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View of Prague Castle
Photo Credit: Stefan Bauer, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License
Prague
Prague, capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, is regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It is located on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, and has a population of 1.2 million people. Despite wide scale bombing during the Second World War, Prague has managed to keep much of its heritage sites largely intact. Today (and since 1992), the historic core of Prague was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Czech Republic
Ancient Prague
Prague was settled as early as 200BC by the Celt, who were eventually displaced by Germanic tribes. The Slavs then occupied it from the 4th century AD. Prague is said to have been founded by Princess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl. A castle was constructed in the 9th century on the right bank of the River Vltava. It is located on the opposite bank from another castle, the future Prague Castle. Prague Castle today is inscribed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ancient castle in the world. Prague became the seat of the dukes and kings of Bohemia. It was here that merchants from all over Europe came to trade.
The first bridge across the Vltava was built by King Vladislav II in 1170. It was called the Judith Bridge and it stood until 1342. In its place now stands the Charles Bridge.
Saint Vitus Cathedral, Prague
Photo Credit: Valyag, GNU Free Documentation License
Prague under King Charles IV
Prague flourished under the reign of Charles IV during the 14th century. During Charles IV, the New Town (Nové Me(sto) was built adjacent to the Old Town. At the same time, Charles Bridge was built to connect the new district to Malá Strana. Under Charles IV, the Saint Vitus Cathedral - now the oldest gothic cathedral in central Europe - was built inside Prague Castle, as well as Charles University, the oldest university in central Europe. At that time, Prague was the third largest city in Europe. Prague was effectively the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Charles IV.
The Habsburg era
In 1526 the Kingdom of Bohemia came under the control of the House of Habsburg. Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire was elected King of Bohemia in 1576. He made Prague his home, living in Prague Castle where he held a bizarre court of astrologers, magicians, and other strange figures. As an art lover, King Rudolf made Prague a capital of European culture. This was a period of prosperity for Prague, and among the famous people living there at that time included astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johann Kepler, painter Arcimboldo and others.
In 1618, during the Thirty Years' War, King Ferdinand II of Habsburg was deposed and replaced by Frederick V as the King of Bohemia. Following the defeat of the Czech army in the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, Catholic Counter-Reformation became dominant and religious tolerance abolished. In 1621 27 Czech lords were executed in the Old Town Square for their involvement in the Battle of White Mountain. Prague was also conquered by the Saxons in 1631 and the Swedes in 1648. Following the move of the capital to Vienna, Prague began a steady decline during which its population reduced from 60,000 to 20,000.
A great fire devastated Prague in 1689, but it spurred a wave of rebuilding. This resulted in a rise in economic activity, and by 1771, its inhabitants had increased to 80,000. In 1784, the four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město and Hradcany were merged into one, with the Jewish district, called Josefov, added in 1850. The first suburb, Karlín, was created in 1817 while the first railway line was built in 1842.
Mala Strana, Prague
Photo Credit: Diliff, GNU Free Documentation License
Prague in the 20th century
Czech lands were the most productive part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. As such some Czech politicians attempted to separate it from Habsburg empire.
World War I
World War I saw the defeat of the Austrian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia, with Prague as its capital and Prague Castle as the seat of president.
World War II
The Germans entered Prague on 15 March 1939 and made Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. The occupation by Nazi Germany compelled Prague's Jewish population to flee less be killed in the Holocaust. By then the German population had formed the majority of Prague's population. They were however expelled from the city following the German defeat in the war.
During World War II, Prague was an innocent victim of U.S. Air Force, which mistaken it for Dresden, 83 miles away. The bombing killed hundreds of people and destroyed many important buildings and factories.
Prague in the Cold War
Prague as well as Czechoslovakia was under the military and political control of Soviet Union after World War II. The lively intellectual atmosphere of Prague suffered under the totalitarian regime. The new secretary of the Communist Party, Alexander Dub ček tried to create "socialism with a human face". It was called Prague Spring, but the Soviet Union and its allies reacted to it by invading Czechoslovakia in August 1968 to suppress any attempt at renovation.
Prague after the Velvet Revolution
In 1989, the Velvet Revolution brought down the old Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. It also brought along the split of the country in 1993, with Prague becoming the capital of the new Czech Republic.
Places of Interest in Prague
The following is a list of sights and tourist attractions in Prague:
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