Praha - Prague - Czech Republic 2 Nights in Prague - The Capital of Czech Republic
General information about the city 1.210.000 habitants - The history of the town goes back to the foundation of Prague Castle which, after 870, became the main seat of the oldest ruling dynasty of the state Bohemia, the Premyslid princes. In the 13th century three separate medieval towns grew out of the Prague settlement below the castle. Medieval Prague flourished during the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Charles IV (1346-1378). Charles founded the oldest university in Central Europe in Prague (1348), founded and built the New Town of Prague (1348) and adorned his residential town with numerous structures and public buildings (Charles Bridge, St. Vitus' cathedral, the Slavonic Abbey, the church at Karlov, etc.). With its 40 000 inhabitants and covering an area of 8.1 sq. km Prague became one of the largest towns in Europe at that time. The burghers of Prague enjoyed great political power during the Hussite revolution (1419-1434). In 1526 the Habsburg dynasty ascended the throne of Bohemia and in 1784 Emperor Joseph II merged the four historical Prague Towns (the Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Hradcany) into one unified Capital City of Prague. On 28 October 1918 Prague became the capital city of the independent Czechoslovak Republic. After WWII in the 1946 elections and February Events of 1948 the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia rose to power in Prague and Czechoslovakia. A turn in development and hope for the future of Prague and the people of Prague was brougt bu the ``velvet revolution'', which began in the capital city of Czechoslovakia on 17 November 1989. Its confirmation were free parliamentary and communal elections in the summer and autumn of 1990. On January 1st 1993, after the split of Czechoslovakia, Prague became the capital of the Czech Republic.
|
