. By the 1880s, Žižkov had become a large town with 21,212 inhabitants. Another population census in 1890 counted 42,000 people in more than 750 houses! On 16 July 1875 the Regional Committee, despite the opposition of the municipal council, divided Královské Vinohrady into two parts: Vinohrady I and Vinohrady II. The name Žižkov was officially accepted for Vinohrady I in August 1877, instead of the name Rudolfov in honor of the Austrian crown prince. Vinohrady II became Královské Vinohrady that same year. The first mayor of Žižkov was Charles Hartig, who is credited with the naming of streets, squares and houses after famous Czechs from Jan Hus to Komensky. On 15 May 1881, Emperor Franz Josef I promoted Žižkov to the status of a city. By 1920 almost the whole district was developed; only the Ohrada area was newly built at that time. Žižkov also became one of the first neighborhoods outside of the historic city center to be connected to the tram system. The independent city of Žižkov was eventually incorporated into Prague in January 1922. Although 19th-century Žižkov is regarded as a proletarian neighborhood, there was also industry there. The largest factory, producing matches, was founded by French entrepreneurs Sellier and Bellot at Parukářce at the time of the emergence of the city. At the beginning of the First Republic, there were smaller factories - Papírografie on Vápence, the Strejc and Nosek precision machine plants, and a number of workshops on Kněžských lukách. Small business were often hidden in the courtyards of the residential buildings. In the early 20th century, Žižkov developed into the "Bohemian" part of Prague, with many artists living or performing there. Writers Jaroslav Hašek (1883 – 1923) and Franta Sauer (1882 – 1947) wrote many of their works in Žižkov. In the 1980s, the cornerstone of a monument to Hašek was ceremonially laid on Olšanského Square, though the monument itself was eventually built on Prokopová Square. Also, poet Jaroslav Seifert (1901 – 1986), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1984, was born and spent most of his life in Žižkov. At the end of World War I, the circle of the Bohemian writers originated the concept of the Žižkov Free Republic resistance movement. This concept was remembered by the mayor of Prague 3, Milan Český, on 25 July 2001 when the Ambassador of the European Union in the Czech Republic, Ramiro Cibrian, officially visited the city. In the spirit of the resistance, Cibrian symbolically invited Žižkov into the EU.[4] During the second world war Žižkov was an area of considerable activity on the part of the Czech resistance movement. This was emphasised when the Reinhard Heydrich assassination parachutists were looked after by families within the area. In particular, to this day plaques can be seen to the Moravec family on Biskupcova 7 and Jan Zelinky (almost opposite) on Biskupcova 4. In the 1970s, the communist city government of Prague developed plans to completely rebuild the district. The narrow streets were to be widened and the old tenements replaced by precast-concrete apartment blocks. These plans, however, were repeatedly postponed and eventually discarded after the overthrow of communism in 1989. After the Velvet Revolution, often in connection with the restitution of houses, reconstruction and rehabilitation began in Žižkov. While many houses have since been renovated, the look of the neighborhood has not changed much. your shot : Monument to Jarosav Hašek by Karel Nepraš and Karolína Neprašová on Prokopová Square I don't know that beer can't make biggest !!!(smiles)

i like it.

Lovely capture and unique as Claude say ;-)

Outstanding capture.

a very interesting statue!!!

So THAT's what the ReMade look like! I love this statue. I would still be standing there staring, taking a million photos. What a great concept! Thanks for sharing this with us. LOVE it!

Fantastic find and as always, your narrative is captivating!

most incredible equine statue ever seen. wish I can see this story and the image in your book of rambles someday, Chip!

WOW interesting shot and the background about it too. Awesome.

Take this for true from a guy with a few more years...don't worry, the slim physique will one day yield to that beer gut you and Pavl were hoping for. I'm trying to reverse the project...got a ways to go still:) Really quirky but cool photo and always enjoy your rambles wherever and with whomever...:)))

That is certainly a very interesting statue.. lol. The artist must have known about the place to drink some beer first, as well ;)

I raise a glass of wonderful Czech beer to a unique and beautiful work of art, and a great photograph...