Prague - Czech Republic

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated on the Vltava river in central Bohemia, it is home to approximately 1.2 million people. (It can be derived from jobs statistics, however, that an additional 300,000 work there without having registered as residents.) Nicknames for Prague have included "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city". Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. According to Guinness World Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world.

Prague is a city of unusual beauty. It is a natural amphitheatre through which the Vltava River flows, filled with a thousand years' worth of manmade structures with aspirations greater than simply satisfying basic human needs. Its prime, yet sensitive, location in the heart of Europe is at the confluence of trade routes, political interests, and cultural influences. While this has never assured the city of a peaceful history, it has certainly guaranteed it an eventful one.

Prague's history is one written by fire and sword, as well as by pen, paintbrush, chisel, carpenter's axe, and stonemason's trowel. As a reference point in the classification of cityscapes, Prague is often likened to Rome. In the sense that both cities are ageless, this is a suitable comparison.

In the Middle Ages, Hussite heresy originated in Prague. For some time, this unbalanced the world and its apprehensions, the benevolence of the Madonna, as well as Charles IV's daring plans to make Prague the focal point of centralised European long-distance trade via converging roads and river routes, connecting the Danube with the Vltava. He was also determined to make the city the heart of Europe's spiritual and intellectual life.

Rudolph II returned the lustre of the imperial seat to Prague by making the city Europe's centre of arts and science. The Thirty Years War started here and brought with it the Czech offshoot of the dynamic Baroque style. Post-White Mountain emigration brought musical Classicism to Europe. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart found good working conditions and his public in Prague: in 1787 the world premiere of his opera Don Giovanni took place in Prague's Estates Theatre (Stavovske divadlo).

Since its beginnings Prague has been a city of many nationalities and cultures. The fruitful co-existence of Czechs, Germans and Jews was boosted by the onset of the Renaissance through a community of Italian artists and craftsmen. In the first half of the 20th century Prague also became an important emigration centre for Russians, Ukrainians and Belarussians.

The Golem, created by Jehuda Low ben Bezalel in Rudolph's Prague, met up with the robot that Czech writer and playwright Karel Capek brought to life in his 1920 play RUR. Two important influences on 20th century literature were born in Prague: Franz Kafka's Josef K. and Jaroslav Hasek's Josef Svejk. In Prague's cafes and pubs, it was plausible for the two writers to meet each other as well as Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, Le Corbusier and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.

At the same time, this was an era during which Prague's unique Cubist architecture came into being. Soon after that, Josip Plecnik and Adolf Loos started to build in Prague and Alfons Mucha gave the city his monumental Slavonic Epic (Slovanska epopej).

Prague is indeed a city that beyond compare. In which of the world's capitals can you find wood cabins in close proximity of the royal castle, an ancient stone wall a few steps from a tram stop, a cave inhabited by prehistoric man, three ancient sea beds, a living museum of architectural styles, a stadium that had a capacity of 130 000 in as early as 1926, and a brewery that has been producing beer since 1499?

W4B models from Prague

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is the historic Prague (Czech: Praha), a major tourist attraction. Other major cities include Brno, Ostrava, Zlín, Plzen, Pardubice, Hradec Kralove, Ceske Budejovice, Liberec, Olomouc, and Usti nad Labem. The country is composed of two entire historic regions, Bohemia and Moravia, and parts of Silesia.

The Czech landscape is quite varied; Bohemia to the west consists of a basin, drained by the Labe (German: Elbe) and Vltava rivers, surrounded by mostly low mountains such as the Sudetes with its part Krkonose, where one also finds the highest point in the country, the Snezka at 1,602 metres (5,256 ft). Moravia, the eastern part, is also quite hilly and is drained predominantly by the Morava river, but also contains the source of the Odra (German: Oder) river. Water from the landlocked Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea. The Czech Republic also possesses a 30,000 square metre exclave in the middle of Hamburg docks which was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the Treaty of Versailles to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported down river could be transferred to seagoing ships; this territory reverts to Germany in 2018.

There are several centres of tourist activity: The historic city of Prague is the primary tourist attraction, and the city is also the most common point of entry for tourists visiting other parts of the country. Most other cities in the country attract significant numbers of tourists, but the spa towns such as Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne are particularly popular holiday destinations. Other popular tourist sites are the many castles and chateaux, such as those at Karlstejn, Konopiste and Cesky Krumlov. Away from the towns, areas as Cesky Raj, Sumava and the Krkonose mountains attract visitors seeking outdoor pursuits.

Source: Wikipedia