Prague
- Capital city of the CR
- Located in central Bohemia on the Vltava River
- Largest city of the CR
- Population: 1,3 million
- Political and cultural centre of the CR – residence of the President, seat of the
government and Parliament…)
- One of the most beautiful cities in the world, UNESCO
- Nicknames: A city of a hundred spires, the Golden city, a hundred tower city
- legend about the foundation of Prague → princess Libuše predicted big city that
touches the stars
- biggest medieval growth - Charles IV. → Charles Bridge, Charles University, New
Town, St. Vitus Cathedral
5 HISTORICAL DISTRICTS
The left bank of the Vltava:
- Malá Strana (= Lesser Town)
- Hradčany (= the Castle District)
Situated on the right bank:
- Staré Město (= Old Town, first settlement in 10th century)
- Nové Město (=New Town, established by Charles IV in 1348
- Josefov (= The Jewish Quarter, surrounded by Old Town)
HISTORY
- Established in the 9th century, the seat of Czech princes and later kings of Bohemia
- Charles VI chose the city as the capital of his empire. He founded Charles University,
St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles bridge and the New Town.
- Later, the kingdom was absorbed into Habsburg Empire and Prague had to stand
aside, because the capital was Vienna.
- During the period of Rudolf II (16th century) it was the centre of art and alchemy. The
alchemist lived in Golden Lane including astronomers Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler…
- The Czech national Revival in the 19th century restored Prague’s prominence. National
theatre was built to express this feeling of national pride for Czechs.
- 1918 Prague became the capital of the independent Czechoslovakia and in 1993 of
the Czech Republic.
MAYOR SIGHTS
Vyšehrad castle
- Built in the 10th century over the Vltava River
- Residence of Czech princess, ransacked by the Hussites and then by the troops of Jiří
of Poděbrady
- The Czech national cemetery
The Prague Castle
- Largest in the world, a castle complex
- Residence of the Czech President
- Established in 6th century by Prince Bořivoj
- Bohemian crown jewels
- Vladislav Hall, Spanish Hall, Rudolph Gallery
St Vitus Cathedral – the largest and the most important church in Prague, Gothic,
contains St Wenceslas Chapel= the most sacred place in the cathedral
Charles Bridge
- A medieval stone bridge
- By Petr Parléř
- It replaced the Judith bridge
- Old town, Lesser town
The Old Town Square
- The Gothic Týn Church
- The Baroque St. Nicolas Church
Old Town Hall
- Astronomical clock (=horloge, česky orloj), installed in 1410 (the oldest in the world
still working)
- Nearly destroyed at the end of WW II
The National Theatre
- Opened 1881, burned down, reconstructed and reopened in 1883
- Neo- Renaissance, architect – Josef Zítek, after Josef Schulz, after fire- Josef Schulz
- Initiated by František Palacký
- Financed from money collected by the Czech people.
- Sixties of the 20th century arch. competition for reconstruction- winner Bohuslav
Fuchs, never implemented
- Nová scéna- brutalist, Karel Prager
- Železná opona: Vojtěch Hynais
Charles square
Wenceslas square
- Renamed 1848 after St. Wenceslas, the patron of the Czech Lands
- The statue made by J. V. Myslbek
The National Museum
- Founded by Kašpar Maria Šternberg 1818
- Josef Schulz, neo-renaissance
- new building – Karel Prager, Jiří Albrecht, Jiří Kadeřábek
Bohemian crown jewels
- Vladislav Hall, Spanish Hall, Rudolph Gallery
