The Prague Easter markets started on the 28th March 2009 and will continue until 19th April 2009, these colourful and exciting markets are held at the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square and are a beautiful display of local hand crafted goods and food and drink to suit the fussiest holidaymakers and daily displays of the Czech old local customs.

There are over 100 stalls set up for Easter which provide a huge range of Czech crystal, wooden toys, glass, jewellery, candles, metalware, embroidered clothing and dolls and puppets in regional costume dresses.

Brightly hand-painted Easter eggs are a common sight as many of the Czech ladies at local stores in the town will dress in traditional costume and personalise your eggs for you.

For anyone who is planning to take a city break to Prague over Easter it is not just about shopping, the Prague Easter markets are also about the smells and tastes of wonderful local foods cooked freshly for you ranging from barbecued sausages and burgers to ice cold Pilsner beer and a whole array of local drinks for sale. There are also many Czech stalls that will freshly roast pigs on spits in front of you.

The Prague Easter markets go back to a period long before the communist era and were deeply tied to religious festivities. Under communism they suffered, as religious aspects were banned and Easter celebrations were limited to the welcoming of spring.

In recent years, since the fall of communism, the Easter Markets at Prague have enjoyed a renaissance. Each year the markets attract hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers and locals who come for the community atmosphere and to browse the traditional stalls.

In Prague the children will traditionally finish school for Easter on what they commonly call “Ugly Wednesday,” the following day is known as “Green Thursday”, when the local boys equip themselves with rattles, called “rehtacka”. They walk as a group through local villages and towns, shaking their wooden rattles to scare away the Judas.