photo: Bob Asher, Prahain.cz/Vetešnictví amazes foreigners.
In an inconspicuous passage at the end of Týnská Ulička, off the main arteries, there is a special place hidden from public view. Only a handful of insiders know about its existence and it fits perfectly into the mysterious atmosphere here. “Sometimes tourists here get ecstasy, they stay here for an hour and can’t leave,” the co-owner of the famous hangout told the PrahaIN.cz portal.
If a person unfamiliar with the local conditions accidentally wanders into this area, he feels that he has been transported to another century. On the contrary, searchers from the ranks of Prague museum institutes and collectors know this place very well. 35 years ago, in a miniature space, the owners continued the famous tradition of Prague veterans.
There used to be a flea market in every neighborhood. Photo: PrahaIN.cz
Today, their secret shop is one of the legendary places on the edge of the former Jewish quarter. “Occasionally, we have objects connected to Judaism. Candlesticks, clipboards, but also documents, pictures, postcards or books. We only have it on display for a few days or hours, and the staff of the Jewish Museum will arrive immediately. If things concern the Czech Jewish community, they usually buy them right away. They have been with us many times over the years. Sometimes they also come to us from other museums,” the co-owner told the editorial staff of PrahaIN.cz.
The moment the shop is discovered by a group of foreigners, the same scenario repeats itself. First they take pictures of the entrance, and as soon as they walk in they are amazed. The miniature space is filled to capacity with exhibits. You will find absolutely everything, just randomly, mortars of various sizes and ages, paintings, parts of armor, old postcards, crank gramophones, bellows cameras, but also magazines from the times of Austria-Hungary and the First Republic.
Searchers stay here for several hours. Photo: PrahaIN.cz
Difficult times came for the owners when the pandemic was raging in our territory, and the shops were closed for two years. The post-covid period also did not bring much joy and customers.
“It was already looking very bad for us. We were really on the brink of bankruptcy and thought we wouldn’t make it. In the end, by some miracle, we succeeded and we are getting back to our old form. But it’s going slowly,” the co-owner told our editors.
From time immemorial, Prague has been a city of contrasts and hard-to-understand realities. Proof can also be this famous veteshniki. Pařížská street begins just a few minutes away, a symbol of luxury with shops of world brands, where life pulsates in a completely different rhythm. This is also why some, especially foreign visitors, are ecstatic when they discover that in the middle of Prague, in almost the same space, two completely different worlds live side by side.
2024-03-17 20:29:34
#strangers #perplexed #clandestine #robbery
