Before he became the chronicler of the Weimar Republic, Egon Erwin Kisch wrote for several years for the newspaper Bohemia, and hardly anyone knew the streets and nights of Prague as well as he did. With the perspective of an insider sharing insights with a newcomer, he describes scenes from the dives around the Hradčany, where frequent police visitors mingle, and where the Austro-Hungarian soldiers, just before the First World War, sing a mocking song about the discipline of the gunner Jaburek. Kisch observes the century's spy Colonel Redl during an alleged dental treatment, and he reveals under what name Lenin hid in Prague. However, the darker side of the city and its inhabitants also includes reports on the asylum for the homeless, historical and new criminal cases, as well as the raids that even Kisch does not escape—here the politically engaged journalist comes to the fore. The beautifully tragic.