Czech Republic

PRAGUE - History

Prague is situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia. Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, The city proper is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million. Prague has been the political, cultural and economic center of the Czech state for more than 1,100 years. For centuries, during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the permanent seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus was also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. The city played role in the Protestant_Reformation, Thirty_Years'_War and in the twentieth-century history, both during the two World Wars and during the post-war Communist era.

Since 1992, the extensive historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, making the city one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.1 million international visitors annually, as of 2009 . Prague is classified as a global city.

In 1257, under King Ottokar II, Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter") was founded in Prague on the place of an older village in the future Hradčany area. This was the district of the German people, who had the right to administer the law autonomously, pursuant to Magdeburg rights. The new district was on the opposite bank of the Staré Město ("Old Town"), which had a borough status and was bordered by a line of walls and fortifications.

The city flourished during the 14th century reign of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the king of Bohemia of the new Luxembourg dynasty. He ordered the building of the New Town (Nové Město) adjacent to the Old Town. The Charles Bridge was erected to connect the new district to Malá Strana. Heritge of Charles include the Saint Vitus Cathedral, the oldest Gothic cathedral in Central Europe, built inside the castle, and the Charles University. During the reign of King Wenceslaus IV (1378–1419), Jan Hus, a theologian and lector at the Charles University, preached in Prague. In 1402, he began giving sermons in the Bethlehem Chapel.

In 1689, a great fire devastated Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. In 1713–14, a major outbreak of plague hit Prague one last time, killing 12–13,000 people. The economic rise continued through the 18th century, and the city in 1771 had 80,000 inhabitants. Many of these were rich merchants and nobles who enriched the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens, creating a Baroque style renowned throughout the world. After the Battle of Prague in 1757 the city was badly damaged during a Prussian bombardment. In 1784, under Joseph II, the four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město, and Hradcany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called Josefov, was included only in 1850. In 1942, Prague was witness to the assassination of one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany - Reinhard Heydrich. Hitler ordered bloody reprisals.

Era after the Velvet Revolution

In 1989, after the riot police beat back a peaceful student demonstration, the Velvet Revolution crowded the streets of Prague and the Czechoslovak capital benefited greatly from the new mood. In 1993, after the split of Czechoslovakia, Prague became the capital city of the new Czech Republic. In the late 1990s Prague again became an important cultural centre of Europe and was notably influenced by globalisation.