Karolinum

Look up at that Gothic oriel window with the gargoyles and carved creatures. This is the Karolinum, the oldest university building in Central Europe still serving its purpose. But first, look at those stone beasts. They watched over a strange deal that saved a life.

In 1383, a young man named Martin Rotlev drew his sword during a court hearing. The penalty was death. His father, the royal mint master Jan Rotlev, went to King Wenceslas IV with a desperate offer: take my palace, my entire Gothic palace, in exchange for my son's life. The king agreed and handed the palace to Charles University, founded 35 years earlier by Charles IV. Medieval students and professors moved in. What most visitors never learn is that the building also contained a prison. Students who broke the rules were locked up inside these same walls.

One rector taught here who would change Europe. Jan Hus, reformer and preacher. In 1415 he was burned at the stake as a heretic. His priestly robes were torn from him and his soul was publicly committed to the devil. Just before the flames, he spoke a prophecy: "You may kill a weak goose, but in a hundred years a swan will come that you cannot burn." A century later came Luther. The Reformation had begun, right here.