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Министерство образования Российской Федерации
Муниципальное автономное общеобразовательное учреждение
Гимназия №21 с углубленным изучением иностранных языков
РЕФЕРАТ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ НА ТЕМУ:
«Mythical Prague»
Выполнил: ученик 8 «Б» класса
Иван Кичеров
Проверил: учитель английского языка
Емельянова Мария Валерьевна
Тюмень 2019
INTRODUCTION: 3
WHITE LADY 4
CHARLES BRIDGE 5
ONE-ARMED THIEF 6
THE FAUST HOUSE 7
THE GOLEM OF PRAGUE 8
IRON MAN 9
CONCLUSION : 11
REFERENCES : 12
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Introduction:
What attracts Prague a large number of tourists? its architecture is no different from the
architecture of other European cities, there is no sea, no beach holiday, no Eastern exotics, but
being in Prague at any time of the year you will always see a huge number of people of different
nationalities. What draws them here? It may be the case in mystic? Let's try to understand.
This report is devoted to the topic “Mythical Prague”. Each country has its own mystical
stories. Prague is no exception. The aim of the report is to learn some Prague mystical stories of
the 14th-16th centuries.
The interest of this topic is aroused by the difference of it’s mythical stories, their
extraordinary.
The aim of the report is to analyze the most famous Prague mythical stories, to find them in
common and to get acquainted with the culture of the Czech Republic
The objectives of the report are:
To know about mythical stories about supernatural
Identify, what these stories have in common
To find out what is different about these stories
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White lady
Legend has it that White lady appears in the castles of Český Krumlov. Her smile and white
gloves mean that there will be happiness in the house, but if she is wearing black gloves and
veils, something terrible is approaching. Bílá paní has always loved the children of her relatives
and protected them from all evil. When the tired maids went to bed, she took the babies in her
arms, played with them and lulled them. The maids who knew her did not prevent her from
approaching the children.
The white lady paid the closest attention to the last descendant of her kind, Peter Wok. One
day, when the maids were asleep again, she went to the cradle and nursed little Peter to keep him
from crying. Among the maids was one who had recently come to the castle and knew nothing of
the white lady. She woke up and raised a terrible cry, seeing that Petricek in the hands of the
unknown woman. The maid wanted to take the child from the white lady, but she pulled him to
her and angrily said wthat she will no longer appear. When Peter Vok grew up and heard the
message of the white lady, and commanded him to open the wall where she disappeared. In that
place was a treasure.
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Charles Bridge
For centuries from the height of several meters 30 statues of saints have been tirelessly watching
citizens of Prague and tourists. You are also under sight therefore don’t forget to raise your head
up. Each of the statue on Charles Bridge has its story. But the most interesting one has the St. Jan
of Nepomuk statue. He was the Vicar of Prague Archdiocese. Everything was good, but
suddenly by the order of King Wenceslas John was thrown off the Charles Bridge into the river.
The legend says that in water where Jan Nepomuk drowned appeared the glow of five
stars.Official church claimed this fact as miracle and from that very time St. Jan Mepomuk is
depicted with five stars overhead. Historians still do not know the exact reason for the execution,
since there are several versions. Discover the legend together with your personal photographer
during a walking tour around Prague. The Charles Bridge history is based on man.
One-armed thief
If you look up at the Church of St. James in the center of the old town of Prague, you will find
that you are looking at the petrified bone of the hand. The bone of the hand in question once
belonged to an aptly named armed thief, a man who deliberately hid in the Church and waited
for the Church Minister to lock the doors.
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After being securely locked up, he continued to steal jewelry, gold and precious items in front of
the Church statue of the virgin Mary until the statue grabbed the thief's hand. In the morning the
man was found with his hand cut off. What happened to the one-armed thief? Did the statue
come to life, or did he imagine it because of his terrible sins? One thing is certain: his hand is
hanging inside the Church and his Ghost is haunting the entrance. A one-armed thief will try to
make contact with you if you pay attention to him; make sure to listen to his story while he
shows you his stump hand!
The Faust House
Under the rule of Rudolf II, astrologer Jakub Krucinek lived there with his two sons. The
younger son killed the older one for treasure that was allegedly hidden in the house.
Among other dwellers of the Faust house were the famous alchemists Edward Kelley and
Ferdinand Antonin Mladota of Solopysky, whose chemical experiments (which sometimes led to
big explosions making holes in the roof!) scared people in the neighbourhood. Mladota’s son
was good not only at physics and chemistry but also at mechanics. He astounded his visitors by
making a door open by itself, creating a flying staircase and creating electric shocks while
touching door handle.
Following that, a pure student lived in the house. He tried to cover the holes in the ceiling but
was unsuccessful. Legend says that he found a secret book, read some spells and was taken
through the holes by the devil like Dr Faust.
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THE GOLEM OF PRAGUE
In the 16th century, during the reign of Rudolf II, an old Jewish man named Rabbi Judah Loew
lived in Prague. During that time, the Jewish people of Prague were being attacked and lived
their lives in fear. Rabbi Loew decided to protect the Jews against pogroms by creating the
Golem, a giant who according to the Cabala could be made of clay from the banks of the Vltava.
Following the prescribed rituals, the Rabbi built the Golem and made him come to life by
reciting a special incantation in Hebrew. The word “emet”, meaning “truth”, was placed on the
Golem’s forehead.
The Golem would obey the Rabbi’s every order and would help and protect the people of the
Jewish Ghetto. However, as he grew bigger, he also became more violent and started killing
people and spreading fear. Rabbi Loew was promised that the violence against the Jews would
stop if the Golem was destroyed. The Rabbi agreed. By removing the first letter from the word
“emet”, thus changing it to “met” (meaning “death”), life was taken out of the Golem. According
to legend, the Golem was brought back to life by Rabbi Loew’s son, and may still be protecting
Prague today.
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Iron man
The Iron Man is a true ghost of Prague and one of the only ghosts in the world to have a
monument built for him! The name of the Iron Man in question is Jáchym Berka, a man in ghost
form that has been waiting for his freedom from his ghostly servitude for over four hundread
years! Jáchym Berka was engaged to be married to his sweetheart when he left to defend his
country. Upon his return he heard evil rumors regarding his betrothed’s fidelity and without an
explanation he married a different girl from his neighborhood. Jáchym Berka’s former finace
was so heartbroken, rejected and unwanted that she drowned herself in the Vltava River and her
father was so ashamed that he flung himself from a high tower.
After hearing this horrible news, Jáchym Berka realized what he had done and promptly
strangled his drunk wife and hung himself in his cellar on Good Friday. His death was not a
peaceful one and he has continuously wandered Platnéřská Street simply waiting for his
freedom. Freedom however does not come at an easy cost and Jáchym Berka gets only one
chance every one hundred years. In order to be freed, he must find a pure virgin girl and have a
friendly chat with her for one hour, a task that seems so very simple, yet not many good girls
wish to chat with a ghostly murderer! Sadly enough the Iron Man lost his chance once again in
2009, now he must wait another hundred years.
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The name of the story Characters of the story When was the story created
White Lady White Lady In the 14th century
Charles Bridge Jan Nepomuk In the 15th century
One-armed thiefThief, Statue of the
virgin MaryIn the 14th century
The Faust HouseEdward Kelley and
Ferdinand AntoninIn the 16th century
The Golem of Prague Rabbi Judah Loew In the 16th century
Iron man Jachym Berka In the 15th century
Conclusion:
As you can see, Prague has a lot of myths and legends. We can safely assume that this is a reason
why a lot of tourists prefer travelling to Czech Republic. The myths of the 14th-16th centuries
have a lot in common. Speaking of it I can say that practically all the myths are about
supernatural. We have every reason to believe that this place a vital role in Czech culture. Also,
the legends end tragically. Despite the fact that these stories are from one country they also differ
a lot. The main thing is that all the stories can be divided into two groups: the legends about the
history of the country («White Lady», «Charles Bridge», «The Golem of Prague») and the myths
about individuals («One-armed thief», «The Faust House», «The Iron Man»). Moreover, some
characters help people while others harm. Anyway, all the legends are worth studying.
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References:
1) https://pragueeventery.com/good-to-know/prague-myths-and-legends/
2) https://www.prague-stay.com/lifestyle/category/176-prague-legends-myths-and-ghosts/177-
haunted-prague-and-czech-legends
3) http://www.praguego.com/tips/myths-legends/
4) https://www.prague-stay.com/lifestyle/review/176-prague-legends-myths-and-ghosts/177-
haunted-prague-and-czech-legends/845-the-one-armed-thief
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