Watch This Space!

I have to take a couple of weeks off from blogging so I will leave you with one of the most incredible doors in Prague...perhaps not THE most incredible, but it is very nice and also very famous so I wouldn't be surprised if you have already seen it either in person or in pictures. Yes, you got it, the lion heads on The Door Hunter title bar come from this door.

This wonderful and very big door has plenty of things to look at (faces, for example, you don't see some of them right away but they are there...just look). This door is located right next to the famous Clock Tower and leads into (or used to, because I don't think it's used anymore - there is a new door) into the Prague Court House. Behind this door is a beautiful and finely detailed mozaic that is a must-see when in Prague as is the view from the top of the clock tower. Of course, if you are face to face with this door, you should stand in front of the clock tower when it strikes the hour...you'll know it's almost the hour even without looking at the clock because there will be lots of people hanging around the bottom of the tower and in front of this door.

So, until I get back, take care, enjoy the summer and if you find a nice door, don't hesitate to send it to me and maybe I will feature it on my monthly 'reader's door' which I post at the end of each month!

Colourful Door Monday

Green!! Like Summer! Like grass and leaves! Green is good!

I think this is a happy, pleasant door and I especially like it's unusual shape (not squared) and the interesting windows above it. Ok, so otherwise it is rather simple, but the green sure gives it extra value and I imagine that originally the glass in the windows was more interesting...stained glass? or beveled? or frosted/decorated? Who knows. I just regret that the handle is so unoriginal!

Sunday Door

I think this door speaks for itself, but I do like the wrought-iron work.

Sad Door Saturday

OK, so this door isn't nearly as sad as some I have shown you and it is far, far, far from the more lavish and lovely doors you have seen here, nevertheless, this door is sad, but it's not that bad!! What is sad is that it probably hasn't been given any attention in a long time AND it looks as if it when it was given attention, it was to add another layer of paint to the old layers. If you look at this old door and imagine all the paint stripped away, cleaned up and a new layer of nice paint (green, for example), it could be quite a sweet little door. What do you think? I think yes...I like this simple little door...it just needs some good ol' TLC!!

The Door to International Relations

This is a truly lovely door. It is quiet yet interesting, present, yet not overwhelming, discrete, yet classy. All that I could want in a door. This door isn't to someone's home, but to the "Institute of International Relations"...how fitting! I think everyone could love this door and that just looking at it could bring about world peace. What? Am I asking a lot from a door? Perhaps, but you do have to admit that this door is wonderful...so pleasant; so friendly; so calming! I wonder if this Institute did some research into what their door should look like to put people the most at ease...well, whatever they did, they succeeded!!

Look at the incredible woodwork on this door...a true work of art!! And you have to love those little round windows. The door's arch is simple since the door itself is so rich...this is good. One thing I find intriguing is that this door doesn't open in the middle, but to the left...usually double doors like this open in the middle, leaving the possibility of opening both doors if necessary. I wonder if this door on the left is the only part of the complete door that opens. No, I would think not, but you have to admit that this is rather odd! Though new, the handles on this door give this door feeling of lightness while the cast iron nails makes it appear strong.

Symbols

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I worked just around the corner from this door for 7 years and it was only after I quit that job that I noticed this door!! OK, to be fair to myself, I wasn't as 'into' doors at that time AND that street is really narrow so those many times that I walked by it, I had my head tucked down or was watching for traffic. What is important is that I did finally see it!! This is some kind of a side door to what is now a bank, though I think it was always a bank OR it was an insurance company. Either way, the building this door is on is located on a corner, therefore it is on two streets...this narrow street and a larger street. On the larger street side, this building is an absolute beauty!!! I looked at this building A LOT because it is just so incredible...perhaps for this reason I never noticed this door, but considering that the main side of this building is so beautiful, it isn't at all surprising that this door is.

There are many elements in the frame which carry a great deal of symbolism. Unfortunately, I do not know who's head is depicted at the top center of the arch...surely he was someone important (and maybe will always be), but I don't know who he is. On the other hand, the two babies very likely symbolise innocence and natural simplicity (according to a dictionary of symbols), while the vases symbolise not only the elexir of life but, because they are open at the top, openness to celestial influences. The eagle (or, in this case, eagles) is an often-used and very strong symbol which is often shown in the presence of gods or great men/heros.

In the wrought-iron work, there is a lion with a double tail - this is a famous and long-used Czech symbol that originated in the 13th century when the country had two kings and consisted of two parts - Czechia and Moravia - to symbolise this dual and combined sovereignty, the lion's tail was split into two. Today the symbol of the lion with the split tail is used in a multitude of places and ways, including on the country's coins and paper money.

Now, as for my personal analysis of this door! The door itself, though cold and uninviting, is still pretty with it's delicate decorations consisting of flowers, bands, and a delicate repeating border. I find the diamond-shaped sneak-a-peek window charming and the discrete mail slot endearing! I like the eagles in the arch and appreciate how they are not mirrors of each other, but unique in both the positioning of their wings and their feet. The wrought-iron work is admirable, but I don't think I will ever understand the practice of putting the strange dwarf-like faces in the designs...what could that mean?

The Poorly Neighbor

Hmm? What does that title mean? Well, would you believe that this door is just next door to the British Embassy? Yep, I was surprised, too! There I was photographing the doors of various embassies and international organisations one day, when I found myself face-to-face with the impressive and somewhat guarded British Embassy, but then, to my great surprise, when I turned to my left, here was this 'poorly' neighbor.

The first time you see the small door within the big door, you might think it looks like an Emily door, but its not. And even without knowing anything about what is behind this door, you get the impression that the main, big double-doors lead to a courtyard and not just a passageway (as is often the case). If you get closer to this door, you see that it doesn't look any happier from up-close than it does from a distance.

The large round hole in the door must have been there for a reason once upon a time...for a handle? a knocker? a sign? Hard to say, but since it was there, I just had to make a sneak-a-peek photo through it...

...which proves that this poorly door isn't doing better or worse than what is behind it. (Too bad because it could all be repaired and fixed to look so nice!!) My question is this: How does the British Embassy feel about it's poorly neighbor?

A Beauty!

There are just so many doors here in Prague that I have lots of material for my files, so showing you a new door each day is not the problem; the problem is deciding WHICH door to show you!! I like to keep things as interesting as possible, therefore, I don't want to just show you beauties like this, but also sad doors and big doors and so on. I think they are all interesting, but I won't show you a door that doesn't 'feel' interesting to me...that would just be boring and dishonest. Maybe you would like to see doors like this everyday, but I think for the most part you will agree with me that by seeing some of the less interesting doors, it makes the more interesting doors even MORE interesting. Enjoy!!

Isn't that little open window above the door great? Notice it's very unusual shape...I love things like this!! And those little faces in the frame...they are not identical, which makes me wonder if they were made based on real-life people (or children as in this case). This frame is light and happy, yet solid and rich without being too much. I do like it a lot! The door, the frame and the various elements all work so well together here. OK, so the door handle isn't extraordinary, but the metal work all over the door and the area above the door makes up for it ten-fold as does the door's unusual shape...you HAVE to love that!!

Colourful Door Monday

Well, once upon a time this door was colourful!! Despite this poor door's lack of love and a fresh coat of paint, I still like it's colour and it does have charm and character. I especially like how the double windows are the same shape as the one large window overhead in the door's frame. And the door's frame...it seems to have faired far better than the door itself...the only thing that I wonder about is whether the window over the door originally had a different kind of glass in it...stained glass window or maybe beveled glass? It just seems to me that the glass there now is too plain; too normal for the rest of the door and frame...but maybe I'm wrong. As for this door's accessories, I'm not showing you a close-up of the handle because, as you can see well enough from the second picture...it just isn't worth mentioning and the person who chose it had zero imagination and not even an ounce of creativity. Too bad...this door deserves something nice. I wonder what it's original handle looked like.

Saturday/Sunday Door

Saturday/Sunday Door? What kind of door is that? Well, normally, on Saturday I show you a 'Sad' Door and on Sunday, I show you a church door...well, today, since I have a million things to do in our garden (while the weather is FANTASTIC), I'm doing a double post: a 'Sad Church Door' (yes, this was a side door).

Can you imagine the sadness this poor door feels for not being a door anymore? OK, so the door itself is no longer there, but it once was and the frame is still there...waiting. Just like the angels that are still watching over over it. Watching and waiting. And waiting...for someone to go through a door that isn't there.

A (late-posted) Friday Funny Door

I've shown you numerous styles of doors (art nouveau, art deco, industrial, modern, etc.) as well as doors of various themes (rams, white boots, reclining lady, etc.). Here is a door that I find humorous. I can only imagine that the 'address' over the door is recent and was done out of a certain fondness for the old way of finding a house/address.

Look closely at what is over the door...what do you see?

Yes! A dragon!!

An Emily Door...almost!

This cute little 'Emily Door' is located down the street from the Prague Castle (Hradcany) on a very touristy street. All along this street are stores selling such tourist treasures as marionettes, ceramic and enamel cups and mugs, glass/crystal items (of all kinds), hats, postcards, paintings and photographs and on and on, but tucked in between those stores are doors. Just doors, because while the street level has all the stores, there are still the levels higher up that have apartments and homes and those places have to be accessed...thus, the existence of doors like this one. I like this simple little door. It is made of a warm-colored wood, a funky hand-made handle and over top, it has a sort of pseudo-overhang to offer slight refuge to someone standing in the doorframe if the rain comes...but only if it is just raining a little!! The pink wall seems to add to the charm of the door rather than take away from it and you have to love the flower-shaped pull handle which somewhat replicates the flower relief designs in the door's stone frame.

Wow!!

I love this door. I LOVE this door...and not just because it is big and complicated. In my opinion, this is a fabulous door because ALL the elements work together. First, there is the lady high above, who holds the children under her arms and looks out over the land in such a way that you feel that she is there for you - for everyone. There is the coat of arms style presentation of a honeybee in the pediment - symbolically, honeybees have an extremely rich cross-cultural importance including, but not limited to, their representation of eloquence, poetry and intelligence. Another highly symbolic element is also present - cornucopia overflowing with fruit - which, over time, has come to mean liberty, gratitude and good fortune. The puti, or angels floating gracefully above the door are also very symbolic elements - they function as, among other things, messengers, guardians, conductors of the stars and upholders of laws. The symbolism surrounding this door does not stop there... even the columns have a strong symbolic value - including their physical and/or visual assurance of the strength of a structure either in the physical sense or in the social or personal sense.

Now, onto the non-symbolic elements of this door...isn't the wrought-iron work fabulous? It is so incredibly intricate that it takes my breath away! And look closely at the door, whose colour is like chestnut-flower honey (ah! honeybees!!), the handles are simple but inviting and the metal plates that act as kick plates across the bottom of the door are not just simple strips of copper, but are cut out in an interesting pattern.

I love this door!!

Oouff!

Yes, "oouff"! My first reaction when I initially saw this door's 'maidens'. Why? Well, I don't exactly know, but for some reason these two ladies just seem a bit too present for me...sure, they seem to be smiling, but what if they don't like you and decide to kick you upside the head as you walk into or out of this door? Sure, I know, 'they are not real!!', you're right, but you have to agree that they have a spooky quality to them. Once I tear my eyes away from the stone maidens and look at the sculptural work between them my blood-pressure drops to a normal level. The designs are very interesting, attractive and clearly from the Art Deco period (unless you know this building, you wouldn't know that the entire building has Art Deco decorations all over it). I seriously regret that I was not able to physically distance myself enough from this door and arch to get a complete picture of everything, but as always, a car was right in front of it...grrr!

The door itself is simple, but I can't figure out why it was not put directly into the wall, but was, instead, put into a construction that gives it the feel of being a pay booth to a cinema and not the entrance to an apartment building. I half expected to see someone behind the glass ready to ask me which movice!

For once though, I'm glad the renovators of this door went with a simple, sober door handle...anything else would have been over-kill!!

Shocking!

My first reaction to this door was shock!! What a shocking shade of red!! Sure, I've seen red doors before and have even already posted a few here, but THIS red is really 'out there'. My shock was joined by amusement once I walked up to this door. Why? Because the faces on the doors (I've attached a picture of each of them), seem to be a bit embarrassed by the shade of red they have become!! Poor ladies!! Talk about being 'red in the face'...this door is literally just that!!

Church Door Sunday

A side/back/additional/? door to another church.

Look closely at the writing above the door...in gold...in latin.

'In Charitate Atque Misericordia'

Roughly (very roughly!!) translated: 'Towards Love and Compassion'.

Lovely woodwork and the colour of the wood is wonderful. I like the very tiny handle...could only be used to pull the door as I don't believe it has any mechanism to it...more the size of a child's hand. And what is that hole for?

Sad, but there may be hope!!

OK, this door looks rather sad and lacking in love, but I was looking closer at it and noticed that in the top right corner there is a building permit sign..Perhaps I just need to go back and pay a visit to this door. I just might find that it has been renovated...had a door face-lift!! Until I can do this, I'll let you admire the door's frame which is simple, yet inviting especially with the sweet face above it. The door itself is nice with it's interesting shaped window and the wrought-iron work over them. I especially like the window over the door...it's shape and the other decorations around it. The only REALLY sad part of this door is that horrendous handle!!! Let's hope this door has finished it's door spa treatment and is now repaired and lovely!! I'll let you know what I find if I get over to this door's neighborhood.

Hidden Treasures

This door has a definite attraction... even from a distance...the powerful design around the door grabs you from afar and pulls you in - no questions asked...you just do it! Once you are closer, you marvel at the unique shape of the doors (not just boring rectangles; these are more geometric!), then you see the beveled glass in the windows and the simple yet nice handle. Great, good eye for seeing those things. Now, look even closer...go on, click on the picture so you can see a bigger image...do you see it there behind the windows...the geometric wrought-iron work - behind the glass (as opposed to the traditional placement in front of the glass), and if you look closely, you can see through the windows into this building's foyer where there is another set of doors with cut glass work. Of course, these windows also provide a reflection of what is across the street. Quite a lot going on in one simple photo...sometimes it pays to REALLY LOOK at something!

A Fabulous Door...to a Police Station!

What a FABULOUS door!! It's hard to believe that it is the entrance door to a police station, isn't it? Well, it is. It makes it ALMOST worth getting a parking ticket just so you can walk through it to pay your fine. I especially love the woodwork, but the wrought-iron work is also really nice...and the handle, too!

Shopping Door

This wonderful and ever-so-grand door and arch combination is located on one of Prague's most popular shopping streets. Despite the richness of this door and it's arch, it is not the entrance to a Dior or Cartier or Hermes boutique (though it certainly could be). There is, however, a clothing store behind this door. The store's interior has a richness to it that matches the door/arch though in my humble opinion, it is too much for the brand of clothing being sold in the store. Never mind all that, I can settle for just stopping once in a while in front of the store to admire the door's size, strength, the details of the elements of the arch (and balcony above it) and the wrought-iron door itself.

If you look closer at the figures in the arch, maybe you might find it interesting how the two men holding up the balcony (don't have a headache...haha, just kidding!) look so muscle-y and virile, however their faces look as if they belong to a body that is much older...hmmm...I guess even stone ages!! Those poor long-suffering men are also magnets to nesting pigeons!! (Pigeons with good taste may I add!) Don't worry, I'm just thinking out loud...I don't mean to take away from this door's value by any means!! This door certainly merits admiration and I am happy to have the chance to admire it often. This picture of the door/arch does it no justice because you can't get a proper idea as to its size - Huge! When taking this picture, it helped that the street in front of this store/door is very wide and that I was there early in the morning which all allowed me to get the distance I needed for a straight-on, unencumbered shot without any people in the picture!!

There are many doors in Prague that deserve being sought out and admired in person - I would definitely recommend seeking out this one and admiring it with your own eyes...it is a truly fabulous door.

Tiny Door Tuesday

Just so you know, 'Tiny doors' are the same as 'Emily doors' so if I refer to a Tiny door or an Emily door, don't be confused, just know that these terms are interchangeable because they both mean a small door. Got that? Good!

Today's Tiny Door may be small, but it has a couple of extras that are grand!!

First of all, let me just say that I'm always partial to any animal features a door might have, especially if the animal is a big cat...a lion, for example. Lions seem to be a favourite big cat for doors (hmm...is this something else I should be researching?) so I'm not surprised to find one here - front and center. Hail the mighty lion that protects this door!! And to set off our mighty beast is this door's other great feature: a beautifully carved sunburst. Is the message of these two features 'strength and light'?

Let's not overlook the size of this door (remember, to be an 'Emily door' it has to be just slightly taller than my friend Emily*, who is only just a few inches over 5 feet tall)...even if it is small it is warm and inviting. Sure, it has a boring, but functional handle, but the door itself is made of a nice, honey-colored wood that is a pleasure to look at. The window above the door (which seems there purely to give the window/door combination an illusion of height) is simple despite its interesting but not very exciting wrought-iron work. I guess the idea is to keep the visitor's eye on the lion. Ok, I can do that!!

*For more 'Emily Doors', just look for 'Emily' in the list to the right and you will see that as of today (including today's post) there are 5 doors that are considered Emily Doors. If you click on 'Emily' there, you will get all of the 'Emily Door' posts.