The lifting of the iron curtain after the 1989 bloodless "Velvet Revolution" is one of a flurry of citizens revolts ending Communist rule in Eastern Europe, has attracted many Westerners, who can finally come search for the secrets of the other side.

Conflicts past and present give the city an eclectic energy. The atmosphere continually reminds us that monarchs and dictators have tried to possess this city for much of the past millennium.