We Found A 140-Year-Old Guidebook And Followed It

We found guidebook from 1882 - and decided to follow it. You'd be surprised how many things are unchanged...
Digital copy of the book can be found here:

Thank you for supporting our creative journey 💛

0:00 Guidebook from 1882
0:46 Main Train Station
1:29 Transportation
2:00 Accommodation
3:45 Entertainment
4:19 Trdelník
4:35 National Museum
5:09 Criticism
5:50 Old Town Square
6:22 Tour Guides
7:05 Astronomical Clock
7:38 Jewish Quarter
8:50 Cafés & Pubs
10:36 To Be Continued?

Thank you for your support!
Janek Rubeš & Honza Mikulka, Prague based journalists
#HonestGuide

[samuelbjorkestrom]

Imagine arriving to Prague by train and the first thing you see looking out the window is a man pointing at you whilst holding an old book and shouting

[dl]

Fantastic series concept, so yes, please continue! The only “improvement” I could suggest is perhaps just a bit more detail on why/how some of the changes came about (e.g. why did they tear down the old column in 1918? Why was a new one not erected until 2020?). Loved this one as it was though, and look forward to more. 😊

[redirts]

It's a shame that there is no tips for scammers in the book.

[novhck]

Neo-Gothic Old Town Hall was destroyed in WW2. But you can still see a bit of it right next to the tower. Only one column of windows was conserved and it's side was never fully repaired so it still looks damaged.

[katarzynazofia]

I'd love to see more. But maybe with a map of modern day Prague and overlay of the map from 1882 with the places you're mental, that be a cool comparison!

[silentfishcruise]

Make this a mini series! I really would love to see more and in depth about the places. It would have been interesting to know how many cemetries are there in prague now to then or how the city developed outwards since you mentioned the cemetry is now located in the city centre. Nice work guys! keep it up 🥳

[ki-adimundi]

These types of guidebooks were a huge hit back in the late 19th and early 20th century, as travelling became slightly more accesable to people

[rjrnj]

Oh, please. Do more of these. It's great to hear about the upcoming site and compare the results to the present. What a fun way to learn more about your country and enjoy your humor. 🥰🥰

[Ochikrasnye]

In the end, you mention the Western bank of Prague, and it brought to my attention the fact that you don’t really speak about it that much in your videos, even though it actually is the best bit of Prague. Starting from Smichov on the south, through the amazing Petřin hill, the fantastic Mala Strana, the Prague Castle (which is much less tourist-thrashed than the East bank stuff), then including a bit of Prague 6 and then Holešovice… I think these places are really worth mentioning in your videos

[NobodyExpectsIE]

Please continue through the book, thanks!

[tiffanywilsonkeesey]

This is fantastic! These guidebooks have a wonderful connection to the development of Czech nationalism. They were designed to teach upwardly mobile Czech speakers what it meant to be a part of the Czech nation. There are tons of really cool guidebooks digitized by the national museum, a later one would take you though some of the local attractions actually BUILT to unite Czech speakers, like the national museum. Some of them were very cheap and printed on newspapers, designed to target poorer people.

Also very cool: the Baedeker's guidebook, targeted at English speakers!

[karinparos]

Yes, PLEASE continue! And I do hope you show up as the guide in black with hat and white That guidebook is What a find!

[srinivasancute]

Historical clothes and cap will add an aura to this treasure hunt guided by Bohemian Kingdom map.

[mattball]

FRIENDS! We just got into Prague this afternoon, and guess who we met on the street??? We know of two people in all of Czechia, and we met Janek! So thrilling and unbelievable!

[nicowag]

great idea! as far as I know, the part of the old town hall which is quoted in the guide, but doesnt exists anymore, is one of the very few buildings that were destroyed in may 1945 during Prague uprising against the German occupancy... and was not rebuilt since then. At least I read that in more modern Prague guides!

[TrojanKassandra]

Everyone knows that Trdelník are so old and commonplace in Prague that the guidebook wouldn't have thought it necessary to be mentioned!

[benficaM]

i love this man. I kinda wished you'd split it into multiple episodes, and follow the guide comprehensively

[joeverywhere]

This is so cool, love to look into the past and what it is today

[bethsvist]

This is great; I love how it sometimes shows a history that isn't often explored in regular tourist info (like where hotels were in the 19th century). Please do a lot more like this - I would also love to see you do this in more places. It could also be a fun way to show day trips from Prague that are off the beaten path, for example. :-)

[jezzaRTW]

Yea the old days of travel! Definitely do more from this guidebook! Also guidebooks are after all just guides. I remember being a cheap backpacker around Europe and buying a 5-10 year guidebook to make my way around.