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The capital of the Czech Republic is one of the most important historical preservation areas in central Europe. Prague’s one of-a-kind urban heart has been a UNESCO world cultural and natural heritage site since 1992.

Prague is a great city for romantics. Remnants of the city’s past are found on nearly every corner.

A walk through the Old City past Powder Tower (1475), the old town hall and other equally marvellous baroque architectural masterpieces leads to the Charles Bridge, one of the most photographed in the world.

Prague Castle was built on the Hradshin River by a property developer called Premysl around 870, and Prague soon became the epicentre of the House of Premysl.

Vratislav I, the first Bohemian monarch, transfered the royal residence to Vysehrad Castle in 1085, probably due to a fight for power with his brother, Bishop Jaromir.

Prague Castle remained the seat of the bishops of Prague for decades. The Cathedral of St. Vitus, another early building, is also located on the castle grounds.

Prague grows.
Protected by the two castles, a sea of German and Jewish merchants and local craftsmen led to fast growth on both sides of the Muldau River. The largest fortified area was near the already ancient Prague Castle. Prague received its city charter in 1234 from King Wenceslas I, who made it his primary residence.

Shortly thereafter, the “New Town” districts of Mala Strana and Hradshin were ffounded. The fourteenth century brought yet more prosperity to Prague. In 1348 the first university in central Europe was founded here, Charles University, named after Emperor Charles IV.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Prague was ravaged by two religious wars. The Hussite Wars (1419-1437) and the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) left bad memories.

The events that set off both of these conflicts started in Prague. These include the famous “defenestrations”, in which Catholic clerics and dignitaries were thrown out of windows by dissenters, the first time by Hussites, followers of rebel reformer Jan Hus, and later by Protestants, setting off the Thirty Years War.

The victims of the first defenestration did not fall far, but landed in the arms of a mob waiting outside to lynch them. The second time was from an upper story, but the Catholics were saved because they fell into a heap of manure. From the Catholic point of view, divine intervention had intervened. The two long, debilitating conflicts slaughtered hundreds of thousands, setting back development for generations. Like other afflicted cities, Prague lost most of its international prominence during this time.

Prague in Spring-Time.
In 1945, Prague became the capital of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia. Communist leadership precipitated a deep-seated financial crisis: the Soviet central planning bureau contributed to nearly complete economic stagnation.

In the spring of 1968, public criticism grew and much of the population became increasingly rebelious. Street demonstrations of the “Prague Spring” were news all over the world.

Ultimately, power struggles within the ruling party led to the invasion of Prague by Warsaw Pact troops on 21 August 1968, and the brief period of expression was ruthlessly terminated.

It would be 1989 before Prague broke away from Russian control, and in 1993 was named capital of an independent Czech Republic.

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