Come with me to the Prague, after the Renaissance. We’re going to ditch the chaos & confusion of the present to spend a bit of time with a bloke who might just be one of the most interesting, and *interested* to ever live. Here’s Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor… /1 THREAD 
Rudolf, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, was born in Vienna in 1552. He was a quiet kid, more interested in reading and learning than his peers. A couple of years with his uncle, Philip II of Spain, only made withdraw more into himself and his interests. /2
As a young man he received a series of titles, before being crowned Holy Roman Emperor on the death of his father in 1576. While many might launch themselves into the role, Rudolf struggled - he suffered from the frequent black depressions that were common among the Habsburgs. /3
In 1583, he upped sticks and moved the entire court to Prague, where the castle overlooking the Vlitava would become his base for the rest of the life. There, he would indulge his passions to an extent that few others would during his era. /4
Almost immediately, Rudolf started bringing people into his circle - artists, poets, mathematicians, astrologers, philosophers. Anyone who could teach him something was given a place to practice their arts. /5
Perhaps the most famous individuals at Rudolf’s court were Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, and German Johannes Kepler. Working together, they tracked the orbit of the planets, and it was during his stay here that Kepler would lay the groundwork for his laws of planetary motion. /6
Incidentally, Tycho Brahe died during his stay in Prague. Legend states that he attended a banquet and, unable to leave the table to urinate due to protocol, did something horrible to his bladder. He’s now buried in the church of Our Lady of Tyn. /7
You can also stay in the home where they completed some of their observations - it’s now five-star accommodation in the grounds of the castle, the Golden Well Hotel. /8 goldenwell.cz/default-en.html
Two other famous individuals known for the time they spent at Rudolf’s court were Dr Dee & Edward Kelley, English alchemists and magicians who worked on turning base metal into gold. Rudolf apparently had Kelley thrown in jail - possibly for failure to produce the goods. /8
There’s actually a fun little museum in Prague called the ‘Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague' that tells the story of these two, and it’s not nearly as much of a tourist trap as you might think. /9 atlasobscura.com/places/the-mus…
Another figure to mention was the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo, known for his spectacular portraits of people made up of things like vegetables. Rudolf was quite taken with these and had a few, including one of himself as the god of the seasons, 'Vertumnus'. /10
Rudolf was, above all, a collector. Entire wings of the castle were taken up with his collection of natural wonders - stuffed beasts from far away, strange rocks and gems, artefacts from different cultures. It wasn’t haphazard either, he had it all sorted by themes. /11
During his lifetime, Rudolf veered between withdrawn and over the top. He had affairs with a string of men and women, before falling in a depression for months on end, to obsess over his collection and his legacy. /12
Some say Rudolf II met with the city’s famous Rabbi Loew - the one in the legend of the golem - to divine his future and ask for assistance in decision making. While we can’t verify that, it certainly doesn’t seem out of character. /13
It’s clear, however, that he both inherited and passed on the Habsburg tendency towards mental illness. His son, Don Julius Caesar of Austria, was locked away after he vicious murdered a young woman who lived near his castle at Český Krumlov. He died in his mid-twenties. /14
An empire under a distracted - and some may say unstable - ruler will eventually fall prey to the pressures exerted against it. Rudolf slipped after he signed a Letter of Majesty, promising religious freedom to the considerable number of Protestants in Bohemia, in 1609. /15
In 1611, worried that he’d given far too much to the Protestants, he ordered an invasion from Bavarian forces. This lit a spark that would lead to one of the most devastating wars in European history. /16
Astonished at what Rudolf was doing, the Bohemians called in Rudolf’s brother Matthias, who deposed him, having already convinced him to give up a number of his crowns. Rudolf died humiliated and essentially a prisoner a few months later. /17
Still, Rudolf had been Holy Roman Emperor,and thus was buried with great pomp in St Vitus’ Cathedral, that lies within the walls of Prague Castle. If you ask around, you might be able to go on a tour into the crypt and behold his sarcophagus. /18 hrad.cz/en/prague-cast…
Six years after Rudolf died, the instability he caused led to Catholic officials being launched out of a window of that same Prague castle, where they landed in a dungheap. This was the event that kicked off the conflict that was to devastate Europe for a generation. /19
I find Rudolf’s story a sad one, but one that is also inspiring in a way. Rudolf’s influence on Prague can be seen today in much of the architecture, the many institutes of learning and the ‘magical’ air it has gained as a consequence of his occult interests. /20
If you’re interested in learning more about Rudolf, I recommend ‘The Magic Circle of Rudolf II’, that delves deep into his passions, his collections and his attempts to pierce the veil between worlds. /21 amazon.co.uk/Magic-Circle-R…
If I’ve also piqued your interest in visiting Prague, give @VisitCZ a follow and check out their website - not a paid commercial, I just love the place to bits! /22 czechtourism.com/home/
Hope you liked that - look out for more threads on strange and wonderful things. Like I always say, I love telling these stories. Also, uh, does anybody want to pay me to go make a documentary about Rudolf's Prague? ;) /FIN
Aw man, extraneous 'the' in the first tweet. Mea culpa.
