Difference between revisions of "Prague" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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{{main|History of Prague}}
 
{{main|History of Prague}}
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===Czech Slavs Push out Celtic Tribes===
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http://archiv.radio.cz/history/history02.html
  
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The land where Prague was to be built has been settled since the [[Paleolithic Age]]. Several thousands of years ago, there were trade routes connecting southern parts of Europe to northern Europe which passed through this area, following the course of the river. From around 500 B.C.E. the [[Celt]] tribe known as the Boii was the first documented inhabitants of this region, who named the region Bohemia (“Boiohaemum”) and the river Vltava. In between the sixth and ninth centuries C.E., the Germanic tribe Marcomanni and other Germanic tribes migrated to Bohemia. In the sixth century their elites along with majority of inhabitants moved to the Danubian area, which enabled a Slavic tribe invading from the West to settle this territory. During the Migration of Peoples - roughly from the third to the seventh centuries C.E. - Slav colonization spread westward from the Steppes of the East all the way to the territory of the present-day Czech Republic and up to Poland and down to Yugoslavia. From probably the sixth century C.E. on, the Slavic peoples settled in several waves of migration into the regions abandoned by the Germanic tribes, with Forefather Czech ("Praotec Cech") becoming the founder of the Czech nation.
  
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The land where Prague was to be built has been settled since the [[Paleolithic Age]]. Several thousands of years ago, there were trade routes connecting southern parts of Europe to northern Europe which passed through this area, following the course of the river. From around 500 B.C.E. the [[Celt]] tribe known as the Boii was the first documented inhabitants of this region, who named the region Bohemia and the river Vltava. In between the sixth and ninth centuries c.e., the Germanic tribe Marcomanni migrated to Bohemia, followed by other Germanic tribes during the fifth century C.E. In the sixth century their elites along with majority of inhabitants moved to the Danubian area, which enabled a Slavic tribe invading from the West to settle this territory. The Czech Slavic tribe came to Bohemia in the sixth century, with Forefather Czech becoming the founder of the Czech nation.
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According to a Czech legend, there were three brothers - Czech, Lech and Rus – who, along with their tribes, set out on a journey in search of a new place to live. Czech (Forefather Czech) continued until he came upon a rich land overflowing with milk and honey and climbed to the top of Rip hill in Bohemia, claiming it the place for him and his tribe. However, the annalist of the first Czech and Latin chronicle, P. Kosmas, calls Forefather Czech “Bohemus”, thus saying that he was a Celt, since “Bohemus” is Latin for a member of the Boii tribe.
  
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===Premyslid Dynasty===
  
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Všichni se jistě pamatují, že se ve škole učili o tom, jak praotec Čech a jeho bratr Lech přivedli do našich zemí Slovany od východu. Lech pak odešel se svými lidmi severně a založili Polsko. Říká se to stále, ale pravda o tom, odkud přišli, je zřejmě trochu jiná.
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The Czech legend also mentions a new leader of the Slavs of Bohemia – Krok - who had three beautiful daughters named Kazi, Teta and Libuše.  
  
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Kronikář naší první a latinské kroniky děkan P. Kosmas ve své kronice nazývá bájného prapředka Čecha Bohemus, tím vlastně říká - Kelt. Bohemus je latinské slovo pro člena keltského kmene Bojů, kteří zde žili. Odtud je i latinský název země Čechy - Bohemia (Bojohemum).
 
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Říman Titus Livius zaznamenal, že ve východní Gálii (východní Francie) žil keltský král Ambigatus, jehož dva synovci se vydali na východ. Jeden z nich se jmenoval Segovesus, ten došel do Hercynského lesa (později naše země). Jeho výprava podle římského letopisce postupovala podle řeky Ogary (Ohře), až stanul pod horou Rif (Říp). A Kosmova kronika uvádí, že družina praotce Čecha bylo jakési polovojenské tažení. Tyto zprávy však zcela mění údaje, které uvádí o praotci Čechovi Petr Hora-Hořejší ve své knize Toulky českou minulostí, díl I. vyd. r. 1985, 1993, 1995, která byla Ministerstvem školství ČR schválena jako doplňující texty k vyučování dějepisu.
 
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Dr. Jiří Břen potvrdil, že z lingvistického pohledu je jméno Krok (následník praotce Čecha) keltské. Krokův hrad stál někde u Stradonic, kde se našlo keltské hradiště. Krokovy dcery nesou atributy keltských kněžek: věštění, bylinkaření, uctívání kamenů (menhiry). Na keltský původ poukazuje i legenda o Přemyslu Oráčovi, stejně tak i pověst o Horymírovi a Bivojovi. Bílý kůň byl pro Kelty posvátným totemovým zvířetem. Prokazatelný je vztah Keltů k památným horám - k Řípu, k Blaníku. Na Blaníku měli pohanskou svatyni do doby, než je Markomané jako germánský kmen napadli. Keltové u nás založili první města - oppida, dolovali kovy, používali 70 druhů nářadí, emailovali kovy, vařili pivo. Byli čistotní, až se to Římanům zdálo být přehnané. Mnohé názvy u nás nesou rysy keltské: Otava, Vltava, Sázava, Morava, ale i Blaník, Blanice, Jizera. Kromě výpravy praotce Čecha zde bylo již dřívější keltské osídlení v údolích řek od doby halštatsko-laténské kultury.
 
 
http://www.sweb.cz/rcelt/cech.html
 
http://www.sweb.cz/rcelt/cech.html
  
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[[Image:ZPraha-07.JPG|300px|thumb|right|[[Church of Our Lady in front of Týn|Týn Church]] - a view from east of Prague.]]
 
[[Image:ZPraha-07.JPG|300px|thumb|right|[[Church of Our Lady in front of Týn|Týn Church]] - a view from east of Prague.]]
  
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According to legend, Princess [[Libuše]], the sovereign of the Czech tribe, married a humble plowman by the name of Přemysl and founded the [[Přemyslid dynasty|dynasty carrying the same name]]. The legendary Princess saw many prophecies from her castle Libusin, which was located in central Bohemia. (Archaeological finds dating back to the seventh century support this theory). In one prophecy, it is told, she foresaw the glory of Prague. One day she had a vision: "I see a vast city, whose glory will touch the stars! I see a place in the middle of a forest where a steep cliff rises above the Vltava River. There is a man, who is chiseling the threshold (''prah'') for the house. A castle named Prague (''Praha'') will be build there. Just as the princes and the dukes stoop in front of a threshold, they will bow to the castle and to the city around it. It will be honored, renowned of great repute, and praise will be bestowed upon it by the entire world."
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Libuse inherited the rule over the Czech tribes from her father, part of which was the highest 'court of appeal' for disputes among the people. She saw many prophecies from her castle Libusin, located in central Bohemia, which is also supported by archaeological finds dating back to the seventh century. A man who did not like one of her decisions started a stink about the Czechs being ruled by a woman, and a response came through another vision: "I see a vast city, whose glory will touch the stars! I see a place in the middle of a forest where a steep cliff rises above the Vltava River. There is a man chiseling the threshold (''prah'') for the house. A castle named Prague (''Praha'') will be build there, on the seven hills of which a fair city will grow, whose fame will rise to the stars. The [[Přemyslid dynasty|dynasty carrying the same name]] ruled over the Czech lands till the 14th century.
  
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From around 936, the Czech rulers got most of Bohemia under their control. The first Bohemian ruler acknowledged by the historians was Czech Prince Borivoj Premyslovec, who ruled in the second half of the 9th century. He and his wife Ludmila (who became a patron saint of Bohemia after her death) were baptized by Metodej, who (together with his brother Cyril) brought Christianity to Moravia in 863. Borivoj moved his seat from the fortified settlement Levý Hradec to a place called Prague (Praha). It was also called the Prague castle grounds or shortly Prague Castle. Since Borivoj's reign, it became the seat of the Czech rulers. (Prague Castle became the largest inhabited fortress in the world, and is the seat of the Czech president today).  
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From around 936, the Czech rulers got most of Bohemia under their control. The first Bohemian ruler acknowledged by historians was Czech Prince Borivoj Premyslovec, who ruled in the second half of the 9th century. He and his wife Ludmila (who became a patron saint of Bohemia after her death) were baptized by Metodej, who (together with his brother Cyril) brought Christianity to the Great Moravia region in 863. Borivoj moved his seat to Prague (Praha), also called the Prague castle grounds or Prague Castle, which thus became the seat of the Czech rulers. Prague Castle became the largest inhabited fortress in the world and is the seat of the Czech president.  
  
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Borivoj's grandson, [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Prince Wenceslas]], initiated friendly relations with the Saxon dynasty. Wenceslas wanted Bohemia to become an equal partner in a bigger empire. (Just as Bohemia had belonged to Great Moravia in the 9th century and to Samo's empire in the 7th century; both of these empires had been founded to resist the attacks of the Avars). Orientation towards the Saxons was not favored by his brother Boleslav, and it was the main reason why Prince Wenceslas was assassinated on September 28, 929. He was buried at St. Vitus' Rotunda, the church which he founded. (It stood on the ground where St. Wenceslas' Chapel in St. Vitus' Cathedral now is). A few years later Wenceslas was canonized and he became Bohemia's most beloved patron saint. He is "[[Good King Wenceslas]]" from the Christmas carol. In 962, Boleslav changed his mind and Bohemia became part of the newly instituted Roman Empire when Otto I the Great from the Saxon dynasty became the emperor. (It was the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire, the exact term being adapted in the 12th century).   
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===Bohemia Becomes Part of Roman Empire===
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Borivoj's grandson, [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Prince Wenceslas]], initiated friendly relations with the Saxon dynasty. Wenceslas wanted Bohemia to become an equal partner in a greater empire. Bohemia had belonged to Great Moravia in the 9th century and to Samo's empire in the 7th century; both resisted the attacks of the Avars. Orientation towards the Saxons was not favored by his brother Boleslav, and it was the main reason why Prince Wenceslas was assassinated on September 28, 929. He was buried at St. Vitus' Rotunda, the church which he founded. (It stood on the ground where St. Wenceslas' Chapel in St. Vitus' Cathedral now is). A few years later Wenceslas was canonized and he became Bohemia's most beloved patron saint. He is the "[[Good King Wenceslas]]" from the Christmas carol. In 962, Boleslav changed his mind and Bohemia became part of the newly instituted Roman Empire when Otto I the Great from the Saxon dynasty became the emperor. That was at the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire; the exact term was adapted in the 12th century.   
 
   
 
   
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By the early 10th century, the area around and below Prague Castle had developed into an important seat for trading, where merchants coming from all over Europe gathered. In 965, a Jewish merchant and traveler, called Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub wrote: "Prague is built from stone and lime, and it has the biggest trade center. Slavs are on the whole courageous and brave... They occupy the lands which are the most fertile and abundant with all the food supply."  
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By the early 10th century, the area around and below Prague Castle had developed into an important trading center, where merchants coming from all over Europe gathered. In 965, Jewish merchant and traveler Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub wrote: "Prague is built from stone and lime, and it has the biggest trade center. Slavs are on the whole courageous and brave... They occupy the lands which are the most fertile and abundant with all the food supply."  
  
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In 973, a bishopric was founded in Bohemia with the bishop's palace located on the Prague castle grounds. The first Czech bishop was Adalbert who became a Czech, Polish and Hungarian [[patron saint]] after he was canonized in 999.
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In 973, a bishopric was founded in Bohemia with the bishop's palace located on the Prague Castle grounds. The first Czech bishop was Adalbert who became a Czech, Polish and Hungarian [[patron saint]] after his canonization in 999.
  
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Next to the Romanesque fortified settlement of Prague, another Romanesque fortified settlement was built across the river Vltava at [[Vyšehrad|Vysehrad]] in the 11th century. During the reign of Prince [[Vratislaus II of Bohemia|Vratislav II]], who rose to the title of King of Bohemia Vratislav I in 1085, Vysehrad became the temporary seat of Czech rulers.  
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Next to the Romanesque fortified settlement of Prague, another Romanesque fortified settlement was built across the river Vltava at Vyšehrad in the 11th century. During the reign of Prince [[Vratislaus II of Bohemia|Vratislav II]], who rose to the title of Vratislav I, King of Bohemia, in 1085, Vysehrad became the temporary seat of Czech rulers.  
 
   
 
   
 
[[Image:Praha Bridges.JPG|260px|thumb|right|Bridges of Prague.]]
 
[[Image:Praha Bridges.JPG|260px|thumb|right|Bridges of Prague.]]
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[[Image:Prag rathausturm uhr.jpg|260px|thumb|right|[[Prague Orloj|The Astronomical Clock]]]]
 
[[Image:Prag rathausturm uhr.jpg|260px|thumb|right|[[Prague Orloj|The Astronomical Clock]]]]
 
      
 
      
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Prince [[Vladislav II of Bohemia|Vladislav II]] rose to the title of King of Bohemia Vladislav I in 1158. Many monasteries and many churches were built under the rule of Vladislav I. The Strahov Monastery, built after the Romanesque style, was founded in 1142. The first bridge over the river Vltava — the Judith Bridge — was build in 1170. (It crumbled in 1342 and a new bridge, later called the [[Charles Bridge]] was built in its place in 1357).  
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Prince [[Vladislav II of Bohemia|Vladislav II]] was crowned Vladislav I, the King of Bohemia, in 1158. Many monasteries and churches were built under his rule. The Romanesque style Strahov Monastery was founded in 1142. The first bridge over the river Vltava — the Judith Bridge — was building in 1170. (It crumbled in 1342 and a new bridge, later called the [[Charles Bridge]], was built in its place in 1357).  
  
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In 1212, Bohemia became a kingdom when [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Prince Premysl Otakar I]] rose to the title of King by inheritance from Frederick II (Emperor from 1215), which was legalized in the document called the "Golden Bull of Sicily". The king's daughter became another Bohemian saint. Agnes preferred to enter the convent than to marry Emperor Frederick II. 
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In 1212, Bohemia became a kingdom when [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Prince Premysl Otakar I]] rose to the title of King by inheritance from Frederick II (Emperor from 1215), which was legalized in the document called the "Golden Bull of Sicily".  
  
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In the 13th century, the towns started to rise. Three settlements around the Prague castle grounds gained the privilege of a town. The settlement below Prague Castle became New Town of Prague in 1257 under King [[Otakar II]], and it was later renamed Little Quarter of Prague [[Malá Strana]]. The town of Hradčany which was built around its square, just outside of the Prague's castle grounds, dates to 1320. Across the river Vltava, the Old Town of Prague ''Staré Město'' had already gained the privilege of a town in 1230.
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In the 13th century, the towns started to rise. Three settlements around the Prague castle grounds gained the privilege of a town. The settlement below Prague Castle became New Town of Prague in 1257 under King [[Otakar II]], and it was later renamed Lesser Town [[Malá Strana]]. The town of Hradčany, which was built around its square, just outside of the Prague's castle grounds, dates to 1320. Across the river Vltava, the Old Town of Prague ''Staré Město'' had already gained the privilege of a town in 1230.
  
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In the 13th century, King Premysl Otakar II was the most powerful king of the Holy Roman Empire during his reign, known as the King of Iron and Gold. He ruled in seven other countries, and his reign stretched from Silesia to the Adriatic coast.
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In the 13th century, King Premysl Otakar II, known as the King of Iron and Gold, was the most powerful king of the Holy Roman Empire. He ruled over seven other countries from Silesia to the Adriatic coast.
  
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The Premyslovec dynasty ruled until 1306 when the male line died out. The inheriting dynasty was the Luxembourg dynasty when Eliska, sister of the last Premyslovec ruler, married John of Luxembourg.
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The Premyslid dynasty ruled until 1306 when the male line died out. The inheriting dynasty was the Luxembourg dynasty, with Eliska, sister of the last Premyslid ruler, marrying John of Luxembourg.
 
   
 
   
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The city flourished during the 14th century during the reign of [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]], of the [[House of Luxembourg|Luxembourg dynasty]]. Charles was the oldest son of Czech Princess Eliska Premyslovna and John of Luxembourg. He was born in Prague in 1316 and he became the King of Bohemia upon the death of his father in 1346. Due to Charles' efforts, the bishopric of Prague was raised to an archbishopric in 1344. On April 7, 1348 he founded the first university in central, northern and eastern Europe, which is today called the [[Charles University]], which is the oldest Czech university and was the first German university . At the same year he also founded [[New Town, Prague|New Town]] (''Nové Město'') adjacent to Old Town. Charles rebuilt the Prague Castle and Vysehrad, and a new bridge was erected, now called the [[Charles Bridge]]. The construction of St. Vitus' Cathedral had also begun. Many new churches were founded. In 1355, Charles was crowned the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in Rome. Prague became the capital of [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Charles wanted Prague to become one of the most beautiful cities in the world. He wanted Prague to be the dominant city in the whole empire, the Prague Castle the dominant site in the city and the stately Gothic Cathedral to be more dominant than Prague Castle. Everything was built in a grandiose Gothic style and decorated with an independent art style, called the Bohemian school. During the reign of Emperor Charles IV, the Czech Lands were among the most powerful in Europe.  
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===Charles IV of Luxembourg Dynasty===
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The city flourished during the 14th century during the reign of [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]], of the [[House of Luxembourg|Luxembourg dynasty]]. Charles was the oldest son of Princess Eliska Premyslid and John of Luxembourg. He was born in Prague in 1316 and inherited the throne of the King of Bohemia upon the death of his father in 1346. Thanks to Charles, the bishopric of Prague was promoted to an archbishopric in 1344. On April 7, 1348 he founded [[Charles University]], the first university in central, northern and eastern Europe as well as the first German university. In the same year he also founded [[New Town, Prague|New Town]] (''Nové Město'') adjacent to Old Town.  
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Charles rebuilt the Prague Castle and Vysehrad, and a new bridge was erected, now called the [[Charles Bridge]]. The construction of St. Vitus' Cathedral had also begun, and numerous new churches were founded. In 1355, Charles was crowned the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in Rome, and Prague became the capital of [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Charles labored to make Prague into one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the dominant city in the empire, with the Prague Castle the dominant site in the city and the Gothic cathedral even more dominant. Everything was built in a grandiose Gothic style decorated in an independent art style, the Bohemian school. During the reign of Emperor Charles IV, the Czech Lands were among the most powerful in Europe.  
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===Hussite Wars===
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All that changed during the reign of weak King [[Wenceslas IV]] — ''Václav IV'' — (1378–1419), son of Charles IV. During his reign, Master [[Jan Hus]], a preacher and the university's rector, held his sermons in Prague in the Bethlehem Chapel, speaking in [[Czech language|Czech]] to disseminate his ideas about the reformation of the Roman Catholic Church. His burning at stake in 1415 in Constance following an accusation of heresy led four years later to the Hussite wars (following the [[First Defenestration of Prague|defenestration]], when the people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest [[Jan Želivský]] and threw the city's counselors out of the New Town Hall’s window). King Wenceslas IV died 16 days later.
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The crown was passed to the King’s younger stepbrother [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]] (''Zikmund'', son of Charles IV), who was opposed by the Hussites for his ideology. In retaliation, Sigismund invaded Prague with an army of 30,000 crusaders in an effort to achieve capitulation of Prague and the crown. It was Sigismund who invited Jan Hus to Constance to defend himself from heresy and promised him immunity, a promise he failed to keep. In 1420, peasant rebels, led by the famous one-eyed general [[Jan Žižka]], along with Hussite troops, defeated Sigismund in the [[Battle of Vítkov Mountain]]. More crusades followed, all of which ended in failure, but after Zizka died, the Hussite warriors were unable to maintain unity and eventually split. The most radical of them were defeated at the Battle of Lipany in 1434 after the moderate Hussites got together with the Czech Catholics. Sigismund became King of Bohemia until his death in 1437, when the male line of Luxembourg dynasty died out.
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Duke of Austria Albert II, the husband of Sigismund's daughter Elizabeth, became the Bohemian king for two years until his death. Sigismund’s grandson Ladislaw Posthumous (born after his father's death), was next in line for the Bohemian crown. When he died only 17 years old, nobleman George of Podebrady (Jiri z Podebrad), a former advisor to Ladislaus, was chosen as the Bohemian king both by the Catholics and by the Ultraquist Hussites. He was dubbed the Hussite king. During his reign, the pope dispatched a crusade against the Czech heretics, which was lead by King of Hungary Matthius Corvinus who, after the crusade, became King of Bohemia. George would not abdicate, so Bohemia had two kings.
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===Jagellon Dynasty===
  
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All that changed during the reign of weak King Wenceslas IV, son of Charles IV. During the reign of King [[Wenceslas IV]] — ''Václav IV'' — (1378–1419), Master [[Jan Hus]], a preacher and the university's rector, held his sermons in Prague in the Bethlehem Chapel, speaking in [[Czech language|Czech]] to enlarge as much as possible the diffusion of his ideas about the reformation of the church. His execution in 1415 in Constance (of accused heresy) led four years later to the Hussite wars (following the [[First Defenestration of Prague|defenestration]], when the people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest [[Jan Želivský]] and threw the city's counselors from the New Town Hall). King Wenceslas IV died 16 days later. His younger stepbrother Sigismund was the legitimate one to inherit the crown. But the Hussites opposed Sigismund and so he came to Prague with an army of 30,000 crusaders. He planned to get capitulation of Prague and the crown. (It was Sigismund, who invited Jan Hus to Constance to defend himself from heresy and he promised him immunity, but he didn't keep his word). In 1420, peasant rebels, led by the famous general [[Jan Žižka]], along with Hussite troops, defeated [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]] (''Zikmund'', son of Charles IV) in the [[Battle of Vítkov Mountain]]. There were more crusades, all of which ended in failure. But after Zizka died, the Hussite were not united anymore. Eventually they split. The most radical Hussites were finally defeated at the battle of Lipany in 1434 when the moderate Hussites got together with the Czech Catholics. Sigismund became King of Bohemia.
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Before his death, George made an arrangement with Polish King Casimir IV that the next Bohemian king would come from the Jagellon dynasty. (The wife of King Casimir IV was the sister of late Ladislaus Posthumous and so her son Vladislav was related to the Luxembourg dynasty and also to the original Bohemian Premyslid dynasty). The Jagellon dynasty ruled only until 1526, when it died out with Ludwig Jagellon.
  
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In 1437, Sigismund died. The male line of Luxembourg dynasty died out. Husband of Sigismund's daughter Elizabeth, Duke of Austria Albert II, became the Bohemian king for two years (until his death). Then, the next in line for Bohemian crown was grandson of Sigismund, born after his father's death, and thus called Ladislaw Posthumous. When he died 17 years old, nobleman George of Podebrady, former advisor of Ladislaus, was chosen as the Bohemian king both by the Catholics and by the Ultraquist Hussites. He was called the Hussite king. During his reign, the pope called for the crusade against the Czech heretics. The crusade was lead by King of Hungary Matthius Corvinus who, after the crusade, became also King of Bohemia. George did not abdicate. Bohemia had two kings. George, before his death, made an arrangement with Polish King Casimir IV that the next Bohemian king will come from the Jagellon dynasty. (The wife of King Casimir IV was the sister of late Ladislaus Posthumous and so her son Vladislav was related to the Luxembourg dynasty and also to the original Bohemian Premyslovec dynasty). The Jagellon dynasty ruled only until 1526 when the Jagellon dynasty died out with Ludwig Jagellon, son of Vladislav Jagellon.
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===Habsburg Dynasty===
  
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The next Bohemian king became Ferdinand Habsburg, husband of Ann Jagellon, who was sister of Ludwig Jagellon. It was the beginning of the Habsburg dynasty. After Ferdinand's brother Charles V resigned in 1556 as Emperor, Ferdinand was elected Emperor in 1558. After he died, his son Maximilian II inherited all his titles and then upon his death, his son Rudolf II inherited all the titles. It was during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II, when there was another glorious time for Prague. Prague became the cultural center of Holy Roman Empire again. Rudolf was related to the Jagellon dynasty, to the Luxemburg dynasty and to the Premyslovec dynasty. But he was also related to Spanish Joan the Mad (the daughter of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon); Joan was the mother of Rudolf's grandfather. Although Rudolf II was very talented, he was eccentric and he suffered from depression. Emperor [[Rudolf II]] lived in Prague Castle, where he held his bizarre courts of the astrologers, the magicians and other strange figures. But it was a prosperous period for the city; famous people living there included the astronomers [[Tycho Brahe]] and [[Johann Kepler]], the painters [[Giuseppe Arcimboldo]], B. Spranger, Hans von Aachen, J. Heintz  and others. In 1609, under the influence of the Protestant estates, Rudolf II (a devout Catholic), issued "Imperial Charter of Emperor" in which he legalized extensive religious freedom unparalled in Europe of that period. Many German Protestants (both Lutherans and Calvinists) immigrated to Bohemia. (One of them was Count J.M. Thurn, a German Lutheran; under his leadership the Third Defenestration of Prague happened in 1618 and it led to the Thirty Years War).   
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Ferdinand Habsburg, husband of Ann Jagellon, who was a sister of Ludwig Jagellon, was the next Bohemian king, and this was the beginning of the Habsburg dynasty. After Ferdinand's brother Charles V resigned in 1556 as Emperor, Ferdinand was elected Emperor in 1558. After he died, his son Maximilian II inherited all his titles and then upon his death, his son Rudolf II inherited all the titles. It was during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II, when there was another glorious time for Prague. Prague became the cultural center of Holy Roman Empire again. Rudolf was related to the Jagellon dynasty, to the Luxemburg dynasty and to the Premyslovec dynasty. But he was also related to Spanish Joan the Mad (the daughter of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon); Joan was the mother of Rudolf's grandfather. Although Rudolf II was very talented, he was eccentric and he suffered from depression. Emperor [[Rudolf II]] lived in Prague Castle, where he held his bizarre courts of the astrologers, the magicians and other strange figures. But it was a prosperous period for the city; famous people living there included the astronomers [[Tycho Brahe]] and [[Johann Kepler]], the painters [[Giuseppe Arcimboldo]], B. Spranger, Hans von Aachen, J. Heintz  and others. In 1609, under the influence of the Protestant estates, Rudolf II (a devout Catholic), issued "Imperial Charter of Emperor" in which he legalized extensive religious freedom unparalled in Europe of that period. Many German Protestants (both Lutherans and Calvinists) immigrated to Bohemia. (One of them was Count J.M. Thurn, a German Lutheran; under his leadership the Third Defenestration of Prague happened in 1618 and it led to the Thirty Years War).   
  
 
Next in line for Bohemian crown was Rudolf's brother Matthias, but since Matthias was childless, his cousin, the archduke Ferdinand of Styria, was preliminary accepted by the Bohemian Diet as the future Bohemian king when Matthias became ill. The Protestant estates of Bohemia didn't like this decision. Tension between the Protestants and the Catholics (who were pro-Habsburgs) led to the Third Defenestration of Prague when the Catholic governors were thrown from the windows at Prague Castle on May 23, 1618. They survived, but the Protestants replaced the Catholic governors. This incident led to the Thirty Years War. When Matthias died, Ferdinand of Styria was elected Emperor as Emperor Ferdinand II, but was not accepted as King of Bohemia by the Protestant directors. Calvinist [[Frederick V of Pfalz]] was elected King of Bohemia. The Battle on the White Mountain followed on November 8, 1620. Emperor Ferdinand II was helped by not only Catholic Spain, Catholic Poland, and Catholic Bavaria, but also by Lutheran Saxon (who disliked the Calvinists). The Protestant army, lead by the warior Count J.M. Thurn, was formed from the Protestant armies, mostly Lutheran Silesia, Lusatias, and Moravia. It was mainly the battle between the Protestants and the Catholics. The Catholics won and Emperor Ferdinand II became King of Bohemia. He proclaimed the re-Catholicization of the Czech Lands. Twenty seven Protestant leaders were executed in Old Town Square in Prague on June 21, 1621. (Executed were three noblemen, seven knights and seventeen burghers, including Dr. Jan Jesenius, the rector of Prague university). Most Protestant leaders fled, including Count J.M. Thurn; those who had stayed didn't expect such a harsh punishment. The Protestants had to return all the Catholic seized property to the Church. No faith other than Catholic was permitted. The upper classes were given the option either to emigrate or to convert to Catholicism. The German language was given equal rights with the Czech language. After the [[Peace of Westphalia]], Ferdinand II moved the court to [[Vienna]], and Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000.
 
Next in line for Bohemian crown was Rudolf's brother Matthias, but since Matthias was childless, his cousin, the archduke Ferdinand of Styria, was preliminary accepted by the Bohemian Diet as the future Bohemian king when Matthias became ill. The Protestant estates of Bohemia didn't like this decision. Tension between the Protestants and the Catholics (who were pro-Habsburgs) led to the Third Defenestration of Prague when the Catholic governors were thrown from the windows at Prague Castle on May 23, 1618. They survived, but the Protestants replaced the Catholic governors. This incident led to the Thirty Years War. When Matthias died, Ferdinand of Styria was elected Emperor as Emperor Ferdinand II, but was not accepted as King of Bohemia by the Protestant directors. Calvinist [[Frederick V of Pfalz]] was elected King of Bohemia. The Battle on the White Mountain followed on November 8, 1620. Emperor Ferdinand II was helped by not only Catholic Spain, Catholic Poland, and Catholic Bavaria, but also by Lutheran Saxon (who disliked the Calvinists). The Protestant army, lead by the warior Count J.M. Thurn, was formed from the Protestant armies, mostly Lutheran Silesia, Lusatias, and Moravia. It was mainly the battle between the Protestants and the Catholics. The Catholics won and Emperor Ferdinand II became King of Bohemia. He proclaimed the re-Catholicization of the Czech Lands. Twenty seven Protestant leaders were executed in Old Town Square in Prague on June 21, 1621. (Executed were three noblemen, seven knights and seventeen burghers, including Dr. Jan Jesenius, the rector of Prague university). Most Protestant leaders fled, including Count J.M. Thurn; those who had stayed didn't expect such a harsh punishment. The Protestants had to return all the Catholic seized property to the Church. No faith other than Catholic was permitted. The upper classes were given the option either to emigrate or to convert to Catholicism. The German language was given equal rights with the Czech language. After the [[Peace of Westphalia]], Ferdinand II moved the court to [[Vienna]], and Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000.
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[[Image:Prague crowd Malá Strana.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Packed with tourists on a busy summer day in [[Malá Strana]] (Lesser Quarter), Prague]]
 
[[Image:Prague crowd Malá Strana.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Packed with tourists on a busy summer day in [[Malá Strana]] (Lesser Quarter), Prague]]
  
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* [[Old Town, Prague|Old Town]] (Staré Město) with its [[Old Town Square (Prague)|Old Town Square]]
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* Old Town (Staré Město) with its [[Old Town Square (Prague)|Old Town Square]]
 
* The [[Prague Orloj|Astronomical Clock]]
 
* The [[Prague Orloj|Astronomical Clock]]
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* The picturesque [[Charles Bridge]]
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* The picturesque Charles Bridge
 
* [[New Town, Prague|New Town]] (Nové město) with its busy and historic [[Wenceslas Square]]
 
* [[New Town, Prague|New Town]] (Nové město) with its busy and historic [[Wenceslas Square]]
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* [[Malá Strana]] (Lesser Quarter)
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* Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter)
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* [[Prague Castle]] (the largest castle in the world) with its [[St. Vitus Cathedral]]
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* Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) with its St. Vitus Cathedral
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* [[Josefov (Prague)|Josefov]] (the old Jewish quarter) with [[Old Jewish Cemetery]] and [[Old New Synagogue]]
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* [[Josefov (Prague)|Josefov]] (the old Jewish quarter) with Old Jewish Cemetery and Old New Synagogue
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* The [[Lennon Wall]]
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* The [[Lennon]] Wall
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* [[Vinohrady]]
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* Vinohrady
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* The museum of [[Operation Anthropoid|Heydrich assassination]] in the crypt of the [[Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius]]
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* The museum of [[Operation Anthropoid|Heydrich assassination]] in the crypt of the Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius
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* [[National Museum (Prague)|National Museum]]
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* National Museum (Prague)
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* [[Vyšehrad]] castle
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* Vyšehrad Castle
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* [[Petřínská rozhledna]], an observation tower on Petřín hill, which is nearly a 1:5 copy of the [[Eiffel Tower]]
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* Petřínská rozhledna, an observation tower on Petřín hill, which is nearly a 1:5 copy of the [[Eiffel Tower]]
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* [[Anděl (City part)]] which is probably the busiest part of the city with a super modern shopping mall and architecture
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* Anděl (City part) which is probably the busiest part of the city with a super modern shopping mall and architecture
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* [[Žižkov Television Tower]] with observation deck
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* Žižkov Television Tower with observation deck
 
* The New Jewish Cemetery in Olšany, location of [[Franz Kafka]]'s grave
 
* The New Jewish Cemetery in Olšany, location of [[Franz Kafka]]'s grave
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* The [[Prague Metronome|Metronome]], a giant, functional metronome that looms over the city
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* The Prague Metronome, a giant, functional metronome that looms over the city
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* The [[Dancing House]] (Fred and Ginger Building)
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* The Dancing House (Fred and Ginger Building)
 
* The Mucha Museum, showcasing the [[Art Nouveau]] works of [[Alfons Mucha]]
 
* The Mucha Museum, showcasing the [[Art Nouveau]] works of [[Alfons Mucha]]
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* Places connected to writers living in the city, such as [[Franz Kafka]].
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* Places connected to writers living in the city, such as Franz Kafka.
  
 
[[Image:PragueCityscape.JPG|right|thumb|250px|A postcard image of Prague from the top of the [[Petřínská rozhledna]].]]
 
[[Image:PragueCityscape.JPG|right|thumb|250px|A postcard image of Prague from the top of the [[Petřínská rozhledna]].]]
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Significant cultural institutions:
 
Significant cultural institutions:
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*[[National Theatre (Prague)|National Theatre]]
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*National Theatre (Prague)
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*[[The Rudolfinum]] (home to the [[Czech Philharmonic Orchestra]])  
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*The Rudolfinum (home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra)  
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*[[State opera (Prague)|State Opera]]
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*State opera (Prague)
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*[[National Museum (Prague)|National Museum]]
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*National Museum (Prague)
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*[[Náprstek Museum]]
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*Náprstek Museum
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*[[Clementinum|National Library]]
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*Clementinum (National Library)
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*[[National Gallery in Prague|National Gallery]]
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*National Gallery in Prague
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There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. Prague also hosts [[Film Festivals]], [[List of music festivals|Music Festivals]], a [[Prague Writers Festival|Writers Festival]], hundreds of [[Vernissage]]s and [[Fashion Show Mall|Fashion Shows]].
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There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. Prague also hosts Film Festivals, [[List of music festivals|Music Festivals]], a [[Prague Writers Festival|Writers Festival]], hundreds of Vernissages and Fashion Shows.
  
 
See also:
 
See also:
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* [[Prague Spring International Music Festival]]
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* Prague Spring International Music Festival
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* [[Prague Autumn International Music Festival]]
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* Prague Autumn International Music Festival
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* [[Febiofest]]
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* Febiofest
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* [[One World Film Festival]]
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* One World Film Festival
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* Echoes of the [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]]
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* Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
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* [[Barrandov Studios]]
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* Barrandov Studios
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* [[Prague Writers Festival]]
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* Prague Writers Festival
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* [[Prague International Organ Festival]]
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* Prague International Organ Festival
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* [[Prague Fringe Festival]]
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* Prague Fringe Festival
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* [[World Roma Festival]]
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* World Roma Festival
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* Premiere of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s [[Don Giovanni]]
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* Premiere of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s ''Don Giovanni''
  
 
==Economy==
 
==Economy==

Revision as of 05:59, 25 December 2006

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For other uses, see Prague (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 50°05′N 14°26′E

Prague (Praha), Czech Republic
128px
Capital city Czech Republic (Česká republika)
Population 1,183,729 (31 March 2006)
Area 496 km²
Coordinates 50°05′ N 14°26′ E
Elevation 177-399 m AMSL
Founded 9th century
Website prague-city.cz
Prague location map
Portal Prague Portal

Prague (Czech: Praha (IPA: [ˈpraɦa]), see also other names) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated on the Vltava river in central Bohemia, it is home to approximately 1.2 million people. (It can be derived from jobs statistics, however, that an additional 300,000 work there without having registered as residents.)

Nicknames for Prague have included "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city". Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. According to Guinness World Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world.

my additions

Praha Praha – od roku 1920 Hlavní město Praha, předtím od roku 1784 Královské hlavní město Praha – je hlavním a součastně největším městem Česko .


Poloha a charakteristika Do dnešní podoby se vyvíjela jedenáct století. V současnosti se rozkládá na území 496 čtverečních kilometrů, kde žije zhruba 1 180 100 obyvatel (údaj ČSÚ za rok 2005 ). Historické centrum města s jedinečným panoramatem Pražský hrad je památkovou rezervací UNESCO . Praha je statutárním městem a vyšším územním samosprávným celkem na úrovni kraje. Leží uprostřed území Čechy na řece Vltava a je ze všech stran obklopena Středočeský kraj , jehož správní úřady rovněž sídlí v Praze.


Historie

Hlavní článek: Dějiny Prahy

Počátky hradu a města Prahy Na území dnešní Prahy sídlila v předhistorické době řada nejrůznějších kmenů - poslední nálezy u Křeslic datují zdejší osídlení do doby před sedmi tisíci lety (jde o kulturu s lineární - dříve volutovou - keramikou). Na stejném místě je však doloženo i mnohem pozdější germánské sídliště (archeologie) . V 6. století začali osídlovat pražskou kotlinu Slované . Důležitým kultovním místem se stal ostroh nad řekou Vltavou zvaný Žiži (nebo Sizi), kde později docházelo k obřadnímu nastolování knížat „kmene“ Čechů. Na tomto místě nechal Bořivoj I. postavit koncem 9. století druhý křesťanský kostelík v Čechách, zasvěcený Panně Marii. Za vlády Bořivojova syna Spytihněv I. na počátku 10. století byla celá plošina ostrohu obehnána obranným valem a vznikl zde knížecí palác. Tak byly položeny základy Pražského hradu, kam přesídlil kníže se svojí družinou z Levý Hradec . Praha se stala centrem rodícího se českého státu. Z Pražského hradu a dalších hradišť ve středních Čechách začali přemyslovští vládci spravovat okolní území, kde si postupně podřídili místní obyvatele a přiměli je k odvádění dávek. Existence knížecího hradu přivedla do jeho podhradí řemeslníky a obchodníky - začalo se rodit středověké město. Středověk Počátkem 12. století byla Praha kvetoucím městem, nad nímž se vznosně vypínal knížecí Hrad. „Tam žijí Židé mající plno zlata a stříbra, tam jsou ze všech národů nejbohatší kupci, tam jsou nejzámožnější peněžníci, tam stojí tržiště a něm plno kořisti …“, napsal kdosi neznámý o Praze koncem 11. století . Tehdejší Praha se rozkládala na území dnešního Starého Města. Pojmenování Starší - respektive latinským terminem Maior, to znamená také Větší - Město pražské získala poté, co Přemysl II. Otakar udělil roku 1257 městská práva pražskému podhradí, osídlenému již od 10. století. Tak vzniklo Nové, později Menší Město Pražské - Malá Strana . Příliv řemeslníků a kupců do obou měst sílil, zvláště když se v době panování Karel IV. Praha stala císařskou residencí a císař zamýšlel učinit z ní hlavní město Svaté říše římské. Prostor vymezený hradbami pražských měst však začal být pro početné příchozí brzy příliš těsný, a tak panovník přistoupil k velkorysému podniku – v roce 1348 založil další Nové Město pražské a vytýčil pro ně rozsáhlé území rozprostírající se mezi Vyšehrad em, Poříčí m a Starým Městem. To bylo postupně zaplněno výstavnými měšťanskými domy, prostornými tržišti, nádhernými stavbami kostelů a klášterů. "Velikostí a nádherou mohla Praha této doby soupeřit s nejslavnějšími městy Řím em, Florencie , Paříž í, Kolín nad Rýnem , napsal o sídelním městě Karla IV. František Palacký . Sjednocení pražských měst K prvnímu pokusu o sjednocení Starého a Nového Města došlo v roce 1518 na popud staroměstských měšťanů vedených Janem Paškem z Vratu. Roku 1523 král Ludvík Jagellonský potvrdil sjednocenou městskou radu, a tak spojení pražských měst legalizoval. Jednotná Praha neexistovala dlouho. Zanikla již roku 1528 . Sjednotit pražská města natrvalo do jednoho správního celku se podařilo až roku 1784 za vlády císaře Josef II. . Královské hlavní město Praha pak tvořilo Nové a Staré Město pražské, Malá Strana a Hradčany. Postupně byl připojen Josefov (Praha) , Vyšehrad a Holešovice . Na konci 19. století byla Praha již industrializace , rychle se rozvíjejícím městem se železnice a továrnami. Tehdy se stala jedním z předních průmyslových a obchodních center Evropy. Roku 1893 byla asanace severní část Starého Města; začaly se rozvíjet elektrické dráhy, k městu se zároveň připojil Karlín a Libeň . Velká Praha Na konci První světová válka byla vyhlášena nezávislost českého státu, ke kterému se vzápětí připojilo Slovensko . V Praze docházelo k ničení symbolů rakouského mocnářství, jakým byl například Mariánský sloup na Staroměstském náměstí. Jako hlavní město nově ustanoveného Československo byla Praha i nadále modernizována a rozšiřována. Roku 1922 byla založena Velká Praha , do které byla zahrnuta všechna předměstí včetně do té doby samostatných měst jakými byly Praha-Vinohrady nebo Košíře . Praha, v niž vedle sebe žilo obyvatelstvo českého, německého a židovského původu, se stala pozoruhodným kulturním centrem. Historizující styl, v němž bylo postaveno např. Národní divadlo, pseudogotické chrámy sv. Prokopa na Žižkově a sv. Ludmily na Náměstí Míru, či přestavěna vyšehradská bazilika, rázně odvrhla secese přelomu století (Obecní dům, nová budova Hlavního nádraží, Hotel Central v Hybernské ulici, Petřínská rozhledna a Průmyslový palác v Holešovicích, Husův pomník na Staroměstském náměstí). Desetileté secesní období přerušila světová válka. Na konci dvacátých let 20. století se začal v architektuře projevovat funkcionalismus – vznikly první moderní budovy a byla také dostavěna gotická Katedrála svatého Víta . Světově unikátní je architektura kubismus – jedině v Praze přešel kubismus z malířských pláten do architektury ( Pavel Janák , Josef Gočár , Josef Chochol ), ambiciózním plánem bylo založení kubistického sídliště na Vyšehrad . Pod vlivem nastupujícího nacismu ve druhé polovině 30.let Prahu začaly opouštět první obyvatelé. Druhá světová válka Za války bylo z Prahy odsunuto v transportech do koncentrační tábor žid ovské obyvatelstvo, stejně jako Cikáni ské (tehdejší běžné označení) a další její obyvatelé tzv. „ méněcenná rasa “. Běžné byly popravy a věznění odpůrců nacismus režim u. Nechvalně proslulou se v této souvislosti stala například úřadovna Gestapa v Pečkově paláci nebo Kobyliská střelnice . Škody na pražské zástavbě byly za osvobozování Prahy minimální, k lehkému poškození došlo pouze za bombardování americkými letadly na konci války (věže kláštera v Emauzích) a plánovanou likvidaci už nemohl v té době oslabený a ustupující nacistický režim provést. Podle vůle komunistických předáků pražské povstání (Smrkovský) a předem stanovených smluv mezi spojenci z protihitlerovské koalice Prahu musela osvobodit Rudá armáda , zatímco Americká armáda vyčkávala u Plzeň . Dříve než sovětská vojska do města dorazila, vypuklo zde 5.května 1945 Pražské květnové povstání , které ukončil 9.května příjezd Rudé armády. Praha jako hlavní město socialistického Československa V únor 1948 se chopili moci komunismus , plánování a výstavba města začaly probíhat v duchu „ socialistický realismus “. Vznikla tak první sídliště ( Dvouletka ) a později i první panelové sídliště na Petřiny . V letech 1960, 1968, 1970 a 1974 bylo k Praze připojeno Části Prahy . V 60. a 70. letech se zmodernizovaly důležité dopravní stavby jako letiště a Hlavní nádraží , začalo se budovat metro a takzvaný ZÁKOS - systém kapacitních městských komunikací, z nichž jedna oddělila Národní muzeum od Václavské náměstí . Pro obyvatele, kteří přicházeli do Prahy z celé republiky, byla na zelených loukách okolo Prahy budována panelová sídliště (největší z nich je Jižní Město ). Postupující Ekonomika úpadek země zasáhl i Prahu, což se projevilo v zanedbaném vzhledu města i ve zhoršování služeb. Mocenský monopol komunistické strany ukončila Sametová revoluce . Praha po sametové revoluci Otevření státních hranic přivedlo do města početné davy turistů. Rozvoj soukromého podnikání se projevil na mnoha starších, leckdy chátrajících budovách i menších domech, které byly opraveny. Došlo k výstavbě mnoha obchodních komplexů, ve městě se zmnohonásobil dopravní provoz, který působí řadu problémů. http://praha.cs.gabsmad.info/


Historie Prahy

vyšehradKořeny dnešního významu Prahy spočívají v její tisícileté histo­rii hlavního města českého státu a jedné z nejstarších evropských metropolí. Lidská sídla se na jejím území nacházela již v období pravěku, Pražský hrad jako dodnes užívané sídlo hlavy státu založil mezi lety 880 a 890 první historický český kníže, Bořivoj I. z rodu Přemyslovců. V první polovině 10. stol. vznikla druhá knížecí rezidence - Vyšehrad, a v podhradí obou pevností se záhy vytvořila živá mezinárodní tržiště a kupecko-řemeslnické osady městského typu.

Ve 13. stol. se obyvatelé předtím právně roztříštěného pražského podhradí sjednotili do městských obcí a opevnili hradbami Větší čili Staré Město pražské (kol. 1230). R. 1257 král Přemysl Otakar II. založil a opevnil na levém břehu Vltavy Nové Město (od 14. stol. nazývané Menším Městem nebo Malou Stranou). Vrchol rozkvětu tohoto středověkého souměstí přinesla vláda císaře a krále Karla IV. (1346-1378). Karel založil v Praze univerzi­tu, první na sever od Alp (1348), velkoryse vyměřil a založil No­vé Město pražské (1348), zvětšil Hradčany a Malou Stranu, zbudoval desítky světských i církevních staveb. Praha vyrostla ve skvělé gotické velkoměsto, jedno z největších v tehdejší Evropě, v němž na ploše 8 km2 žilo asi 40 000 obyvatel.

Vážné sociální rozpory vyvolaly v pražských městech reformní hnutí, které po upálení jeho vůdčího představitele Jana Husa (1415) vyústilo v revoluci (1419-1434). Husitská Praha hned na jejím počátku odstranila moc královských úřadů, německého patriciátu a římské církve, ubránila se křížovým výpravám krále Zikmunda a stala se na čas rozhodujícím mocenským činitelem v zemi. Výsadní politické postavení v čele měst­ského stavu si pražské měšťanstvo udrželo i v pohusitském období. Jeho dominantní pozicí otřásl až nástup dynastie Habsbur­ků na český trůn (1526) a dalekosáhlé omezení městských práv českých královských měst Ferdinandem I. po neúspěšném stavovském povstání roku 1547.

portál katedrályVzdor ztrátě politického vlivu prošla Praha ve druhé polovině 16. stol. obdobím intenzivní renesanční přestavby a v l. 1583-1612 se stala sídlem uměnímilovného císaře Rudolfa II., jehož dvůr byl shromaždištěm umělců a učenců z celé Evropy. Počtem 60 000 obyvatel se česká metropole opět zařadila mezi přední evropská velkoměsta. Přestože po porážce druhého stavovského odboje proti Habsburkům v osudné bitvě na Bílé hoře (1620) postihly pražská města znovu tvrdé tresty, nucená emigrace nekatolíků, plenění a válečné ztráty a přestože přestěhování císařského dvora a úřadů do Vídně postupně degradovalo Prahu z hlavního města státu na pouhé zemské centrum, uchovalo si město svůj hospodářský i kulturní význam. Pokračovala vý­stavba šlechtických paláců a především klášterů i chrámů obnovené katolické církve a právě v této době získala jeho architektura osobitou, stylově vzácně jednotnou tvář „pražského baroka“.

malostranské náměstíPatentem císaře Josefa II. z 12. února 1784 byla čtyři dosud samostatná pražská města - Staré Město, Nové Město, Malá Strana a Hradčany - spojena v jeden celek, v hlavní město Prahu. V důsledku průmyslové revoluce vznikl v předpolí jejího barokního opevnění kruh velkých průmyslových předměstí (Karlín, Smíchov, Holešovice, Libeň ad.). Praha se stala největším výrobním a dopravním centrem v zemi a v průběhu 19. stol. se proměnila v moderní velkoměsto. Byla ohniskem vlasteneckého národně obrozeneckého hnutí, jež po revoluci 1848 překonalo pobělohorský úpadek českého jazyka i národního a státní­ho vědomí. Záporným důsledkem této modernizace byla necitlivá asanace vnitřního města, které po roce 1893 padla za oběť velká část Starého Města a téměř celé Nové Město i Židovské Město. Jen zčásti nahradily vzniklou kulturní ztrátu nové reprezentační budovy ve slohu české novorenesance, secese a kubismu.

pražské mosty28. října 1918 se Praha stala hlavním městem samostatné Československé republiky. Dnem 1. ledna 1922 k ní bylo připo­jeno 37 sousedních měst a vesnic. Vznikla velká Praha, na jejímž území o rozloze 171,64 km2 žilo 676 657 obyvatel. Po překonání poválečné krize a sociálního neklidu prošlo město v letech 1922-1938 dalším obdobím dynamického rozvoje. Jeho výsledkem byl nejen vzrůst počtu obyvatel až k hranici 1 milionu (1938), ale především vznik četných hodnot urbanistických, architektonických i kulturních, nesených duchem modernismu, funkcionalismu a avant­gardních uměleckých proudů 20. a 30. let 20. stol. Praha se stala útočištěm exulantů ze zemí, kde byly nastoleny totalitní a fašistické režimy, a přes rostoucí ohrožení naci­onalismem a fašismem si až do počátku r. 1939 udržela demokratickou samosprávu, na níž se podílely všechny politické proudy od pravice po komunisty.

Když 15. března 1939 okupovala město nacistická vojska, změnila se Praha, v níž žilo 95 % českého obyvatelstva, v projevech představitelů okupační správy ve "staré německé město", kde Češi měli být jen dočasně trpěni. Jeho skutečnou tvář však ukázaly masové demonstrace obyvatelstva proti okupantům 28. října 1939, zatýkání a po­pravy po uzavření českých vysokých škol 17. listopadu 1939 i krvavý teror po atentátu na zastupujícího říšského protektora R. Heydricha (27. 5. 1942). Protifašistický odboj Pražanů vyvrcholil povstáním ve dnech 5.-9. května 1945, které skončilo osvobozením města a příchodem Rudé armády.

Poválečný politický vývoj vedl k uchopení moci Komunistickou stranou Československa, která po nekrvavém pražském převratu z 20.- 25. února 1948 namísto proklamované tzv. československé cesty k socialismu vytvořila totalitní nedemokratický režim, poznamenaný policejní zvůlí a justičními zločiny. Pokusem o jeho překonání bylo "pražské jaro" roku 1968, násilné ukončené vpádem okupačních vojsk pěti zemí Varšavské smlouvy dne 21. srpna 1968. Nastolení tzv. normalizačního kurzu přineslo pak v pražských poměrech nejen potlačení sotva obnovených zárodků demokracie a svobodného života obča­nů, ale též další prohlubování stagnačních rysů ve sféře ekonomiky i ve všech oblastech veřejného a kulturního dění. Konec čtyřicetileté komunistické totality přinesla "sametová" revoluce, jejímž začátkem byla studentská demonstrace v Praze 17. listopadu 1989. Obnova pluralitního demokratického systému, rozsáhlé majetkové restituce a privatizace živností i služeb proměnily a výrazně oživily tvář města, které znovu nalezlo svoji dynamiku. Stalo se kulturním a turistickým centrem evropského významu i dějištěm nejvýznamnějších politických jednání. Pražská památková rezervace byla v r. 1992 zapsána do Seznamu světového kulturního dědictví UNESCO. Na přelomu 20. a 21. století hlavní město České republiky přes řadu problémů, které zbývají k řešení, znovu důstojně navázalo na svoji staletou his­torickou roli hlavy českého státu a jedné z významných metropolí a duchovních křižovatek Evropy. http://www.praha-mesto.cz/(sl5xs255xzv5bn55tblbz1ub)/default.aspx?ido=5240&sh=-2089591173


Karlův most

Karlův most patří k nejvýznamnějším turistickým pozoruhodnostem města. Je to nejstarší dochovaný pražský most. Měl dva předchůdce: dřevěný most v místech asi o něco níže po proudu Vltavy, připomínaný v 10. století, a potom asi od roku 1170 první kamenný most (po řezenském druhý ve střední Evropě), zvaný Juditin podle manželky krále Vladislava I., za jehož panování byl most vystavěn. Juditin most, užší a nižší než Karlův a s jeho trasou téměř souběžný, stál až do roku 1342, kdy byl zničen povodní.

Po této katastrofě byl dlouhou dobu provizorně užíván pouze most dřevěný a až 9. července 1357 v 5 hodin 31 minut položil král Karel IV. (1346 - 1378) základní kámen nového mostu. Datum, i s přesným určením času, bylo vybráno s ohledem na konjunkci Slunce se Saturnem, což byl podle astrologů pro takový počin nejvhodnější a nejšťastnější okamžik roku. Stavbou byl pověřen mladý švábský stavitel Petr Parléř a jeho huť, která most dokončila začátkem 15. století.

Most se stal brzy jedním ze středisek městského života. Zde se obchodovalo, soudilo, na mostě se pořádaly turnaje. Nemalý byl i jeho význam vojenský. Tudy utíkal zimní král po porážce na Bílé hoře, tady útočili na Prahu Švédové v roce 1648 a při bojích zničili část výzdoby mostu, zničena byla i částečně Staroměstská mostecká věž.

Most byl však především – tak jako i dnes – místem procházek, přes most vedla i proslulá Královská cesta. Z mostu se otevírá překrásný pohled na Vltavu, na panorama města Prahy a Hradu.

Sochařská výzdoba Karlova mostu

Nejznámějším se však Karlův most stal pro svou charakteristickou barokní sochařskou výzdobu.

Myšlenka sochařské výzdoby, této galerie plastik pod širým nebem, je italského původu podle vzoru Andělského mostu v Římě. Spojení přísné gotické architektury mostu s barokními sochařskými skupinami dalo celku ojedinělý a osobitý charakter. Výzdoba nebyla jednorázovou akcí. V prvéní polovině 17. století byl obnoven na mostě kříž, roku 1683 byla postavena jako první socha Jana Nepomuckého. V letech 1695–1696 byla na mostě umístěna socha Piety (později přenesená do nádvoří nemocnice pod Petřínem) a kolem roku 1700 sousoší sv. Václava, ale ani to se na mostě nezachovalo.

V letech 1706-1714 byl most vyzdoben již 26 sochami a sousošími. Další plastiky byly na mostě osazeny až ve druhé polovině 19. století – roku 1857 socha sv. Kryštofa a roku 1859 nové sousoší sv. Václava. Posledním sochařským dílem je Dvořákovo sousoší sv. Cyrila a Metoděje z roku 1938.

Dnes stojí na Karlově mostě alej třiceti soch a sousoší od nejznámějších umělců (Matyáše Bernarda Brauna, Jano Brokoffa a jeho synů Michala Jana Josefa a Ferdinanda Maxmiliána) až po sochaře méně známé.

Asi uprostřed mostu je na zábradlí reliéf, znázorňující utopení Jana Nepomuckého, který byl prohlášen roku 1729 svatým. Jan Nepomucký, správně Jan z Pomuka, generální vikář, byl utopen roku 1393 pod Karlovým mostem na rozkaz Václava IV., protože proti králově vůli potvrdil nového opata kladrubského kláštera, a nikoliv proto, že nechtěl jako královnin zpovědník vyzradit prchlivému králi zpovědní tajemství.

Na konci mostu před Malostranskými mosteckými věžemi stojí na levé straně renesanční domek z roku 1591, v němž bývala celnice. V prvním patře domu je vzácný románský reliéf z poloviny 13. století, původně snad výzdoba průčelí nižší Mostecké věže. http://tschechien-prag.hotel-academic.cz/karluv-most.html



Struèná historie

Praha je mezi velkomìsty jedineèná. Unikla nièení bìhem dvou svìtových válek a alespoò do roku 1989 byla jakýmsi živoucím muzejním exponátem, což bylo zapøíèinìno režimem, který nemìl zájem ani na jejím blahobytu ani na jejím rozvoji. Pozitivním dùsledkem této neèinnosti je, že Praha nyní pøedstavuje témìø neporušené umìlecké dílo.

Povìst vypráví, že více než pøed tisíci lety knìžna Libuše pøedpovìdìla založení mìsta, jehož "sláva se bude nebes dotýkat". Uhádla rovnìž, kde se nachází její budoucí manžel, což bylo velmi šikovné. Jeho jméno mìlo být "Pøemysl" (oráè), a mìl být nalezen ve chvíli, kdy tesal práh svého domu. Takto pìknì se vysvìtlují poèátky Pøemyslovské dynastie (která v Èechách vládla až do 14. století) a pùvod èeského jména mìsta - Prahy.

Ukázalo se, že Praha je výborným místem pro obchod v ranì støedovìké Evropì. Podaøilo se jí dobøe navázat mezinárodní kontakty a to dokonce i s tehdy tak odlehlými mìsty, jakým je Øím. Založení pražského biskupství v 10. století pøilákalo ještì více kupcù, takže ve 13. století se Praha stala jedním z nejdùležitìjších míst pro obchod v Evropì. (Je zajímavé, jak pád komunismu vedl k tomu, že se Praha stává opìt ideálním centrem pro provozování obchodních transakcí v Evropì.)

Zhruba v této dobì král Václav, který uvažoval velmi prozíravì, pozval do mìsta, aèkoli s tím veøejné mínìní nesouhlasilo, nìmecké kupce a udìlil jim nìkterá významná privilegia a pøekvapivì i právo na jistou míru samosprávy. Malá Strana byla vybudována v podhradí právì proto, aby se v ní usídlili noví nìmeètí kupci. Nešastná židovská komunita, která pøedtím toto místo obývala, byla násilnì pøesídlena.

Císaø Svaté øíše øímské Karel IV. se postaral o první "zlatý vìk" Prahy. Založil první univerzitu ve Støední Evropì. Postavil katedrálu sv. Víta. Pøikázal postavit nový, významný most a také založil "Nové Mìsto". Postavil také naprosto zbyteènou zeï - tzv. Hladovou, aby mohl dìlníkùm zaplatit bez toho, že by se uchýlil k pøímé charitì. Praha, jak ji známe dnes, je pøedevším jeho zásluhou. V této dobì dosahoval poèet pražského obyvatelstva okolo 40.000, z èehož velký podíl pøedstavovali studenti dychtivý studovat na nové univerzitì. Karel považoval za svou prioritu podporu èeského jazyka a tradic.

Po Karlovì smrti pøišel Jan Hus se silným sociálnì-náboženským programem, zamìøeným na odpor proti silám øíše, které v té dobì již prosazovaly na vìtšinì území. Nakonec se však Habsburkùm podaøilo husity potlaèit a následnì ovládnout Èechy.

"Bitva na Bílé hoøe" v první tøetinì 17. století byla pokusem èeské šlechty svrhnout habsburskou nadvládu (v této bitvì bojoval jako katolický žoldák filosof René Descartes, a upadl zde prý v dùsledku zranìní do bezvìdomí. Když se vzpamatoval, prohlásil svou nesmrtelnou vìtu: "Myslím, tudíž jsem." - co se dá také øíci?). Šlechta byla poražena a Prahu nyní èekal úpadek, klesal její význam mocnosti v Evropì a rakousko-uherské impérium ji na 300 let ovládlo. Místo ní nabyla na síle Vídeò a pøevzala po Praze úlohu mocenského centra støední Evropy.

V 17. století dochází k pøíchodu jezuitù, jejichž úlohou bylo katolicizovat vìtšinové protestantské obyvatelstvo. Postarali se zároveò o stavbu nìkolika nádherných barokních budov.

Poèet pražského obyvatelstva prudce vzrostl bìhem prùmyslové revoluce v 19. století a vznikla náhle potøeba vìtší národní identity. Proto bylo postaveno Národní divadlo a Národní muzeum, které jsou symbolem tìchto snah. Èeský jazyk byl znovuobjeven - témìø totiž zanikl po bitvì na Bílé hoøe, kdy se jeho funkce ujala nìmèina.

Po pádu rakousko-uherské monarchie v roce 1918 došlo k pravému rozkvìtu èeské národní identity. Dvoøák, Smetana a Palacký pomohli rozvíøit tyto emoce.

V roce 1918 byl vytvoøen nezávislý èeskoslovenský stát, jehož hlavním mìstem se stala Praha. Moc a bohatství Prahy se zase jednou mohly projevit - až do Mnichovské smlouvy, na základì níž Nìmci zaèali okupovat zemi.

Mìsto bylo osvobozeno od nacistické nadvlády sovìtskými tanky v roce 1945, Amerièané byli nuceni zùstat v pozadí u Plznì po dohodì se Sovìty. Velká, tøímilionová nìmecká menšina byla ze zemì vyhnána (a dodnes vládnou spory o to, mají-li být tito obyvatelé odškodnìni za ztrátu svého majetku). O tøi roky pozdìji se zemì stala Èeskoslovenskou socialistickou republikou. V té dobì byl tento krok spatøován jako pozitivní.

Praha pøežila druhou svìtovou válku prakticky netknutá.

Její následující léta pod vládou presidenta Klementa Gottwalda byla velmi nelehká pro tu èást lidí, která trpìla rozsáhlými represemi. Ty pokraèovaly až do Gottwaldovy smrti v roce 1953. (Dostal zápal plic na Stalinovì pohøbu v Moskvì).

V 60. letech bìhem "Pražského jara" dospìla zemì pod Dubèekovým vedením k liberalizaci. Ta však bohužel byla rozdrcena armádami Varšavské smlouvy, které vtrhly do zemì.

Prezidentem byl ustaven Husák, jehož úkolem bylo dohlížet na "normalizaci". Bìhem 21 následujících let tak zemì stagnovala pod komunistickou vládou, ale stala se støediskem tìžkého prùmyslu v rámci východního bloku. Opozice proti režimu vždy existovala, ale nebyla úèinná. Jména jako Václav Havel se øadí mezi nejaktivnìjší pøedstavitele disentu této doby.

Po pádu Berlínské zdi Prahu zaplavily tisíce východonìmeckých uprchlíkù natìsnaných do prostor místního Západonìmeckého velvyslanectví. Zažehli tak jiskru, která mìla vznítit "sametovou revoluci". Komunistický režim odstoupil po následujících 10 dnech a vznikla nová strana Obèanské fórum pod vedením Václava Havla.

Od té doby se od federace odtrhlo Slovensko, èeská ekonomika se stabilizovala, èeská koruna se stala silnou, smìnitelnou mìnou a Praha znovu nabývá pozici jednoho z hlavních evropských mìst. http://www.praguesite.cz/new_cz/historie/praha_h.html


V roce 1597 se nepohodl s novým králem, nějaký čas cestoval po Evropě a v roce 1599 byl Rudolfem II. na radu Tadeáše Hájka z Hájku pozván do Prahy, kde působil jako císařský astrolog u dvora. Postavil novou observatoř v Benátkách nad Jizerou, kde mu posledních několik měsíců života dělal asistenta Jan Kepler. Mauerquadrant (Tycho Brahe 1598) Mauerquadrant (Tycho Brahe 1598)

Podle pověsti zemřel Brahe na protržení močového měchýře při pozorování zatmění slunce nebo kvůli tomu, že ze společenských důvodů nemohl vstát od hostiny dříve než císař, ale dnes se zdá, že měl nějakou ledvinovou chorobu, nebo podlehl otravě rtutí ze svých alchymistických experimentů.

Pohřben je na pražském Starém Městě v kostele Panny Marie před Týnem u Staroměstského náměstí. http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe



Jiná pověst se váže ke stavbě mostu. Aby byl most pevný a odolný, nechal stavitel přimíchat do malty vápno s vínem a vejci. V Praze však tolik vajec nebylo a tak král Karel nařídil, aby se vejce svážela ze všech českých měst. Velvarští obyvatelé poslali však místo vajec sirových vejce vařená natvrdo, aby se po cestě nerozbila a občané Unhoště poslali zase spolu s vejci i tvaroh a syrečky. A tak je Karlův most opravdu důkladně postavený, neboť v jeho základech je víno z pražských vinic, tvaroh a syrečky z Unhoště a vejce z celých Čech. Nejslavnější pověstí je však ta o zázračném meči. Někde ve zdivu je zazděn Bruncvíkův zázračný meč, nikdo však neví kde. Ale až jednou bude české zemi nejhůř, vyjede prý svatý Václav v čele blanických rytířů své zemi na pomoc a tehdy na Karlově mostě jeho kůň klopýtne o kámen, ten se vyvrátí a pod ním se objeví slavný Bruncvíkův meč. Svatý Václav jej vytasí a zvolá: "Všem nepřátelům země České hlavy dolů!". A od té doby bude v Čechách klid a mír už navždy. http://www.zlate-cihly.cz/Default.htm?http&&&www.zlate-cihly.cz/CRM_Karluv_Most.htm



král Norodom Sihamoni. V pondělí přiletěl na oficiální návštěvu Česka. Spusť audio - Kambodžský král mluví česky

Životní příběh třiapadesátiletého krále je naprosto unikátní a bezprecedentní. Zejména ve vztahu k České republice. Žádný jiný monarcha k ní nemá tak důvěrný vztah.

Do Prahy ho přivedl tanec Vše začalo v podstatě náhodou. Osmiletý syn krále Sihanuka a královny Monineath se totiž rozhodl, že se stane tanečníkem. Rodiče proto ihned začali shánět, kde by mohl princ dostat taneční vzdělání.

Československé velvyslanectví v Paříži tehdy jako jediné odpovědělo kladně a pro malého Sihamona se začala psát jeho pražská éra. V letech 1962 až 1975 tu vystudoval konzervatoř a následně balet na Akademii múzických umění.

V Praze během svého pobytu bydlel na kambodžském velvyslanectví. Podle svých přátel žil jako nenáročný a pracovitý student.

Na kambodžský trůn usedl v říjnu 2004, ale kvůli tomu, že většinu svého života strávil mimo Kambodžu, ho mnoho krajanů neznalo. - více zde

"Pořád se částečně cítí být Čechem" Ani poté ale nezanevřel na zemi, kde strávil podstatnou část života. Loni v létě například překvapil delegaci českých diplomatů. Oproti obvyklému protokolu se totiž mluvilo česky. - více zde

"Král Sihamoni se vlastně dokonce svým způsobem pořád Čechem cítí," tvrdí například Jiří Šitler, velvyslanec v Bangkoku. Ví, o čem mluví. V posledních dvou letech se s ním sešel snad desetkrát.

I sám Sihamoni několikrát v minulosti připomněl, jak mu ve druhé polovině 70. let pomáhaly i české písničky. Tehdy jeho i další členy královské rodiny maoističtí Rudí Khmerové uvrhli do "palácového domácího vězení".

V roce 1976 uvěznili i samotného Sihamoniho, kterému také spálili české knihy přivezené po studiích z Prahy včetně jeho oblíbené Babičky Boženy Němcové. Tehdy mu prý jako vzpomínka zůstaly právě jenom naše písně. http://zpravy.idnes.cz/do-ceska-zavital-jediny-kral-ktery-mluvi-cesky-fq2-/domaci.asp?c=A060919_112346_domaci_miz

History

Czech Slavs Push out Celtic Tribes

http://archiv.radio.cz/history/history02.html

The land where Prague was to be built has been settled since the Paleolithic Age. Several thousands of years ago, there were trade routes connecting southern parts of Europe to northern Europe which passed through this area, following the course of the river. From around 500 B.C.E. the Celt tribe known as the Boii was the first documented inhabitants of this region, who named the region Bohemia (“Boiohaemum”) and the river Vltava. In between the sixth and ninth centuries C.E., the Germanic tribe Marcomanni and other Germanic tribes migrated to Bohemia. In the sixth century their elites along with majority of inhabitants moved to the Danubian area, which enabled a Slavic tribe invading from the West to settle this territory. During the Migration of Peoples - roughly from the third to the seventh centuries C.E. - Slav colonization spread westward from the Steppes of the East all the way to the territory of the present-day Czech Republic and up to Poland and down to Yugoslavia. From probably the sixth century C.E. on, the Slavic peoples settled in several waves of migration into the regions abandoned by the Germanic tribes, with Forefather Czech ("Praotec Cech") becoming the founder of the Czech nation.

According to a Czech legend, there were three brothers - Czech, Lech and Rus – who, along with their tribes, set out on a journey in search of a new place to live. Czech (Forefather Czech) continued until he came upon a rich land overflowing with milk and honey and climbed to the top of Rip hill in Bohemia, claiming it the place for him and his tribe. However, the annalist of the first Czech and Latin chronicle, P. Kosmas, calls Forefather Czech “Bohemus”, thus saying that he was a Celt, since “Bohemus” is Latin for a member of the Boii tribe.

Premyslid Dynasty

The Czech legend also mentions a new leader of the Slavs of Bohemia – Krok - who had three beautiful daughters named Kazi, Teta and Libuše.

http://www.sweb.cz/rcelt/cech.html


Týn Church - a view from east of Prague.

Libuse inherited the rule over the Czech tribes from her father, part of which was the highest 'court of appeal' for disputes among the people. She saw many prophecies from her castle Libusin, located in central Bohemia, which is also supported by archaeological finds dating back to the seventh century. A man who did not like one of her decisions started a stink about the Czechs being ruled by a woman, and a response came through another vision: "I see a vast city, whose glory will touch the stars! I see a place in the middle of a forest where a steep cliff rises above the Vltava River. There is a man chiseling the threshold (prah) for the house. A castle named Prague (Praha) will be build there, on the seven hills of which a fair city will grow, whose fame will rise to the stars. The dynasty carrying the same name ruled over the Czech lands till the 14th century.

From around 936, the Czech rulers got most of Bohemia under their control. The first Bohemian ruler acknowledged by historians was Czech Prince Borivoj Premyslovec, who ruled in the second half of the 9th century. He and his wife Ludmila (who became a patron saint of Bohemia after her death) were baptized by Metodej, who (together with his brother Cyril) brought Christianity to the Great Moravia region in 863. Borivoj moved his seat to Prague (Praha), also called the Prague castle grounds or Prague Castle, which thus became the seat of the Czech rulers. Prague Castle became the largest inhabited fortress in the world and is the seat of the Czech president.

Bohemia Becomes Part of Roman Empire

Borivoj's grandson, Prince Wenceslas, initiated friendly relations with the Saxon dynasty. Wenceslas wanted Bohemia to become an equal partner in a greater empire. Bohemia had belonged to Great Moravia in the 9th century and to Samo's empire in the 7th century; both resisted the attacks of the Avars. Orientation towards the Saxons was not favored by his brother Boleslav, and it was the main reason why Prince Wenceslas was assassinated on September 28, 929. He was buried at St. Vitus' Rotunda, the church which he founded. (It stood on the ground where St. Wenceslas' Chapel in St. Vitus' Cathedral now is). A few years later Wenceslas was canonized and he became Bohemia's most beloved patron saint. He is the "Good King Wenceslas" from the Christmas carol. In 962, Boleslav changed his mind and Bohemia became part of the newly instituted Roman Empire when Otto I the Great from the Saxon dynasty became the emperor. That was at the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire; the exact term was adapted in the 12th century.

By the early 10th century, the area around and below Prague Castle had developed into an important trading center, where merchants coming from all over Europe gathered. In 965, Jewish merchant and traveler Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub wrote: "Prague is built from stone and lime, and it has the biggest trade center. Slavs are on the whole courageous and brave... They occupy the lands which are the most fertile and abundant with all the food supply."

In 973, a bishopric was founded in Bohemia with the bishop's palace located on the Prague Castle grounds. The first Czech bishop was Adalbert who became a Czech, Polish and Hungarian patron saint after his canonization in 999.

Next to the Romanesque fortified settlement of Prague, another Romanesque fortified settlement was built across the river Vltava at Vyšehrad in the 11th century. During the reign of Prince Vratislav II, who rose to the title of Vratislav I, King of Bohemia, in 1085, Vysehrad became the temporary seat of Czech rulers.

Bridges of Prague.
File:HradcanyPolWiki.jpg
Prague Castle at night.
Charles Bridge.
St. Vitus Cathedral.
The Astronomical Clock

Prince Vladislav II was crowned Vladislav I, the King of Bohemia, in 1158. Many monasteries and churches were built under his rule. The Romanesque style Strahov Monastery was founded in 1142. The first bridge over the river Vltava — the Judith Bridge — was building in 1170. (It crumbled in 1342 and a new bridge, later called the Charles Bridge, was built in its place in 1357).

In 1212, Bohemia became a kingdom when Prince Premysl Otakar I rose to the title of King by inheritance from Frederick II (Emperor from 1215), which was legalized in the document called the "Golden Bull of Sicily".

In the 13th century, the towns started to rise. Three settlements around the Prague castle grounds gained the privilege of a town. The settlement below Prague Castle became New Town of Prague in 1257 under King Otakar II, and it was later renamed Lesser Town Malá Strana. The town of Hradčany, which was built around its square, just outside of the Prague's castle grounds, dates to 1320. Across the river Vltava, the Old Town of Prague Staré Město had already gained the privilege of a town in 1230.

In the 13th century, King Premysl Otakar II, known as the King of Iron and Gold, was the most powerful king of the Holy Roman Empire. He ruled over seven other countries from Silesia to the Adriatic coast.

The Premyslid dynasty ruled until 1306 when the male line died out. The inheriting dynasty was the Luxembourg dynasty, with Eliska, sister of the last Premyslid ruler, marrying John of Luxembourg.

Charles IV of Luxembourg Dynasty

The city flourished during the 14th century during the reign of Charles IV, of the Luxembourg dynasty. Charles was the oldest son of Princess Eliska Premyslid and John of Luxembourg. He was born in Prague in 1316 and inherited the throne of the King of Bohemia upon the death of his father in 1346. Thanks to Charles, the bishopric of Prague was promoted to an archbishopric in 1344. On April 7, 1348 he founded Charles University, the first university in central, northern and eastern Europe as well as the first German university. In the same year he also founded New Town (Nové Město) adjacent to Old Town.

Charles rebuilt the Prague Castle and Vysehrad, and a new bridge was erected, now called the Charles Bridge. The construction of St. Vitus' Cathedral had also begun, and numerous new churches were founded. In 1355, Charles was crowned the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in Rome, and Prague became the capital of Holy Roman Empire. Charles labored to make Prague into one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the dominant city in the empire, with the Prague Castle the dominant site in the city and the Gothic cathedral even more dominant. Everything was built in a grandiose Gothic style decorated in an independent art style, the Bohemian school. During the reign of Emperor Charles IV, the Czech Lands were among the most powerful in Europe.

Hussite Wars

All that changed during the reign of weak King Wenceslas IV — Václav IV — (1378–1419), son of Charles IV. During his reign, Master Jan Hus, a preacher and the university's rector, held his sermons in Prague in the Bethlehem Chapel, speaking in Czech to disseminate his ideas about the reformation of the Roman Catholic Church. His burning at stake in 1415 in Constance following an accusation of heresy led four years later to the Hussite wars (following the defenestration, when the people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest Jan Želivský and threw the city's counselors out of the New Town Hall’s window). King Wenceslas IV died 16 days later.

The crown was passed to the King’s younger stepbrother Sigismund (Zikmund, son of Charles IV), who was opposed by the Hussites for his ideology. In retaliation, Sigismund invaded Prague with an army of 30,000 crusaders in an effort to achieve capitulation of Prague and the crown. It was Sigismund who invited Jan Hus to Constance to defend himself from heresy and promised him immunity, a promise he failed to keep. In 1420, peasant rebels, led by the famous one-eyed general Jan Žižka, along with Hussite troops, defeated Sigismund in the Battle of Vítkov Mountain. More crusades followed, all of which ended in failure, but after Zizka died, the Hussite warriors were unable to maintain unity and eventually split. The most radical of them were defeated at the Battle of Lipany in 1434 after the moderate Hussites got together with the Czech Catholics. Sigismund became King of Bohemia until his death in 1437, when the male line of Luxembourg dynasty died out.

Duke of Austria Albert II, the husband of Sigismund's daughter Elizabeth, became the Bohemian king for two years until his death. Sigismund’s grandson Ladislaw Posthumous (born after his father's death), was next in line for the Bohemian crown. When he died only 17 years old, nobleman George of Podebrady (Jiri z Podebrad), a former advisor to Ladislaus, was chosen as the Bohemian king both by the Catholics and by the Ultraquist Hussites. He was dubbed the Hussite king. During his reign, the pope dispatched a crusade against the Czech heretics, which was lead by King of Hungary Matthius Corvinus who, after the crusade, became King of Bohemia. George would not abdicate, so Bohemia had two kings.

Jagellon Dynasty

Before his death, George made an arrangement with Polish King Casimir IV that the next Bohemian king would come from the Jagellon dynasty. (The wife of King Casimir IV was the sister of late Ladislaus Posthumous and so her son Vladislav was related to the Luxembourg dynasty and also to the original Bohemian Premyslid dynasty). The Jagellon dynasty ruled only until 1526, when it died out with Ludwig Jagellon.

Habsburg Dynasty

Ferdinand Habsburg, husband of Ann Jagellon, who was a sister of Ludwig Jagellon, was the next Bohemian king, and this was the beginning of the Habsburg dynasty. After Ferdinand's brother Charles V resigned in 1556 as Emperor, Ferdinand was elected Emperor in 1558. After he died, his son Maximilian II inherited all his titles and then upon his death, his son Rudolf II inherited all the titles. It was during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II, when there was another glorious time for Prague. Prague became the cultural center of Holy Roman Empire again. Rudolf was related to the Jagellon dynasty, to the Luxemburg dynasty and to the Premyslovec dynasty. But he was also related to Spanish Joan the Mad (the daughter of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon); Joan was the mother of Rudolf's grandfather. Although Rudolf II was very talented, he was eccentric and he suffered from depression. Emperor Rudolf II lived in Prague Castle, where he held his bizarre courts of the astrologers, the magicians and other strange figures. But it was a prosperous period for the city; famous people living there included the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johann Kepler, the painters Giuseppe Arcimboldo, B. Spranger, Hans von Aachen, J. Heintz and others. In 1609, under the influence of the Protestant estates, Rudolf II (a devout Catholic), issued "Imperial Charter of Emperor" in which he legalized extensive religious freedom unparalled in Europe of that period. Many German Protestants (both Lutherans and Calvinists) immigrated to Bohemia. (One of them was Count J.M. Thurn, a German Lutheran; under his leadership the Third Defenestration of Prague happened in 1618 and it led to the Thirty Years War).

Next in line for Bohemian crown was Rudolf's brother Matthias, but since Matthias was childless, his cousin, the archduke Ferdinand of Styria, was preliminary accepted by the Bohemian Diet as the future Bohemian king when Matthias became ill. The Protestant estates of Bohemia didn't like this decision. Tension between the Protestants and the Catholics (who were pro-Habsburgs) led to the Third Defenestration of Prague when the Catholic governors were thrown from the windows at Prague Castle on May 23, 1618. They survived, but the Protestants replaced the Catholic governors. This incident led to the Thirty Years War. When Matthias died, Ferdinand of Styria was elected Emperor as Emperor Ferdinand II, but was not accepted as King of Bohemia by the Protestant directors. Calvinist Frederick V of Pfalz was elected King of Bohemia. The Battle on the White Mountain followed on November 8, 1620. Emperor Ferdinand II was helped by not only Catholic Spain, Catholic Poland, and Catholic Bavaria, but also by Lutheran Saxon (who disliked the Calvinists). The Protestant army, lead by the warior Count J.M. Thurn, was formed from the Protestant armies, mostly Lutheran Silesia, Lusatias, and Moravia. It was mainly the battle between the Protestants and the Catholics. The Catholics won and Emperor Ferdinand II became King of Bohemia. He proclaimed the re-Catholicization of the Czech Lands. Twenty seven Protestant leaders were executed in Old Town Square in Prague on June 21, 1621. (Executed were three noblemen, seven knights and seventeen burghers, including Dr. Jan Jesenius, the rector of Prague university). Most Protestant leaders fled, including Count J.M. Thurn; those who had stayed didn't expect such a harsh punishment. The Protestants had to return all the Catholic seized property to the Church. No faith other than Catholic was permitted. The upper classes were given the option either to emigrate or to convert to Catholicism. The German language was given equal rights with the Czech language. After the Peace of Westphalia, Ferdinand II moved the court to Vienna, and Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000.

The Jewish Quarter of Prague

Jewish Cemetery and surrounding buildings

The 17th century is considered the Golden Age of Jewish Prague. The Jewish community of Prague numbered some 15,000 people (approx. 30 per cent of the entire population), making it the largest Ashkenazic community in the world and the second largest community in Europe after Thessaloniki. In the years 1597 to 1609, the Maharal (Judah Loew ben Bezalel) served as Prague's chief rabbi. He is considered the greatest of Jewish scholars in Prague's history, his tomb at the Old Jewish Cemetery eventually becoming a pilgrimage site. The expulsion of Jews from Prague by Maria Theresa of Austria in 1745 based on their alleged collaboration with the Prussian army was a severe blow to the flourishing Jewish community. The queen allowed the Jews to return to the city in 1748. In 1848 the gates of the Prague ghetto were opened. The former Jewish quarter, renamed Josefov in 1850, was demolished during the "ghetto clearance" (Czech: Asanace) on the turn of the 19th to the 20th century.

Great fire in 1689

In 1689 a great fire devastated Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. The economic rise continued through the following century, and the city in 1771 had 80,000 inhabitants. Many of these were rich merchants who, together with noblemen, enriched the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens, creating a Baroque style renowned throughout the world. In 1784, under Joseph II, the four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město and Hradčany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called Josefov, was included only in 1850. The Industrial Revolution had a strong effect in Prague, as factories could take advantage of the coal mines and ironworks of the nearby region. A first suburb, Karlín, was created in 1817, and twenty years later the population exceeded 100,000. The first railway connection was built in 1842.

19th century

In 1806, Holy Roman Empire ended when Napoleon dictated its dissolution. Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated his title. He became Emperor of Austria Francis I.

The revolutions that shocked all Europe around 1848 touched Prague too, but they were fiercely suppressed. In the following years the Czech nationalist movement (opposed to another nationalist party, the German one) began its rise, until it gained the majority in the Town Council in 1861.

In 1867, Emperor Francis Joseph I established the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy of the Austrian Empire and Kingdom of Hungary.

20th century

The next in succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne became Francis Ferdinand d'Este after Crown Prince Rudolf (son of the emperor Francis Joseph I) had committed suicide and after the Emperor's brother (Ferdinand's father) had died. Ferdinand was married to Sophie von Chotek from a Czech aristocratic family. They lived in Bohemia at the Konopiste Castle, not far from Prague. He was in favor of Triple Monarchy, expanding an Austro-Hungary Dualism into Austro-Hungary-Czech Triple Monarchy, but on June 28, 1914 he and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo. This assassination led to World War I.

World War I ended with the defeat of Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prague was chosen as its capital. At this time Prague was a true European capital with a very developed industrial base. In 1930 the population had risen to a startling 850,000.

For most of its history Prague had been a multiethnic city with important Czech, German, and Jewish populations. From 1939, when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany, and during World War II, most Jews either fled the city or were killed in the Holocaust. Most of the Jews living in Prague after the war emigrated in the years of Communism, particularly after the communist coup, the establishment of Israel in 1948, and the Soviet invasion in 1968. In the early 1990s, the Jewish Community in Prague numbered only 800 people compared to nearly 50,000 before the World War II. In 2006, some 1,600 people were registered in the Jewish Community.

During the war, Prague itself was one of few european cities that were not damaged by bombardment, the citizens of Prague were however widely oppressed and persecuted by the Nazis. Politicians (e.g. prime minister Alois Eliáš), university profesors and students and many others were murdered or imprisoned with assistance of Germans or Czech informers. Prague uprising started on May 5, 1945 when Prague's Czech people, assisted by a revolting Russian division formerly in service of the Waffen SS, had revolted against the Nazi German occupants. That same day, the General Patton's American Third Army (with 150 thousand soldiers) was in Pilsen (only a few hours away from Prague) while Marshal Konev's Soviet Army was on the borders of Moravia. General Patton was in favor of liberating Prague, but he had to comply with the instructions from General D. Eisenhower. General Eisenhower requested the Soviet Chief of Staff to permit them to press forward, but was informed that American help is not needed (a prior agreement from the Yalta Conference was that Bohemia would be liberated by the Red Army). Finally, on May 9, 1945 (the day after Germany officially capitulated) the Soviet tanks got to Prague. It was not until May 12, 1945 when the fight was completely over in the Czech Lands.

The ethnic German population, which had formed the majority of the city's inhabitants until the late 19th century[citation needed], either fled or was expelled in the months after May, 1945. During the gathering and transfer of Germans limited local massacres happened with today unknown number of victims.

The Czechs genuinely felt gratitude towards the Soviet soldiers. People did not know that they became the victims in rival politics. The Soviet victory was both military and political. (Bismarck once declared: "He, who is master of Bohemia, is master of Europe...") Prague was henceforth the capital of a republic under the military and political control of the Soviet Union, and in 1955 it entered the Warsaw Pact.

The always lively intellectual world of Prague, however, suffered under the totalitarian regime, in spite of the rather careful program of rebuilding of and caring for the damaged monuments after World War II. At the 4th Czechoslovakian Writers' Congress held in the city in 1967 a strong position against the regime was taken. This spurred the new secretary of Communist Party, Alexander Dubček to proclaim a new deal in his city's and country's life, starting the short-lived season of the "socialism with a human face". It was the Prague Spring, which aimed at democratic reform of institutions. The Soviet Union and the rest of the Warsaw Pact reacted, occupying Czechoslovakia and the capital in August 1968, suppressing under tanks' tracks any attempt of renovation.

In 1989, after the Berlin Wall had fallen, and the Velvet Revolution crowded the streets of Prague, Czechoslovakia finally freed itself from communism and Soviet influence, and Prague benefited deeply from the new mood. In 1993, after the split of Czechoslovakia, Prague became capital city of the new Czech Republic. Prague is capital of two administrative units of Czech Republic - Prague region (Template:Lang-cz) and Central Bohemian Region (Template:Lang-cz). As Prague is not geographically part of Central Bohemian Region it is a capital outside of territory it serves.

Timeline of most important moments of Prague history

  • 870   Prague Castle founded
  • 1085 Prague became the seat of kings - 1st king Vratislaus II.
  • 1344 the Prague Bishopric became an Archdiocese
  • 1346 the rule of Charles IV. - Prague capital of Holy Roman Empire
  • 1348 University of Prague (Charles University) founded
  • 1415 in Konstanz, Jan Hus is burned at the stake as a heretic
  • 1419 1st Prague defenestration
  • 1420 battle on Vítkov Mountain - Hussites win over crusaders
  • 1583 rule of Rudolf II - city for the 2nd time the capital of Holy Roman Empire and cultural center of Europe
  • 1618 3rd Prague defenestration sparked off the Thirty Years' War
  • 1621 execution of 27 Czech nobles on the Old Town Square as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain
  • 1648 west bank of Prague (including the Prague Castle) occupied and looted by Swedish armies
  • 1741 occupation by French-Bavarian armies
  • 1744 occupation by Prussian armies
  • 1848 revolutionary uprising crushed by imperial army
  • 1890 big flood caused extreme damage
  • 1918 after World War I Prague became the capital of Czechoslovakia
  • 1922 Great Prague created by uniting Prague with its suburbs and neighbouring towns
  • 1938 after political betrayal of allies (France and Britain at Munich) Germany occupied Sudetenland and in 1939 the whole country
  • 1942 Czechoslovak paratroopers kill Reinhard Heydrich, Nazis respond with wave of terror
  • 1945 U.S. Air Force conducts bombing of Prague in World War II, killing hundreds of Praguers by mistake. (Target was Dresden, 134 km away).
  • 1945 Prague uprising against the Nazi German occupants during the last days of World War II, ended with the arrival of the Red Army – followed by an expulsion of German citizens
  • 1948 communist takeover of power
  • 1968 Soviet army invasion to repress the Prague Spring
  • 1989 Prague is the main center of Velvet Revolution (the fall of communist regime)
  • 2000 Anti-globalization Protests in Prague (some 15,000 protesters) turned violent during the IMF and World Bank summits
  • 2002 Prague suffers from flooding, parts of the city evacuated but no major landmarks destroyed

The four independent boroughs that had formerly constituted Prague were eventually proclaimed a single city in 1784. Those four cities were Hradčany (the Castle District, west and north of the Castle), Little Quarter (Malá Strana, south of the Castle), Old Town (Staré Město, on the east bank opposite the Castle) and New Town (Nové Město, further south and east). The city underwent further expansion with the annexation of Josefov in 1850 and Vyšehrad in 1883, and at the beginning of 1922, another 37 municipalities were incorporated, raising the city's population to 676,000. In 1938 population reached 1,000,000.

Sights

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Prague has become one of Europe's (and the world's) most popular tourist destinations. It is the sixth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Berlin.[1] Prague suffered considerably less damage during World War II than some other major cities in the region, allowing most of its historic architecture to stay true to form. It contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Art Nouveau to Baroque, Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-Classical and ultra-modern. Some of the most known sights are:

Packed with tourists on a busy summer day in Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter), Prague
  • Old Town (Staré Město) with its Old Town Square
  • The Astronomical Clock
  • The picturesque Charles Bridge
  • New Town (Nové město) with its busy and historic Wenceslas Square
  • Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter)
  • Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) with its St. Vitus Cathedral
  • Josefov (the old Jewish quarter) with Old Jewish Cemetery and Old New Synagogue
  • The Lennon Wall
  • Vinohrady
  • The museum of Heydrich assassination in the crypt of the Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius
  • National Museum (Prague)
  • Vyšehrad Castle
  • Petřínská rozhledna, an observation tower on Petřín hill, which is nearly a 1:5 copy of the Eiffel Tower
  • Anděl (City part) which is probably the busiest part of the city with a super modern shopping mall and architecture
  • Žižkov Television Tower with observation deck
  • The New Jewish Cemetery in Olšany, location of Franz Kafka's grave
  • The Prague Metronome, a giant, functional metronome that looms over the city
  • The Dancing House (Fred and Ginger Building)
  • The Mucha Museum, showcasing the Art Nouveau works of Alfons Mucha
  • Places connected to writers living in the city, such as Franz Kafka.
File:PragueCityscape.JPG
A postcard image of Prague from the top of the Petřínská rozhledna.
Milunić and Gehry's Dancing House

Culture

Prague is a traditional cultural centre of Europe, hosting many cultural events.

Significant cultural institutions:

  • National Theatre (Prague)
  • The Rudolfinum (home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra)
  • State opera (Prague)
  • National Museum (Prague)
  • Náprstek Museum
  • Clementinum (National Library)
  • National Gallery in Prague

There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. Prague also hosts Film Festivals, Music Festivals, a Writers Festival, hundreds of Vernissages and Fashion Shows.

See also:

  • Prague Spring International Music Festival
  • Prague Autumn International Music Festival
  • Febiofest
  • One World Film Festival
  • Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
  • Barrandov Studios
  • Prague Writers Festival
  • Prague International Organ Festival
  • Prague Fringe Festival
  • World Roma Festival
  • Premiere of Mozart's Don Giovanni

Economy

The GDP per capita of Prague is more than double that of the Czech Republic as a whole, with a per-capita GDP (PPP) of EUR 32,357 in 2002, which is at 153% of the European Union average. The city is becoming a site of European headquarters of many international companies.

Since the late 1990s, Prague has become a popular filming location for international productions and Hollywood motion pictures. Unlike many other European cities, Prague did not suffer great destruction during World War II, and the city is often used as a "stand in" for other pre-WW2 European cities, such as Amsterdam or London. [1] [2] A combination of architecture, low costs, tax breaks, and the existing motion picture infrastructure have proved attractive to international film production companies.

Colleges and universities

Prague skyscraper.

The city contains nine universities and colleges including the oldest university in Central and Eastern Europe:

  • Charles University (UK) founded in 1348
  • Czech Technical University (ČVUT) founded in 1707
  • Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) founded in 1800
  • Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (VŠUP) founded in 1885
  • Institute of Chemical Technology (VŠCHT) founded in 1920
  • Academy of Performing Arts (AMU) founded in 1945
  • Czech University of Agriculture (ČZU) founded in 1906/1952
  • University of Economics (VŠE) founded in 1953
  • University of New York Prague (UNYP)

Transport

Integrated transport system

Public transport infrastructure consists of an integrated transport system of three metro lines (with 54 stations in total), trams, Prague Tram System (including the "nostalgic tram" no. 91), buses, a funicular to Petřín Hill and a chairlift at Prague Zoo. All services have a common ticketing system, and are run by Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy (The Capital City of Prague Transport Company).

The "nostalgic tram" no. 91 runs through the city centre

Rail

The city forms the hub of the Czech railway system, with services to all parts of the Czech Republic and to neighbouring countries.

Prague has two international railway stations, Hlavní nádraží (sometimes referred to as Wilsonovo nádraží) and Praha Holešovice. Intercity services also stop at the main stations Praha Smíchov and Masarykovo nádraží. In addition to these, there are a number of smaller suburban stations.

Air

Prague is served by Ruzyně International Airport, which is the hub of the flag carrier, Czech Airlines. There are several cheap flights per day from the UK and from other countries. Ruzyně International Airport is considered as one of the most modern airports in Europe.

Taxis

The Jerusalem Synagogue, built in 1906 to 1907 by Wilhelm Stiassny, of Bratislava, is the largest Jewish place of worship in Prague

The taxi service in Prague has had a somewhat checkered history. During the rule of Communist Party in Czechoslovakia (1948–1989), the taxi service was nationalised into one umbrella company, and, with a short exception during liberalization related to the Prague Spring, no independent taxi drivers were allowed. The quality and availability of the service was low. This caused many enterprising people to run illegal taxi services. Their earnings were far above income of typical citizens and became a source of envy. After the fall of the Communist regime, the service was liberalized and anyone could become a taxi driver. Unfortunately, the chaos of transition from planned to market economy did not leave any time to implement sufficient regulations. The lack of planning and controls has led to a number of serious taxi scams operating in the city; some of which have been linked with organised crime. Many of the victims of overpricing are tourists.

Taxi services in Prague can currently be divided into three sectors. There are major taxicab companies, operating call-for-taxi services (radio-taxi) or from regulated taxi stands, where overpricing is rare and regulation mostly in place. There are independent drivers, who make pick-ups on the street; cheating is mostly associated with these cars. Lastly, there are fake taxi drivers, who operate as "contractual transport services" in order to avoid government regulation.

Sport

Prague is the site of many sports events, national stadiums and teams

  • Prague International Marathon
  • Sparta Prague -> UEFA Champions League
  • Slavia Prague -> UEFA Cup
  • Sazka Arena -> 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and Euroleague Final Four 2006
  • Strahov Stadium — the largest stadium in the world
  • Mystic SK8 Cup — World cup of skateboarding
  • Prague open — prestige Floorball cup
  • and more

Miscellaneous

Prague is also the site of the most important offices and institutions of the Czech Republic and Central Europe.

  • President of the Czech Republic
  • The Government and both houses of the Parliament
  • Czech Television and other major broadcasters
  • Radio Free Europe — Radio Liberty
  • Prague Institute for Global Urban Development

Prague as a venue

Recent major events held in Prague:

Famous people connected with Prague

Being the cultural and economical center of Bohemia, Prague has attracted many famous people. Some of the best known are:


Historical population

Demographic evolution of Prague between 1230 and 2004
1230 1370 1600 1804 1837 1850 1880 1900 1925 1950 1980 1991 2004
4,000 40,000 60,000 76,000 105,500 118,000 162,000 201,600 718,300 931,500 1,182,800 1,214,174 1,170,571
  • The record of 1230 includes Staré Město only
  • The records of 1370 and 1600 includes Staré město, Nové město, Malá Strana and Hradčany quarters
  • Numbers beside other years denote the population of Prague within the administrative border of the city at that time (and population including present suburbs in parentheses).
The Church of St. Nicolas.
Commons
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Twin cities

See also

  • Bethlehem Chapel
  • Infant Jesus of Prague
  • Golem of Prague
  • Prague specifics
  • Prague city districts
  • Prague uprising
  • Prague Zoo

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  1. ↑ "Prague, sixth most visited city in Europe", Radio Praha, 12 April 2005. URL accessed on 26 November 2006.

External links

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