Editing Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (section)

==Occult sciences==
[[File:Wappen röm.kaiser.JPG|thumb|Great coat of arms, 1605|200x200px]]
[[Astrology]] and [[alchemy]] were regarded as mainstream scientific fields in [[Renaissance]] [[Prague]], and Rudolf was a firm devotee of both. His lifelong quest was to find the [[philosopher's stone]], and Rudolf spared no expense in bringing Europe's best alchemists to court, such as [[Edward Kelley]] and [[John Dee]]. Rudolf even performed his own experiments in a private alchemy laboratory.<ref name=marshall/> When Rudolf was a prince, [[Nostradamus]] prepared a [[horoscope]], which was dedicated to him as 'Prince and King'. In the 1590s, [[Michael Sendivogius]] was active at Rudolph's court.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.udu.cas.cz/en/archive/alchemy-and-rudolf-ii-searching-for-the-secrets-of-nature-in-central-europe-in-the-16th-and-17th-centuries |title=Alchemy and Rudolf II. Searching for the secrets of nature in Central Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries |publisher=Artefactum |year=2016 |isbn=978-80-86890-33-3 |author1=Ivo Purš |author2=Vladimír Karpenko |access-date=2017-10-25 |archive-date=2019-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903150703/https://www.udu.cas.cz/en/archive/alchemy-and-rudolf-ii-searching-for-the-secrets-of-nature-in-central-europe-in-the-16th-and-17th-centuries/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Rudolf gave Prague a mystical reputation that persists in part to this day, with [[Golden Lane|Alchemists' Alley]] l, on the grounds of Prague Castle, being a popular visiting place and [[tourist attraction]].

Rudolf was a patron of the occult sciences. That and his practice of tolerance towards Jews caused during his reign the legend of the [[Golem]] of Prague to be established.<ref name=":0" />