In the Alchemist's Den

In 2002 there was a terrible flood in Prague. A part of the street collapsed right in front of the second oldest house in Prague revealing a tunnel that no one knew was there. Upon further inspection it was found that the tunnel lead to a set of underground rooms under the second oldest house, which back in the 1500's had been a hotel. After 10 years of excavation, a warren of secret underground laboratories has been restored. Just about a year ago they opened it to the public. It appears that sometime long, long ago the scientists/scorcerors who had been working there walled it up and abandoned it until that flood in 2002 revealed it.



Apparently the King Rudolph of Bohemia really wanted an elixir of youth and a set a select and secret group of the best scientists to work on it. They distilled elixirs based on water, alcohol and herbs, as well as trying to change metals to gold. The Philosopher's Stone! Harry Potter fans would love this place.
After touring the study, the secret passageway is revealed behind the bookcase.


Your go down into the several "labs" where the distillation and mixing was done.


There were several rooms and entrances to other tunnels. They made their own glassware down here. At times there were explosions which released burning gases through the cobblestones in the streets above freaking out all the neighbors who had no idea what was going on.


The alchemists thought crocs and gators were magical, also peacock feathers.


They found a couple of unopened bottles of the elixir during the excavation which have been analyzed by chemists and found to contain up to 77 herbs distiller in alcohol. They reproduced the formula which can be purchased for about $15 for a small bottle. It looked like a tequila mini to me. Hmm. Actually, I think this is a picture of the elixir of love. Well, as a former science teacher I found it pretty interesting as I have never seen a place like this before.


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Location:Prague, Czech Republic