The capital of the Czech Republic lies on both sides of the Vltava River in the Bohemian Basin. It is the outstanding cultural, economic and political center of the country. The city is made up of the four districts of Hradschin, Old Town, Lesser Town and New Town. The city’s golden age, the 14th century, has left significant traces to this day. In 1348, the first university in Central Europe was founded in Prague. The beauty of the city with its numerous architectural monuments attracts many visitors.
According to getzipcodes, Prague, in Czech Praha, is the capital of the Czech Republic and the administrative seat of the Central Bohemian Region.
The city lies on both sides of the Vltava in a wide basin in the central part of the Bohemian Basin. With a population of around 1.2 million (2011), Prague is by far the largest city in the country. The city is the seat of a Catholic archbishop. In addition to Charles University, which was founded in 1348, it has a technical college, an art academy, a conservatory and other universities as well as research institutes and scientific societies. The importance as a cultural center highlight several museums and picture galleries, 22 permanent theaters and two opera houses. The Czech film studios are located in the Barrandov district.
Prague is also the industrial and commercial center of the Czech Republic with its chemical, pharmaceutical, machine, vehicle, clothing, paper, electrotechnical / electronic, precision mechanical and optical industries, as well as publishing and printing industries. As a Czech traffic center, Prague has the international airport Ruzyne and a river port. Shipping on the Vltava begins in Prague.
Cityscape
The picturesque location on both sides of the Vltava, the thousand-year history of the city and the abundance of architectural monuments make Prague an internationally popular destination for city trips. There is also a special flair and a rich gastronomic scene.
The Prague Castle, the Hradschin, whose oldest foundation walls date from the 9th century, is dominating the city. The late Gothic Wladislawsaal, the Ludwigsbau and the old state parliament hall belong to the old palace. The center of the castle is the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral with a rich interior. There are numerous noble palaces outside the castle complex.
The Lesser Town extends below the castle to the Vltava. The baroque St. Niklas Church and the pilgrimage church of Maria de Victoria are located here. The Charles Bridge with Gothic bridge towers connects the Lesser Town with the historic old town, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the center, the Old Town Square, are the Old Town Hall with the astronomical clock from 1410 and the Gothic Tyn Church.
The Neustadt was from 1348 applied between Old Town and Vysehrad two elongated places: around the Charles Square with the New Town Hall and around Wenceslas Square with the National Museum and the statue of St. Wenceslas, which was not completed until the 1,922th The New Town is Prague’s business and shopping center. From the large former Jewish quarter, the Josefstadt, the early Gothic Old New Synagogue and the Jewish cemetery have been preserved.
But modern times have also left architectural traces. From the buildings of the 20th century, buildings of Art Nouveau and Czech Cubism are particularly noteworthy. The Rasín office building (“Ginger and Fred” or the “Dancing House”), which was built by FO GEHRY and VLADIMIR MILUNIC in 1994–1996, also caused a stir.
History
Prague developed from several settlements between the two castles Vysehrad and Hradschin. The so-called Lesser Town was created through intensive, including German, settlement. Under Emperor KARL IV, who made Prague his residence in 1346, the city experienced its heyday as one of the great centers of Central Europe. Prague was the starting point of the Reformation Hussite movement and the Bohemian Uprising, which stood at the beginning of the Thirty Years War. In 1784 the four Prague cities of Old Town, Lesser Town, New Town and Hradschin were united. From 1918–1992 Prague was the capital of Czechoslovakia (from 1990 the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic).
In August 1968 the reform movement Prague Spring was violently suppressed. Prague has been the capital of the independent Czech Republic
since 1993.
