Prehistory, Antiquity, myth and

Pemysl Libue and Josef Vaclav Myslbek

Prague as seen by satellite Spot

The Prague region is inhabited since the Paleolithic. Like the rest of Bohemia , Prague is first occupied by the Boii , a Celtic people who arrived here around the year -200 and occupying a camp south of the town today called Zvist. Bohemia takes its name from this people. They were supplanted in the region by Marcomanni , a Germanic tribe, then the Avars replace them before heading westward under pressure from the Slavs who settled in the ^sixth century. According to legend peddled by Cosmas of Prague , the city was founded by Princess Libue and her husband Premysl , also founder (mythical) of the dynasty Pemyslids. That the legend is true or false, archaeological excavations attest to human presence in ^the ninth century on the heights of Vysehrad on the right bank of the Vltava , and those of future Prague Castle on the left bank.

Medieval Prague

Time of the Duke of Bohemia

The first written mention Prague date 965. It is the act of a Jewish merchant from Andalusia, Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub. The city became bishop in 973. In 1170 , Vladislav II built the first stone bridge over the Vltava, Judith Bridge, which collapsed in 1342 will be replaced by a stone bridge, the famous Charles Bridge. Otakar II founded Mal Strana in 1257 who then receives a municipal charter and the German hosts own administration as Magdeburg rights. On the other bank of the Vltava, the Old Town of Prague is growing around its historic core and is populated by Tyn Czechs and a Jewish community in what would become Josefov. In 1270, the Old-New Synagogue was built.

The Golden Age of the Luxembourg dynasty

The city reached its peak with the King of Bohemia and future Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (son of John of Luxembourg ), which is building the Charles Bridge (1357), the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague (1344), founded in April 1348 the Charles University , the first university and the city extends to the east and south to create the New Town (1347) that doubles the size of the Old City. In 1355 , Charles IV made Prague the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1378 , the last year of the reign of Charles IV, Prague has 40 000 inhabitants, making it the third most populous city of Europe.

Hussite Wars

Prague is now a cultural and religious center of primary importance, which are born early days of the Reformation with Jan Hus preaches in the Czech chapel of Bethlehem against the abuses of the Catholic hierarchy, in particular against trafficking in indulgences. His death in 1415, the stake during the Council of Constance sets fire to the powder in Bohemia and marks the beginning of the crusades against the Hussites who put an end to this urban expansion. In 1419, the Hussites took control of the city, the Emperor Sigismund sent an army to retake the city but it was defeated. Only at the Battle of Lipany in 1434 , that the people of Prague will be routed. Always rebellious, the Diet of Bohemia, meeting in City Hall's Old City, elects to King George of Podebrady on 27 February 1458. Preferring a sovereign rather than a Slavic Habsburg , diet elect Wladyslaw Jagiello in place of George ^I.

The Charles Bridge , a masterpiece of the fourteenth century

The tower Gothic and the entrance to the Charles Bridge in Mal Strana , one of the historic districts of Prague, on the left bank of the Vltava

Facade of the Cathedral of St. Vitus

The Renaissance and the Golden Age of Rudolph II

The church of Saint-Nicolas de Mala Strana , the symbol of the Counter-Reformation in Bohemia.

But the daughter of Vladislav IV, Anne Jagiello married Ferdinand of Austria , according to a dynastic agreement arranged by Maximilian ^I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1515, and soon returns to the city under Habsburg rule. Under the Hapsburgs , Prague balance between sporadic movements of revolt (that of the diet of the States of Bohemia in 1547, for example, suppressed by Ferdinand ^I) and submission, most often imposed. Accordingly, the municipal privileges, political influence and independence are declining throughout the period. From 1583 to 1612 , during the reign of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor , it is again known imperial capital and an era of cultural prosperity that ends the Second Defenestration of Prague in 1618 which triggered the open war of the Czech nobility, largely Protestant, against the imperial power (and Catholic) and the Habsburgs, in Europe, the Thirty Years War.

the cons-Reformation and the legend of "Black Age"

The defeat of the Czech armed Protestant and the Battle of White Mountain in November 1620 and the beheading, instead of the Old City (still marked by 27 white crosses on the ground, in commemoration of the event), the twenty-seven ringleaders of the revolt marks, for a long time, ending the hopes of independence of the States of Bohemia. At the religious level, the Counter-Reformation in full swing then, Protestant Czechs (the most famous is undoubtedly Comenius ) are forced to convert or exile. At the political level, in 1627 , Ferdinand II cancels the Charter of Vladislav Jagiello (1500) and imposes the New Charter of the States of Bohemia (German, Verneuerte Landesordnung, Czech, Obnoven zzen zemsk) which imposes the Germanization of teaching and Administration. The Peace of Prague is signed in 1635 between the emperor and some Protestant German princes. In 1648 , at the end of the Thirty Years War, the left bank of the city ( Hradcany and Mal Strana ) was invaded and looted by armed Protestant Sweden shortly before the Treaty of Westphalia will end hostilities that have the Central Europe with fire and blood. Follows a century of peace, which sees the city building embellished with baroque masterpieces as the church of Saint-Nicolas de Mala Strana , the palace Kinsk and ternberk , the archbishop of Prague and completion of the Baroque castle of Prague. In 1741 , the War of Austrian Succession saw the arrival of the troops of Frederick II of Prussia , allied with the French army of Marshal Belle-Isle who lay siege and take the city. Shortly after, during the Seven Years War , the Battle of Prague , 6 May 1757 marks the victory of the Prussians over the Austrians and Russians, but despite their victory, the Prussians can seize Prague. On 12 February 1784 is a milestone in the history of Prague: it arises when the official merger of the four original towns that are

• Hradcany , the area "noble" around the Prague Castle
• Mal Strana , the Little-Side "located between the Vltava and Hradcany
• the Old City
• the New Town , founded in 1348

The "royal city of Prague" (its official name, Hlavn msto Praha Krlovsk in Czech) is the second city of the Empire with 76 to 1000 inhabitants and 143 hectares. Josefov , the Jewish ghetto within the old city still retains a separate and independent status.

The revival of the Prague Spring of nationalities (1848-1914)

1848, the Spring of Nations also affects Prague.

In 1848 , the entire democratic Europe rose against their rulers and Prague is one of the most radical centers in the area. However, the Prince of Windisch-Graetz in the city between June 27, 1848, and dissolved in blood the Czech diet. Like many European capitals, Prague absorbs its suburbs at the urban explosion of the nineteenth ^century:Josefov in 1850, Vysehrad in 1883 and Holeovice and Bubny a year later followed Libe in 1901, giving birth to a set of twelve districts extending over 496 km ^{Prague capital of the new state of Czechoslovakia (1918 - 1939)}

With the independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on 28 October 1918 , Prague becomes capital , and many streets were renamed. The city has modernized and expanded. In 1922 , Great Prague is founded, which includes its suburbs as hitherto independent Vinohrady , ikov , Dejvice , Smchov , Steovice or Koe. She suffers a unprecedented urban development, is seen adding many theaters, an airport Kbely , the Wenceslas Square is redone in 1928 to make way for car traffic, the St. Vitus Cathedral was completed in 1929 in time to celebrate the millennium of the death of St. Wenceslas. The crisis of 1929 slowed down this development without stopping. The airport Praha-Ruzyn is put into service. In 1938, Prague has a million inhabitants. Cubism is experiencing a particularly popular thanks to architects like Pavel Jank , Josef Gor or Josef Chochol who create this style typically Czechoslovakia: the rondocubisme. A neighborhood is built entirely Cubist Vysehrad.

Prague at the age of totalitarianism Black (1938-1968)

Immediately after the takeover of Hitler, Prague became a place of exile for many Germans, because of its geographical proximity to Berlin, the headquarters of the German Social Democratic Party in exile, the SoPaDe ( from SoPaDe ) and the fact that they spoke German. Here the SoPaDe published its manifesto in Prague who incited the uprising against Hitler in January 1934 ( from Prager Manifest ). Shortly before the Second World War, Prague welcomes refugees expelled from the Czech Sudetenland attached to the Third Reich following the Munich Agreement. On 15 March 1939, the Bohemia-Moravia was conquered in its entirety and Adolf Hitler parade in Prague Castle. Universities and colleges are closed and repressed student demonstrations in the blood. On 27 May 1942 in Hradcany, an attack claimed the life of SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Reinhard Heydrich , known as "the executioner". Prague loses a significant portion, if not in numbers, at least in that it definitely involved the cultural influence of the city, its people. Exiles, suicides (like the poet Ji Orten ) or deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp or elsewhere, the Jewish community in Prague is decimated.

Czech resistant and Red Army soldier.

Unlike its rivals of Central Europe , Vienna , Dresden , Warsaw and Berlin , the Czech capital has suffered little in the walls of the bombing of the Second World War.

On 5 May 1945 , an insurrection broke out leading to the liberation of the city by a resistance largely improvised around a Czech National Council (esk nrodn rada or CNR), who became head of the insurrection. On May 8 , German troops surrendered and, according to prior agreements, the Red Army "release" in Prague on 9 May 1945 at the Prague Offensive. Shortly after the Second World War, the Czechoslovak Communist Party is getting stronger. The elections of 1946 and 1948 show the majority to the Communists in Prague, who seized full power in February 1948 with the Prague coup. An impressive monument to the glory of Comrade Stalin is built on the edge of Letna Park : workers, collective farmers and soldiers crowded behind the "little father of the people" into a whole, if not grandiose, at least impressive. In 1960 , a new sector of the city is adopted (from 1 to 10), which is still largely in place at the beginning of the XXI ^century and four suburbs are more absorbed by the metropolis. The decade of the sixties is mainly marked by a massive construction program in the suburbs where the prefabricated building is nicknamed the HLM Czechoslovak panelk (a word constructed from the word "panel").

Prague at the time of "socialism with a human face" and the Soviet invasion (1968)

In 1968 , the Prague Spring marks the city so ephemeral, it is crushed in August by 400,000 soldiers and 6300 tanks of the armies of the Warsaw Pact. The airport Praha-Ruzyn see Russian planes landed with combat equipment. The people of Prague improvise resistance and fights take place, especially around the Czechoslovak radio and television and the national museum nearby. On 16 January 1969 , Jan Palach himself on fire on Wenceslas Square to protest against the invasion of his country by the Soviet Union. The ^Fourteenth Congress of the PCT marks the end of hostilities, the Prague Spring and the beginning of normalization in Czechoslovakia. In 1969 , Prague became the capital of the Czech Socialist Republic, one of the two republics of the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia (which remains the mother) who turns into a federation without his name, however, is changed. But those dark years in politics and stagnant economic level do not prevent the city to continue its growth. The project, almost a century, the Prague metro and it's masterful, the highway that crosses the city are implemented. The bridge joins the two projects Nusle passing the subway under the entablature of the highway bridge. The 1980s saw some major work done to equip or embellish the city: the Prague National Theatre was restored and reopened in 1983 , the Convention Center opens its doors and the district Pankrc is covered with towers more ambitious (and empty) each other. In ikov , the transmission tower of the Czechoslovak radio and television is so built and remains today the culmination of the city.

The output of Communism (1990 -...) and the split with Slovakia joining the European Union

The "house dance", a symbol of renewal people of Prague

The Velvet Revolution in 1990 , marks for Prague and for the rest of the country a great change: the signs of Communist rule are deleted and the names of certain streets, squares and metro stations are "democratized". Pope John Paul II and President George Bush honored the city of their visit. In 1992 , the historic center of the city is inscribed on the World Heritage List. At ¹ January 1993 , it became the capital of the Czech Republic. An administrative reform in 1995 , defines a new segmentation of the various boroughs of the city become more independent. In the late 1990s, the suburbs saw the outbreak of the first shopping centers modeled on those in the west. In 2000 , Prague was named European Capital of Culture. In September of that year , the summit of the International Monetary Fund met at the Prague Congress Centre , which causes a number of protests by anti-globalization movements (mostly foreigners) who confront the police during the week. A year later, in October 2001 , Heads of State of the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty meet in the city, this and the move of the headquarters of Radio Free Europe , lead to exceptional security measures partially paralyzed the city. The flood "two thousand years" of the Vltava , in August 2002 , requires the evacuation of entire parts of the city Karln , Holeovice or down in Mal Strana end up under water. If the Prague metro is so, too, flooded and shut down for about six months, it takes place in the middle of the night and there were no casualties. Fortunately also, the Old City is protected by anti-flood barriers and, unlike previous floods, remains out of reach of the waters.

Neighborhoods

Capital of the dukes and kings of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire, Prague is a city that strikes by its majesty and its structure that is characteristic of a medieval capital . Modern urbanization, has instead integrated seamlessly with the old neighborhoods and the existing architecture. The model Langweil is a state representative in Prague in the early nineteenth ^century. Thousands of buildings and historic homes have been destroyed, yet without undermining the balance of the city. The only significant act of vandalism was done during the period of communism by building an enormous road which cuts the heart of the city at the main railway station and State Opera, near Wenceslas Square.

Mal Strana (the "short side")

The bridge Manes (Mnesv most), the ¹ January 2006. The crowd waiting for the fireworks display organized by the city of Prague to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

Mala Strana is a beautiful neighborhood Baroque , entirely rebuilt in the early ^seventeenth century as a result of large fires. Located on a slope (strana) that leads to the Royal Castle and Imperial, the neighborhood of the great imperial nobility ( Lobkowicz , Sternberg, Thun ...) who built wonderful mansions after the Battle Mountain White , in a style Baroque typical of the early ^seventeenth century. These have been largely acquired by foreign embassies . Mala Strana also has many baroque churches in a brilliant style, the church of the Child Jesus, known worldwide because of her "doll" who is the Savior, the Church of St. Thomas and the church of Saint Nicolas, due to the dynasty Dientzenhofer.

Charles Bridge

A true highlight of the visit of Prague, Charles Bridge joins the old city of the bourgeois to the upper town of Mala Strana of the aristocracy, and the district of the emperor Hradany. It has long been the work civil Gothic largest in Europe.

The "Hradcany (the Castle Quarter)

This word difficult to pronounce (RADTSANI) denotes the neighborhood of Prague Castle (Hradcany in German). Located on the left bank of the Vltava River, overlooking the lower town by the complex structure of the imperial palace of the Habsburgs and the kings of Bohemia, and the tower of St Vitus Cathedral. With its numerous palaces of the nobles, convents, monasteries, Renaissance houses, parks and gardens is one of the seven wonders of the world!

The Old Town (Stare Mesto)

The old town is a district of Prague's most endearing characteristic of the accumulation of all harmonious architectural styles of Europe. Its attraction is the "old place" (Staromestske namesti), town hall, the astronomical clock in Prague, its multiple themes airtight houses , its baroque palaces and neo-baroque and the famous cubist house "A the Black Madonna. "

The Ghetto of Prague (Josefov)

Jewish cemetery in Prague.

The ghetto of Prague (called since its renovation in the late ^nineteenth century, "Josefov") is located along the Vltava and the old city. Long it was closed because of the ban on Jews to settle in other parts of the city. The current name "Josefov" was given in honor of Emperor Joseph II , brother of Marie Antoinette , the ruler of lights, which helped to give civil rights to Jews from Bohemia. This neighborhood has had its dark ages and its golden ages. During the time of the Crusades, many atrocities have taken place, but at the end of the sixteenth ^century, the Jewish quarter of Prague receives rights of self-government, as evidenced by the Town Hall in baroque style. The Jewish Quarter is then 30% of the population of the entire city, or to be precise, the "city of Prague since the merger of the municipalities that are then Star Msto , Nov Msto , Mal Strana and Hradcany has held that 'in 1784, making it the community Ashkenazi largest and the second Jewish community in Europe after that of Thessaloniki. Between 1597 and 1609 , the Maharal of Prague, Judah Loew ben Bezalel is rabbi of this flourishing community. It is still today considered one of the greatest doctors of the law of Moses. He is buried in the picturesque Jewish cemetery , her grave became a place of pilgrimage. Under the pretext of "collaboration with the Prussian armies" of Frederick II of Prussia , Jews are expelled from Prague in 1745 by their sovereign, Maria Theresa , then allowed to return in 1748 as hostilities in the War of Austrian Succession ended. The gates of the ghetto (as protective as segregationist) are slaughtered in 1848, when, in an integrationist, the Jews of Prague lose their privileges of autonomy. The ghetto, with the exception of a few monuments, lighthouses, is completely destroyed in the late ^nineteenth century: the municipality is implementing a reorganization plan for the district of Josefov, razed and rebuilt according to criteria hygienists with wide streets, any access to sewerage, gas, etc.. Most Jews in Prague had started to move outside the "ghetto" from the reforms of Emperor Joseph. Therefore, bordered by avenues chic, like the Avenue de Paris, this area sees the buildings constructed among the most elegant Art Nouveau style in Prague. This other golden age ended in tragedy from the entrance of the Nazis in Prague in 1939. With own cynicism to the Nazis, the area is transformed into a museum of European Jews, with the rally in its many synagogues and ritual objects of Jewish liturgy. Almost all of the Jewish community of Prague and Bohemia have been liquidated in the meantime in the camp of Terezin . After the war, the communist regime is moving gradually towards the creation of a National Jewish Museum, which currently manages all the synagogues and Jewish memories of the neighborhood .

"The New Town (Nove Mesto)

Contrary to its name, the "new town" is a very old district of Prague, created by charter of Charles IV. This is where are located the oldest monuments of Prague, as the convent "Slavonic" (Emauzy 'Slavonech Na') , Charles Square (Karlovo namesti), the Franciscan monastery and so, the City Hall in the new city. But it is also an area with many civil and religious Baroque buildings, such as the Jesuit church of St. Ignatius, the home of Faust, St. John Nepomuk Rocks , one of the finest creations of Dientzenhofer etc.. From the ^nineteenth century, this area became the headquarters of Czech nationalism, with Wenceslas Square, National Avenue, and the National Theatre. Many art nouveau buildings adorn the area thereafter.

Vysehrad, the first Prague Castle

(Pronounced "VICHRAD") This word literally means in Czech "Castle Top". This was the place where the first time at Prague Castle for the Duke of Bohemia. This too found the first religious building in Romanesque style. It is a romantic turn transformed into a barracks under Maria Theresa, then instead of national memory in the nineteenth ^century.

Areas outside the center

Prague, like most medieval towns was chosen for its hills that offer both a strategic perspective on the river and the countryside and have become places of amenities for the nobility, and urban developments in space ^nineteenth century. It should be classified in this category is very bucolic, residential neighborhood with his Troja Troja Castle , of the architect Jean-Baptiste Mathey , the wonderful zoo in Prague ( Prague Zoo ), and the equally gorgeous botanical garden of Prague. The district of Zizkov (pronounced JIJKOF), is actually very close to the center, but on a hill. The district of Vinohrady (VINORADI) long devoted to vineyards was urbanized from its heyday. The district of Smchov was in open countryside in the ^eighteenth century, where Mozart composed the opening of Don Giovanni. In the nineteenth ^century, it has been urbanized. The areas west of Prague which leads to the "White Mountain" (instead of the famous Battle of White Mountain and the airport Ruzyne ( Prague International Airport ) with the Monastery Bevnov and Park Pavilion the star are residential with numerous art nouveau villas or modern. The area of industrial exhibitions, has been developed on the edge of a park to host World's Fairs of the nineteenth ^century. It has a large art museum modern functionalist style ( Veletrn palc ), and the lapidary Prague.

Troy

Veletrzini

ikov

Vinohrady

Smichov

Parks and Gardens

Because of its status as imperial capital, place of representation of the nobility, the amount of monasteries and convents, Prague has an impressive number of parks and public gardens, which cover without exaggeration, the majority of public space. In addition, these parks are regularly maintained or renovated, as is the case in aristocratic gardens trellis on the "short side" in Mala Strana .

The Italian gardens of the Renaissance

These are the most famous among them include the gardens of the Wallenstein Palace , the Garden Vrtbovska (or garden "Vrtba" fine example of the style of the unpronounceable Czech), the garden Ledebursk etc. ... all located in Mala Strana. The Queen Anne Belvedere in Prague Castle is a marvel.

Economy

Prague is the economic center of the Czech Republic. It concentrates the country's central economic activities such as the Prague Stock Exchange , the Czech National Bank , the Czech Railways , etc.. The headquarters of major companies such as EZ or banks as Ceskoslovensk obchodn banka and Komern banka. In addition to the film industry and the tourism industry, there are many companies in Prague of the processing industry. The gross domestic product of the city amounted to 620 billion Czech crowns in 2002, representing a contribution to national GDP from 25.7% to about 10% of the total population of the country. GDP per capita is thus 226% higher than in other Czech regions, also above the average for the EU : GDP in purchasing power parity, Prague is at 152.8% of EU average .

Tourism

The Charles Bridge with the castle at night

Prague is a city full of tourist. The beauty of the city earned him the admiration of many poets and artists, from Chateaubriand to Andr Breton , who considered it the "magical capital of Europe." The Vltava , relief and mansions Baroque (the Wallenstein Palace or the Clam-Gallas ), buildings of Art Nouveau Prague (like the Municipal House ) make it sometimes seem like a stage set. The city is a tourist destination leading in Europe. About 2 million visitors a year to make a living, usually between Easter and September. The New Year is also a very sought . The gun laws, more flexible than elsewhere in Western Europe, allows specialized institutions to offer their customers to handle weapons of war and guns.

Culture

Music

Opera in Prague

A Czech proverb says Co ech, to muzikant, "as Czech as musician." Music plays a prominent role in the cultural life of the capital. Concert halls and opera are numerous and illustrate the ancient competition is doing the Czechs and Germans for cultural supremacy (and political) of the city. The Czech National Theatre opens its doors for the first time on 11 June 1881 in honor of the visit of the Archduke Rudolph of Austria. Burned shortly after its inauguration, it was rebuilt in record time and reopened in 1883 with the opera Libue of Bedrich Smetana composed for the occasion. The State Opera , formerly known as the Neuer Deutscher Theater was completed in 1888 to outwit the Czech ambitions. Shared between the Czech and German troops, the Ecumenical Estates Theatre is best known for being the venue of the premiere of Don Giovanni in a href = "Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart" alt = "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart> Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The building of the Rudolfinum , today seat of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra , dating from the same period. Completed in 1885, this concert hall is dedicated to the crown prince of the empire, Rudolph of Austria. The Prague Symphony Orchestra prefers, for his part, playing in the Smetana Hall of Municipal House built in the style of the Viennese Secession. Not content to have forever inspired the name of the Prague Spring , bucolic appellation that covers the tragic events of spring 1968, which marked the country, the Prague Spring Festival (Prask Jaro) music festival every year since 1946. During its fall, the Autumn Festival in Prague (Prague and Podzim) has not been the same even if posterity can boast a similar level of musical excellence. Some museums are trying to explain to tourists passing this love relationship between the people of Prague and the music, Bertramka recalls the passage of Mozart Prague with his friends and musicians, Josefa and her husband Frantiek Dukov Duek. The Antonn Dvok Museum is located in the Villa Amerika , a small masterpiece of baroque architecture of Kilian Ignatius Dientzenhofer. The Smetana Museum retraces the footsteps of that other giant of Czech music. The Czech Museum of Music has recently opened its doors in the district of Mala Strana.

Museums

The Virgin of the Rosary Day by Albrecht Drer in the collections of the National Gallery in Prague.

We have seen the growing importance of music in cultural life in Prague. Let us say from the outset, it is not the same visual arts. The Prague Municipal Library recounts that although preference: whole partition shelves, shelves of biographies of great (and not so great) composers and performers, hard to borrow - besides that, only four linear feet devoted to fine arts (painting, sculpture and architecture). South of Mala Strana , near Smichov , is the home of Mozart. Here he wrote Don Giovanni. His first harpsichord musician, and a lock of his hair are exposed. That said, the museums offer rich collections that are worth visiting. Those of the National Gallery are conveniently located in several buildings suitable for each period presented: the painting and sculpture at the gothic St. Agnes convent founded in 1234 by St. Agnes , Mannerist and Baroque painting (in particular collections of Rudolph II Holy Roman Empire are exposed to the cloister of Saint-Georges , the palace ternberk those houses European art from antiquity to the present day, the imposing Palace of Fairs and Exhibitions exhibits fine art of ^nineteenth and ^twentieth centuries when the House of the Black Madonna provides an overview of this period of intense creation what the Czechoslovak Cubism ^{Intellectual life}

Prague is traditionally a European cultural center, hosts many events. Include, among other film festival, Febiofest , the festival of alternative theater, Prague Fringe Festival , the Prague Writers' Festival , the Prague Quadrennial , devoted to scenography and theater architecture. The Clementinum , jewel of the Czech National Library , has a sumptuous Baroque library, a legacy from the days when it housed the Charles University in Prague , which is reminiscent of the library of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. The Strahov Monastery in Hradcany has, meanwhile, two libraries, one Renaissance and Baroque another.

Education

Like any capital, there are many institutions of higher education.

Entering the auditorium of the Charles University.

The Charles University is the Middle Ages to World War II, claim the title of the oldest German university. The split in the nineteenth ^century, divided into two universities between Czechs and Germans, and excluding them from the territory of Czechoslovakia in 1945, that his title of oldest German university is out of place, but it can still claim the rule in Central Europe. Founded in 1707, the Technical University in Prague can also claim the title of oldest engineering school in central Europe. The Graduate School of Economics in Prague , meanwhile, can claim to have seen pass on its benches Vaclav Klaus , former minister of economy, Prime Minister and President of the country, Ji Paroubek and Milos Zeman , former prime Socialist ministers. The School of Applied Arts and Academy of Fine Arts are the basis for the training of artists who have embellished over the decades, this unique and magical city. Hector Berlioz already noted, during his trip to Prague in 1845-46, the excellence of the education given at the Music Conservatory of the city. Born of a split with the ethnic divide and the eternal competition between Czechs and Germans is not foreign, the Czech Academy of Performing Arts also contributes to the formation of artistic elites of the country: not content to graduate musicians as its name suggests, it oversees the faculties of renowned theater and film.

Population

The last census of 2003 gives a population of 1,172,500 inhabitants, a tenth of the population of the Czech Republic which has 10.3 million. Only about 40,000 souls inhabit the historic center. The unemployment rate among people of Prague is 3.4%, which corresponds to about 20 000 unemployed. As noted above, Prague was at one time divided into three cultural communities, that is to say the Czechs , the majority, the Germans and Jews. Ripellino Angelo , in his book Praga Magica describes the cultural and political competition between the various communities then:

"The Curse of Prague was in part due to his character of a city where three peoples lived together (Dreivlkerstadt): Czech, German and Jewish. Mixing and contact of three cultures gave the Bohemian capital of a particular character, an extraordinary wealth of resources and pulses. At the dawn of the twentieth ^century, there lived 414,899 Czechs (92.3%) and 37,776 Germans (7.5%) including 25 000 people of Jewish origin. The German minority had two magnificent theaters, a large concert hall, the university and the Polytechnic Institute , five schools, four Oberrealschulen, two newspapers, a host of clubs and institutes. "

During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia during the Second World War , the vast majority of Jews perished in the Holocaust. Residents germanophones, meanwhile, were expelled after the Second World War, following the Bene Decrees. Prague remains a welcoming country with 50,000 Slovaks , 50,000 Ruthenians and 20,000 nationals of the former USSR ( Russians and Belarusians in the majority), 10,000 Yugoslavs ( Serbs or Croats ) 20 000 Romanians 10 000 Hungarians and 40 000 Vietnamese arrived in Czechoslovakia during communism by virtue of agreements for economic cooperation but also for ten years. The Asian community is largely increasing. Prague also has a Muslim community in augmentation.Une mosque was built in 2000. . The city also hosts several islets (concentration Libe , Smchov and ikov ) a minority Roma. The proportion of Roma in the overall population of the city is half the average of the Czech Republic . Karln focuses, in all likelihood, the largest Asian community with neighborhoods Holeovice and Psnice. An estimated 300 000 people, came mainly from the Central Bohemian Region travel daily to Prague for their work. The real estate prices that now increasingly inaccessible to average budgets, Prague has a tendency to stagnate in favor of the Central Bohemia is the most dynamic region, demographically speaking, the country.

Transportation

Map of Prague metro

Prague is the center of Czech motorways. The main highways that radiate from Prague are the D1, which leads to Jihlava and Brno , which leads to the D5 Pilsen and via Rozvadov at Nuremberg , the D8, which runs st nad Labem , and the D11, which results in Hradec Krlov. Prague is also the center of the network of Czech Railways. She has extensive infrastructure for both public transport than for cars. The Prague Metro has three lines. The tram in Prague form a dense network that serves the residents and visitors both day and night. The city is also a crossroads of Central Europe. The Prague international airport is experiencing strong growth in passenger traffic due to the tourism boom (including conferences) and the increasing role that takes the city as an economic center between Western Europe and that of the Est.

The Prague metro station Muzeum

A tram in Prague

Bus Urban Transportation Authority Prague

The airport Praha-Ruzyn

A bus ^No. 119 from the airport Praha-Ruzyn can join the Tram / Metro Station Dejvick (Form convenient and low cost).

PragueMtroTramwayAroport

Media

TV Tower Prague near Zizkov climbed by giant sculptures of babies by David ern.

The titles of the Czech national press are all published in Prague. The city also houses the studios of public television, esk televise and TV Nova , a private television channel, the leader in terms of audience. For the Francophone reader, the magazine All In Prague fate since 2000 as a quarterly. It offers quality articles about Prague and the Czech Republic. The city houses the studios of Radio Free Europe whose emissions for countries of the former Eastern Bloc are being reduced and redeployment: Radio Free Iraq to Iraq, Radio Farda to Iran, Radio Free Afghanistan to Afghanistan. The studios, located in downtown and adjacent to the National Museum are, for safety reasons, access to heavily protected. This is not without problems because two lines of the "brilliant", the main artery of traffic in the city are blocked to protect access to the studios located in the building which formerly housed the federal parliament the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. A proposed relocation of Radio Free Europe is being held to a less central and easier to monitor.

Sport

Game of ice hockey in the Sazka Arena

According to its organizers, the Prague Marathon , founded in 1995, became, within a decade one of the most international of its kind with two-thirds of runners belonging to 55 nationalities. The city of Prague is also known for its teams of ice hockey. Thus by 1900, the Slavia is based then it is the turn of clubs Lawn Tennis Club Praha and Sparta to be created in 1903. By 1936, the first official season of the championship of Czechoslovakia , the CTA will win his first championship . The team will win a total of 10 league titles and 7 Spengler Cups , missing only the title of 1941 in favor of 1. CLTK Prague. On ¹ October 1948 the Armdn Telocvicn Klub Praha (French club fitness of the Army) is founded by the Czechoslovak Army and Division hockey league then joined the elite . The club won the league title in his second season, but success will not go for the following seasons and finally the various clubs of the capital in turn stop their activities. The only two clubs last time are Slavia and Sparta, the latter winning 4 championships in Czechoslovakia. In 1993, following the partition of the country, the two clubs integrate the new divisions Czech Republic: Sparta takes place immediately in the Extraliga while Slavia will one more year. Since the inception of the Extraliga, Slavia won the championship once (in 2003) against 4 times for Sparta (2000, 2002, 2006 and 2007). The Sazka Arena , the rink Slavia, was built for the world championship in 2004 and Prague and has one of the multifunctional sports the most advanced of Europe . The distribution of Prague between fans and athletes "Spartan" and "Slavonic" is found in club football and ice hockey with Sparta Prague , established in 1893 and Slavia Prague , established in 1892. The city, with the Strahov stadium , boasts the largest stadium in the world: 63 500 m and a capacity of 25,000 spectators.

Administration

The city is divided into ten districts (Mstsk st), twenty-two cantons (sprvn obvod), fifty-seven districts (Mstsk st) and one hundred to twelve cadastral territories (katastraln uzem). To complicate matters, the people of Prague usually refer to the names of historic districts, they are more illustrative and are either divided between several administrative sub-divisions, or several together in a borough or township. Decision-making bodies are the Representation of the city of Prague (Zastupitelstvo hlavniho msta Prahy), comprising seventy representatives elected for four years, and the Council of the City of Prague (Rada msta Prahy hlavniho), comprising eleven members elected from , headed by the mayor (primtor).

Curiosity

Cadastral number in red and blue house number.

In Prague, as in other Czech cities , a dual system is used for numbering roads. Each building has a unique description (popisn slo) in red and a number of orientation (Orientan slo) in blue. The red number, which corresponds to a parcel of land register , every building is unique for a given neighborhood and can not track the numbers of nearby buildings. The blue number is a simple sequential number, similar to those used in other European cities. Each number can be used alone in an address, but it is possible to indicate both to avoid any misunderstanding, starting with the red number "Hlavn 20 / 7." This redundancy is explained by the non-systematic names of streets in the villages, they are not usually named and descriptive or cadastral number is then essential factor or visitor, in cities, on the contrary, it is but of little use - consideration of an administration often Kafkaesque - mandatory.

Famous people connected with Prague

As economic and cultural center of Bohemia, Prague has attracted many personalities or birth, the main ones:

• Adalbert of Prague - the second bishop of Bohemia, holy Catholic and Orthodox
• Edvard Bene - politician, author of the Benes decrees which led to the expulsion of the entire German population of Czechoslovakia.
• Tycho Brahe - Danish astronomer
• Charles IV, Holy Roman Empire - Holy Roman Emperor, builder of the bridge that bears his name and founder of the University of Prague
• Antonn Dvok - composer
• Vaclav Havel - writer and president
• Reinhard Heydrich - SS-Obergruppenfuehrer, "protector" of Bohemia, Moravia, Nazi paratroopers assassinated by Czech resistance fighters on the outskirts of Prague.
• Bohumil Hrabal - writer
• John Hus - preacher, rector of the University of Prague and religious reformer
• Franz Kafka - Prague German-language writer. He has lived in many places in Prague, including the famous Golden Lane, where he shot the novel "The Castle".
• Jaroslav Hasek - writer - (The Good Soldier Schweik)
• Tom Masaryk - First President of the Republic of Czechoslovakia. He gave his name to a station of Prague-style industrial art "Masarykovo Nadrazi. His statue is also on the Castle Square.
• Gustav Meyrink - fantasy novelist. Prague evokes in his most famous novels: The Golem, Face Green, the angel in the window of the West and its news.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Austrian composer who stayed
• Alfons Mucha - (1860-1939) painter, poster iconic Art Nouveau stained glass windows adorn the Cathedral of St. Vitus. Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia. Death in Prague as a result of an interrogation by the Gestapo. He is buried at Vysehrad.
• Patocka - philosopher and intellectual victim of the communist regime in 1977.
• Lenka Reinerov - German-language writer in Prague
• Rainer Maria Rilke - German poet, born in Prague
• Rudolph II - Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
• Jaroslav Seifert - poet, Nobel Prize in literature
• Bedrich Smetana - composer
• St. John Nepomuk (Jan Nepomuk) - Vicar General of the cathedral of Prague, murdered by the royal power. The cons Catholic reform made him a saint in the eighteenth ^century.
• Emil Ztopek - said "the locomotive" Sport
• Martina Navratilova - tennis player
• Milan Kundera - Czech writer living in France today

Twinnings

The city of Prague has signed partnership agreements with , all after 1898:

• Berlin ( Germany )
• Chicago ( USA )
• Frankfurt am Main ( Germany )
• Hamburg ( Germany )
• Kyoto ( Japan )
• Moscow ( Russia )
• Nuremberg ( Germany )
• Paris ( France )
• Phoenix ( USA )
• Brussels-Capital Region ( Belgium )
• a href = "% C3% Saint-P A9tersbourg" alt = "St. Petersburg"> Saint Petersburg ( Russia )
• Taipei ( Taiwan )
• Nimes ( France )

The city also maintains active contacts, without having signed partnership with:

• Vienna ( Austria )
• Helsinki ( Finland )
• Budapest ( Hungary )
• Jerusalem ( Israel )
• Riga ( Latvia )
• Rotterdam ( Netherlands )
• Bratislava ( Slovakia )
• Lisbon ( Portugal )
• Birmingham ( UK )

The first district of the city is twinned with Bamberg ( Germany ).

See also

Related articles

• The bulk of Prague is a unit of money, created on the advice of bankers and lawyers Lombard in 1300 by the King of Bohemia Wenceslaus II. It is long the currency of reference in Central Europe.
• The Praguerie is a revolt inspired by the French nobility of the Hussites of Prague.
• The district Barrandov named after the French geologist and paleontologist Joachim Barrande which are studied Silurian System in central Bohemia, published in twenty-one volumes between 1852 and 1881.
• Summerhouse Hvezda
• Cubist Prague
• Garden Vrtbovska

Bibliography

• Michel Bertrand, History of Prague, Paris: Fayard, 1998. Michel Bertrand is Professor Emeritus at the Sorbonne. It is the French specialist in the history of Prague and Bohemia. The same author: Prague Belle Epoque, Paris: Flammarion, 2008.

• Angelo Ripellino (trans. Jacques Michaut Paterno-), Praga magica: Travel initiation in Prague, Plon, coll. "Terre Humaine / Poche, Paris, 1993 ( ISBN 2-266-06687-0 )
• Leon de Costner, Costner Xavier, 15 walks in Prague, Casterman, coll. "Discovering the architecture of cities, 1992 ( ISBN 2-203-60501-4 )
• Louis Leger, Prague, Paris: Librairie Renouard, Laurens, 1907. online Please note that Prague, in the nineteenth century gave rise to the verve of many travelers who have written the first travel guides, they are all exciting to read because they show the binational character of Prague at the time (German / Czech), and changes. Many are available online

In English

Many contemporary works of quality exist among these

• Peter Demetz, Prague in Black and Gold: The History of the City, 1997 (Penguin Books).

In Czech

• Petr David, Vladimir Soukup. 1111 pamatek has zajimavosti Prahy. Prague: Kartograf Praha, 2001. Vladimir Soukup has signed the best travel guides in Prague.

Methodology of Czech language

Elga Cechova, Helena Trabelsiova, Harry Putz. For Francophones who want to speak Czech. 2nd edition, 2 vols, 1998. (CD). Liberec, 1998. Almost the only method of modern Czech language, is only found on site

External Links

• (In) Official Website City of Prague
• (En) Site of the tourist city of Prague
• (En) Site of Radio Prague
• (En) Site of the National Museums in Prague
• (En) Site about the historical aspects of Prague and in particular its reputation as a city of Hermeticism
• (En) Site Mucha Museum
• (En) Site Museum of Communism
• (En) Official site of the National Jewish Museum in Prague, which manages all of the memorial

References

1. Eurostat data - Regional GDP per capita in 2007
2. Accuracy: administrative division in Prague, London or Hamburg the contours of the Metropolitan Area, which is not the case of the Ile de France.
3. Queen detail
4. Source: Eurostat
5. The World According To GaWC 2008
6. By comparison, Paris is 105 km , which is five times less.
7. See http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/fr/praguesquartiers-culture/structure-de-la-ville/se-reperer-dans-prague.html
8. http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/fr/praguesquartiers-culture/principaux-quartiers/mala-strana/palais.html
9. http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/fr/praguesquartiers-culture/grammaires-des-styles/grammaire-des-styles/baroque.html
10. http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/fr/praguesquartiers-culture/prague-ville-esoterique/architecture-hermetique.html
11. http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/fr/praguesquartiers-culture/principaux-quartiers/ghetto.html
12. http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/
13. http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/fr/ville-nouvelle/342-emauzy-na-slovanech.html
14. http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=185:eglise-saint-nepomucene-des-rochers&catid=56&Itemid=265
15. http://www.prague-ville-alchimique.fr/fr/praguesquartiers-culture/principaux-quartiers/parcs-et-jardins.html
16. For details, see these articles: Economy of the European Union and Economy of the Czech Republic.
17. Wenceslas Square by night
18. For more details on the artistic movement avant-garde of that time, consult the articles on the movement Devtsil and the artistic circle Manes.
19. To the only Old Town.
20. ^{a and b} for the Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Hradcany
21. ^{a , b and c} with its suburbs
22. Ripellino Angelo, Praga Magica, Plon, coll. Terre Humaine, Paris, 1993 ( ISBN 2-266-06687-0 )
23. To be exact, the Czechs are getting in 1882 the division of Charles University into two entities with a sign in Czech.
24. These estimates of the Municipality are only partially supported by the Czech Statistical Office in the census of 2001 which "escape" many foreigners unwilling to be enrolled for a few years since Prague is a city of immigration. For details, see the ethnic breakdown of population by the Czech Statistical Office.
25. Again, the statistics of the ethnic distribution of population by the Czech Statistical Office should be taken with caution: self-assessment based on nationality, it is not inconceivable that Roma Prague, more integrated in a multiethnic metropolis, are more "Czech" in any case be less discriminated against than their cousins in the different regions. For more details on the ethnic composition of the Czech Republic and the various census, read Demography of the Czech Republic.
26. (en) History of Slavia Prague.
27. (en) History of Prague LTC LTC Prague.
28. (en) History of Sparta Prague HC Sparta Prague.
29. (en) 1936-37 Season Championship Czechoslovak ice hockey on http://www.hockeyarchives.info/.
30. (en) History of the Spengler Cup finals on http://www.ltcpraha.ic.cz/.
31. (en) 1948-49 Hockey Season in Czechoslovakia on http://hockey365.celeonet.fr/.
32. (fr) Presentation of the Sazka Arena http://www.sazkaarena.com/.
33. Partner Cities

Preceded by	European Capital of Culture 2000	Followed by
Weimar	Avignon Bergen Bologna Brussels Helsinki Krakow Prague Reykjavk St. Jacques de Compostela	Porto Rotterdam

World Heritage in Czech Republic
Cultural	Historic Centre of esk Krumlov (1992) Centre of Prague (1992) Centre of historic Telc (1992) Church of Saint John of Nepomuk , a place of pilgrimage at Zelena Hora (1994) Kutna Hora : historical center of the city with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec (1995) Cultural Landscape Lednice - Valtice (1996) Gardens and Castle at Kromeriz (1998) Reserve Historical Village of Holaovice (1998) Litomyl Castle (1999) of the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc (2000) Tugendhat Villa in Brno (2001) The Jewish Quarter and St Procopius' Basilica of Teb (2003)

Prague Districts
Districts of Prague	Prague 1 Prague 2 Prague 3 Prague 4 Prague 5 Prague 6 Prague 7 Prague 8 Prague 9 Prague 10 Prague 11 Prague 12 Prague 13 Prague 14 Prague 15 Prague 16 Prague 17 Prague 18 Prague 19 20 Prague Prague 21 Prague 22
Other municipal districts	Bechovice Benice Bezinves akovice blice Doln Chabry Doln Mecholupy Doln Pocernice Dubec Kbely Klnovice Kolodje Kolovraty Kralovice Kreslice Kunratice Libu Lipence Lochkov Lysolaje Nebuice Nedvez Petrovice Pedn Kopanina eporyje Satalice Slivenec Suchdol eberov Sterboholy Troja jezd u Pruhonice Velk Chuchle Vinorant Zbraslav Zlicin
Cadastral areas	Bechovice Benice Bohnice Brank Brevnov Bezinves Bubenec akovice Cerny Most Chodov Cholupice Cimic blice Dejvice Doln Chabry Doln Mecholupy Doln Pocernice Dubec Hje Hjek Hloubtn Hluboepy Hodkovicky Holeovice Holyne Horn Mecholupy Horn Pocernice Hostavice Hostivar Hradcany Hrdlorezy Jinonice Josefov Kamk Karln Kbely Klnovice Kobylisy Kolodje Kolovraty Komorany Kosir Kralovice a href = "Krc" class = "new" title = "Krc (non-existent page)"> Krc Kreslice Kunratice Kyje Lahovice Letnany Lhotka Liben Liboc Libu Lipany Lipence Lochkov Lysolaje Lesser Chuchle Mal Strana Maleice Michle Miskovic Modrany Motol Nebuice Nedvez Nov Mesto Nusle Petrovice Psnice Pitkovice Podol Pedn Kopanina Prosek Radlice Radotn eporyje Repy Ruzyne Satalice Sedlec Slivenec Smchov Sobin Stare Mesto Sterboholy Stodulky Stranice Steovice Strizkov Suchdol Ton Tebonice Treboradice Troja Uhrineves jezd nad Lesy jezd u Pruhonice Veleslavn Velk Chuchle Vinohrady Vinorant Vukovic decision Vrovice Vyehrad Vysocany Zbhlice Zadn Kopanina Zbraslav ikov Zlicin

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Amsterdam Athens Berlin Bratislava Brussels Bucharest Budapest Copenhagen Dublin Helsinki Valletta Lisbon Ljubljana London Luxembourg Madrid Nicosia Paris Prague Riga Rome Sofia Stockholm Tallinn Warsaw Vienna Vilnius
Portal European Union

The regions of the Czech Republic
Regions	Central Bohemia South Bohemian Hradec Krlov Karlovy Vary Liberec the Southern Moravia Moravia-Silesia Olomouc Pardubice Pilsen st nad Labem Vysoina Zln
Capital City	Prague

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