Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is the capital of Czechia (also known as the Czech Republic) and has served as the seat of government for the Bohemian people for over one thousand years.

The city is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. It is known for the beauty of its architecture, including the Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle, and is significant in religious history for its role in the Holy Roman Empire, the Jewish presence in Central Europe, and the Protestant Reformation.

Landscape

Prague is the largest city of Czechia and is situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia, a historical region of central Europe that makes up the western and central areas of Czechia. Although Prague is a large metropolitan city, the underlying landscape is that of hillsides rising along the banks of the Vltava.

Prague's metropolitan area covers 496 square kilometers (192 square miles) at altitudes ranging from 177 to 399 meters (580 to 1,309 feet). The city, known to natives as Praha, is subdivided into numbered districts. Prague 1 includes the oldest part of the city and many of the city's most popular tourist attractions. The remaining districts contain the more residential communities of the city.

Prague has a generally mild climate. Summer temperatures range from about 12 to 22 degrees Celsius (54 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit). Winter temperatures range from -3 to 2 degrees Celsius (26 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit).

People

As of 2023, the population of Prague was 1.323 million, according to the World Factbook of the US Central Intelligence Agency. Ethnically, the population of Czechia as a whole is 57.3% Czech, as of a 2021 estimate; the remaining population is composed of Slovaks, Moravians, Germans, Roma, Hungarians, and others.

The majority of the Czech population does not adhere to an organized religion. Roughly 7 percent of the population, as of 2021, is Roman Catholic, and 1 percent is Protestant. With Prague's growth as a center of culture and industry, the percentage of Muslims and members of Eastern religious groups has also increased. The city's Jewish population decreased sharply during World War II, when the majority of Prague's Jews were deported and killed by Nazi forces during the Holocaust, but Prague remains home to a small Jewish community.

Prague is notable for its association with such notable figures as writer Franz Kafka and physicist Albert Einstein. Others include composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and astronomer Tycho Brahe. In the early twenty-first century, Prague has continued to attract writers, filmmakers, musicians, artists, and historians.

Economy

With the city's rich history, impressive architecture, and appreciation for the arts, tourism has been one of Prague's most important industries since Czechia gained its independence in 1993. In 2022, more than 5.98 million guests stayed in collective accomodation establishments in the city.

Prague is also the nation's seat for education, politics, and commerce. The unemployment rate in Prague in 2023 was 3 percent. The increased importance of the services sector was evident in the fact that 82.4 percent of employees in the city worked in services as of 2017. Through its tourism industry, Prague contributes greatly to the sales of jewelry, crystal, and beer manufactured throughout Czechia.

The economy of Prague is supported by the city's full-scale metro transportation system, which includes a subway system, buses, and street cars. Prague's economy also benefits from the presence of the Václav Havel Airport, the largest airport in Czechia.

Landmarks

The Czech National Museum is located at the top of Prague's Wenceslas Square. The wide, tree-lined street is a center of business, transportation, and tourism for the city. Named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia, this large boulevard is often used for celebrations, festivals, and social demonstrations.

Located beyond Wenceslas Square and before the Charles Bridge is the Old Town Square of Prague. The square was added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list of World Heritage Sites in 1992. The square includes the medieval Prague Astronomical Clock, the Tyn Cathedral, Saint Nicholas' Church, and the statue of martyred protestant reformer Jan Hus. At the top of each hour the astronomical clock displays the Walk of the Apostles, a parade of small sculptures that moves through the window area of the clock.

The Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava and connects the city's two oldest districts: the Lessor Town and Old Town. The bridge is 9.5 meters (31 feet) wide and lined with statues on both sides. It stretches 516 meters (1,693 feet) across the river and is usually filled with street vendors, tourists, and musicians.

The largest and most popular landmark of Prague is Prague Castle. Construction began on the castle in the ninth century. Over the centuries, it has undergone several major reconstructions, incorporating Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. The castle has served as the seat of government for kings, queens, ruling families, and other heads of state throughout the history of the Bohemia.

Prague's Jewish quarter contains many of the city's other significant landmarks. The Old Jewish Cemetery dates back to the fifteenth century and was in use for about four hundred years. During that time, more than 200,000 Jewish residents of Prague were buried there. Because of space concerns, the tombs are arranged in twelve different layers. The New Jewish Cemetery was built in 1890 and is most famous for housing the tomb of Franz Kafka. Originally constructed in 1270, the Starnova Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Europe.

History

The site of Prague was first settled during the Paleolithic period, circa 30,000 BCE. Prior to the ninth century CE, the region where the city now sits was claimed for a time by the Celts, later by the Germans, and eventually by the Slavs. With the Slavs in power, Prague began as the seat of government for the Bohemian people in the later half of the ninth century.

During the fourteenth century, Prague grew tremendously under the leadership of Charles IV of the House of Luxembourg. The city was designated the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. During this period, the Saint Vitus Cathedral, the oldest Gothic cathedral in central Europe, was constructed.

Charles IV ordered the construction of the New Town section of Prague, as well as the building of the Charles Bridge to connect New Town with the existing parts of the city. Charles University, the first university of central Europe, was also constructed during his reign. At this time, known as the city's golden age, it was the third-largest city in Europe.

At the start of the fifteenth century, Prague was significantly affected by the ideas of Protestant religious reformer Jan Hus. In 1402, Hus began preaching openly against the Catholic Church; he was eventually ordered to leave Prague and was burned at the stake in the city of Konstanz on July 6, 1415. His death so outraged the people of Prague that they rebelled against the political and religious leaders, ultimately throwing the city officials from the top of the New Town Hall. This act is known as the First Defenestration of Prague, the city's first instance of public figures being thrown out of a window. This rebellion also began the Hussite Wars, which lasted from 1420 to 1434 but brought no lasting changes to the area.

By the sixteenth century, the Holy Roman Empire was being challenged by the Protestant Reformation, but these ideas had already gained some popularity in Prague. By the end of the century, the city had become known as a capital of European culture under the rule of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Prominent astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler lived in Prague at that time.

The Second Defenestration of Prague took place in 1618. This event was prompted by conflict between the ruling Roman Catholics and the local Protestants over the construction of Protestant chapels in Prague. Ultimately, a group of governing Catholics were thrown out of Prague Castle by an assembly of disgruntled Protestants. This conflict prompted the start of the Thirty Years' War, a battle between many European powers and the Habsburg dynasty. The Bohemian involvement in the Thirty Years' War ended near Prague in the historical Battle of White Mountain in 1620.

In 1689, Prague survived its second great fire, and in 1713 it suffered its last outbreak of the plague. During the remainder of the eighteenth century, Prague experienced a significant increase in its Jewish population, and the city's Jewish district was formed. Throughout this period, the city was governed by a united city council, which was created in 1784. In the nineteenth century, Prague grew in commerce and the arts as a result of the Industrial Revolution.

During the twentieth century, the city of Prague endured the establishment of the nation of Czechoslovakia immediately following World War I, the German occupation prior to and during World War II, and the Soviet occupation from the end of World War II until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The Velvet Revolution concluded in Prague in 1993 with the establishment of Prague as the new capital of the independent nation of Czechia and the election of Václav Havel as its first president.

Since then, Prague has continued to grow as a cultural capital. At the same time, as residents had continued to complain about the noisy nature of a popular but largely unregulated nightlife scene in the city, Prague's administration appointed the city's first "night mayor" in early 2019; he was assigned to head a specialized commission to reform and manage the city's nightlife image.

Bibliography

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