Where is Prague?

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of nearly 2.0 million.
During the thousand years of its existence, the city grew from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to the fort of Vyšehrad in the south, becoming the multicultural capital of a modern European state, the Czech Republic, a member state of the European Union.
Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city receives more than 4.1 million international visitors annually, as of 2009. In 2011 Prague was the sixth most visited city in Europe[

Prague Castle

Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here. Prague Castle is the biggest castle in the world (according to Guinness Book of Records the biggest ancient castle) at about 570 metres in length and an average of about 130 metres wide.



Saint Vitus' Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta) is as a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral.

Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, this cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and is the biggest and most important church in the country. The cathedral is under the ownership of the Czech government as part of the Prague Castle complex.
The present day Gothic Cathedral was founded on 21st of November, 1344.

Vladislav Hall is a large room within the Prague Castle complex in the Czech Republic, used for large public events of the Bohemian monarchy and the modern Czech state. Built between 1493-1502 by Benedikt Rejt during the reign of Vladislav II, the hall was the largest secular space (62m x 16m x 13m) in medieval Prague[1] and belongs to the most complex structural and architectural spaces of the late Middle Ages.

St. George's Basilica (Czech: Bazilika Sv. Jiří) is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920. It is dedicated to Saint George.

Old Town Square

Located between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge, Prague's Old Town Square is often bursting at the seams with tourists in the summer. Featuring various architectural styles including the gothic Týn Church and baroque St. Nicholas Church, the square is an oasis for travelers wearied by Prague's narrow streets. Among many churches, tourists may find the Astronomical Clock on this square, while the tower at the Old Town Hall offers a panoramic view of Old Town shop.




The Church of Our Lady before Týn (in Czech Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem, also Týnský chrám (Týn Church) or just Týn) is a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, and has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. The church's towers are 80 m high and topped by four small spires.

The square's center is home to a statue of religious reformer Jan Hus, who for his beliefs was burned at the stake in Constance. The statue known as the Jan Hus Memorial was erected on July 6, 1915 to mark the 500th anniversary of his death.

Prague Astronomical Clock (Old Town)

The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.
The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.

Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge (Karlův most) is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) until 1841, the Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe. The bridge was originally called the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) or the Prague Bridge (Pražský most) but has been the "Charles Bridge" since 1870.

The bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.

At night Charles Bridge is a quiet place, but during the day it changes its face into a very busy venue with painters, owners of kiosks, and vendors alongside numerous tourists crossing the bridge.

New Town and Wenceslas Square

The New Town (Nové Město) is a quarter in the city of Prague. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent (from the Middle Ages until 1784) towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague. New Town was founded in 1348 by Charles IV just outside the city walls to the east and south of the Old Town; about three times the size of the Old Town.

Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings. The square is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. It is part of the historic centre of Prague, a World Heritage Site.

Malá Strana

Malá Strana is a district of the city of Prague, and one of its most historic regions.


The name translated into English literally means "Little Side", though it is frequently referred to as "Lesser Town", "Lesser Quarter", or "Lesser Side". This name derives from its position on the left (west) bank of the river Vltava, on the slopes just below the Prague Castle, in opposition to the larger towns of Prague on the right bank, to which it is conjoined by the Charles Bridge.



Wallenstein Palace is a Baroque palace currently the home of the Czech Senate.


U Mecenase Restaurant, one of the oldest restaurants in Prague

Infant Jesus of Prague

Infant Jesus of Prague (Pražské Jezulátko) is a 16th century Roman Catholic wax statue of child Jesus located in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana. Pious legends claim that the statue once belonged to Saint Teresa of Avila and allegedly holds miraculous powers, especially among expectant mothers.

The Petřín Lookout Tower

The Petřín Lookout Tower (Petřínská rozhledna) is a 60 metre high steel framework tower in Prague, which strongly resembles the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. Although it is much shorter than the Eiffel Tower, it stands atop a sizable hill, Petřín, so the top is actually at a higher altitude than that of the Eiffel Tower. The Petřínská rozhledna was built in 1891 and was used as an observation tower as well as a transmission tower. Today the Petřínská rozhledna is a major tourist attraction. If you go up the hard way, the hill is roughly a half-hour walk up paths that get quite slippery when it snows, and the tower is a shorter but fairly tiring climb; however, the hill is served by a frequent funicular and the tower has an elevator for disabled persons.

OLD JEWISH CEMETERY

Jews are believed to have settled in Prague as early as the 10th century. The first pogrom was in 1096 (the first crusade) and eventually they were concentrated within a walled Ghetto. In 1262 Přemysl Otakar II issued a Statuta Judaeorum which granted the community a degree of self administration. In 1389 one of the worst pogroms saw some 1,500 massacred at Easter Sunday. The ghetto was most prosperous towards the end of the 16th century when the Jewish Mayor, Mordecai Maisel, became the Minister of Finance and a very wealthy man. His money helped develop the ghetto. Around this time the Maharal was supposed to create the Golem.

In 1850 the quarter was renamed "Josefstadt" (Joseph's City) after Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who emancipated Jews with the Toleration Edict in 1781. Two years before Jews were allowed to settle outside of the city, so the share of the Jewish population in Josefov decreased, while only orthodox and poor Jews remained living there.

Most of the quarter was demolished between 1893 and 1913 as part of an initiative to model the city on Paris.

Franz KAFKA

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century. The term "Kafkaesque" has become part of the English language.

Kafka was born to middle class German-speaking Jewish parents in Prague, Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The house in which he was born, on the Old Town Square next to Prague's Church of St Nicholas, now contains a permanent exhibition devoted to the author.

Most of Kafka's writing, including the large body of his unfinished work, was published posthumously.

His more famous works:

Novellas

The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung, November – December 1915)

Novels

The Trial (Der Prozeß, 1925)
The Castle (Das Schloß, 1926)
Amerika (Amerika or Der Verschollene, 1927)

Alfons MUCHA

Alfons Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, known best for his distinct style. He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs.






Maud Adams as Joan of Arc, 1909

U Fleků

The U Fleků restaurant is the oldest and the most famous beerhouse in Prague. Both the beerhouse and the adjoining pub were established in 1499. The "U Fleku" beerhouse won its fame thanks to its own brewed 13° special bock beer. The pemises of this traditional beerhouse include the beer garden, brewery museum as well as the legendary Old-Prague Cabaret. The restaurant offers over 1200 seats and is looking forward to your visit.

Jan Neruda

Jan Nepomuk Neruda (1834 – 1891) was a Czech journalist, writer and poet, one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of "the May school".


Early life

Jan Neruda was born in Prague, son of a small grocer who lived in the Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter) district of Prague. After studying philosophy and philology, he worked as a teacher until 1860, when he became a freelance journalist and writer.

Career

In his work Neruda promoted the idea of rebirth of Czech patriotism. He participated in all the central cultural and political struggles of his generation, and gained a reputation as a sensitive critic.

Neruda was known for his satirical depiction of the petty bourgeois of Prague. His most popular prose work is "Povídky malostranské" (1877, Tales of the Little Side), a collection of short stories. Neruda's stories take the reader to the Lesser Quarter, to its streets and yards, shops, churches, houses, and restaurants.

Death

He died in 1891 and was interred in the Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague. After his death, one of the streets in Lesser Quarter (Ostruhová Street well-known from his books), now Nerudova ulice (Neruda Street), was named after him.


Homage

The Chilean poet Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto (Pablo Neruda), who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971, took his pseudonym after Jan Neruda.