Prague

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Praha
Prague coat of armscoat of arms
Prague (Czech Republic)
(50 ° 5 ′ 19 ″ N, 14 ° 25 ′ 17 ″ E)
Motto : Praga Caput Rei Publicae
Basic data
State : Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic
Historical part of the country : Bohemia
Region : Hlavní město Praha
Area : 49,600 ha
Geographical location : 50 ° 5 '  N , 14 ° 25'  E Coordinates: 50 ° 5 '19 "  N , 14 ° 25' 17"  E
Height: 192  m nm
Residents : 1,335,084 (Jan 1, 2021)
Postal code : 100 00-199 00
License plate : A
traffic
Street: Motorways: D0 , D1 , D4 , D5 , D6 , D7 , D8 , D10 , D11
Next international airport : Prague airport
structure
Status: Capital , Kraj and (de facto) statutory city at the same time
Districts: 22 administrative
districts, 57 districts, 146 districts
administration
Lord Mayor : Zdeněk Hřib ( Piráti ) (as of November 2018)
Address: Mariánské nám. 2
110 01 Prague 1
Municipality number: 554782
Website : www.praha.eu
The Prague Castle over the Vltava

Prague ( Czech Praha [ ˈpraɦa ]; pronunciation ? / I ) is the capital and most populous city of the Czech Republic . With over 1.3 million inhabitants, Prague ranks thirteenth among the largest cities in the European Union . The capital Prague is one of the 14 regions of the Czech Republic and one of the richest regions in Europe . Audio file / audio sample

Prague is the historical capital of Bohemia and was an important royal and imperial residence city in the Holy Roman Empire , especially under the Přemyslids , Luxemburgers and Habsburgs . Around 1230, the settlement, inhabited since early history, was elevated to a royal city and in the 14th century under the reign of Charles IV it became a political and cultural center in Europe. With Charles University , the first university in Central Europe was founded in Prague in 1348 . The conservatory and the technical university are also among the oldest of their kind in Europe. For centuries, Prague was a city where Czech, German and Jewish cultures met.

The historical center of Prague has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the 14 World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic since 1992 . The “Golden City” today shows a closed cityscape characterized by Gothic and Baroque . Sights such as Prague Castle , Charles Bridge , the medieval clock , the Jewish cemetery or the oldest active synagogue in the world make the city a popular tourist destination. With more than five million foreign tourists a year, Prague is one of the ten most visited cities in Europe.

geography

location

Prague is centrally located in the western Czech Republic on the Vltava , around 40 kilometers from its confluence with the Elbe in Mělník . The distance to the outermost border points is around 110 kilometers to the north, around 170 kilometers to the west and south, and around 320 to the east (around 170 to the old Bohemian eastern border; each as the crow flies).

Much of the city is located in a wide valley of the Vltava, which flows through the urban area for 30 kilometers and forms a large loop in the northern part. At the southern arch of this loop is the historic city center, dominated by the two castle hills Hradčany (Hradschin) in the north and Vyšehrad in the south. The remainder is spread over other hills surrounding the valley: Letná , Vítkov , Větrov, Skalka, Emauzy, Karlov and the highest of them, the Petřín . Due to the incorporation mainly in the 20th century, the urban area now extends far into the Prague plateau (Pražská plošina) . Some natural beauties such as the Šárka Valley and the Modřany Gorge also belong to the town.

The Vltava enters the urban area in the south at a height of around 190 meters and leaves it in the north at around 176 meters. It has an average depth of 2.75 meters with a maximum depth of 10.5 meters. It flows around several islands, including the Slovanský ostrov, Dětský ostrov and Střelecký ostrov south of the Charles Bridge , as well as the Kampa , which bears the western part of the Charles Bridge , and contains numerous watercourses, the largest of which is the Berounka north of Zbraslav (from the west), the Botič between the New Town and Vyšehrad (from the east) and the Rokytka in the port of Libeň (also from the east).

The greatest heights are in the west and south of the city. In the west the Bílá hora ( White Mountain ) reaches 381 meters, at the city limits southwest of it 397 meters are measured. In the south, the Čihadlo rises to 385 meters.

Politically, Prague is completely enclosed by the Central Bohemia Region ( Středočeský kraj ).

climate

Nerudova Street in Lesser Town in winter (2010)

Prague's mild climate is influenced by both the Atlantic and the continental side. The mean annual temperature is around 8 ° C, minus values ​​in winter were last (2006) as low as −17 ° C, plus values ​​in summer up to 35 ° C. Most of the precipitation falls in the summer half-year (May: 77 mm), the winter half-year is relatively dry (October to March: 23 to 32 mm). (all data refer to the meteorological station at Ruzyně airport )

Compared to the long-term mean for the years 1961 to 1990 (international reference period), an increase in temperature values ​​of around 1 degree and a decrease in precipitation by around 20 millimeters can be observed in recent years (see also the climate graphs on the left for the periods 1961–1990, 1991-2005 and 1961-2005).

The data for the meteorological station in Karlov ( Prague New Town ) show both higher temperatures and lower precipitation, as well as the warmer and drier trends of recent years; However, it must be taken into account that the inner city location has a strong influence on the weather data.

Prague
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
24
 
0
-5
 
 
23
 
3
-4
 
 
28
 
8th
-1
 
 
38
 
13
3
 
 
77
 
18th
7th
 
 
73
 
21
11
 
 
66
 
23
12th
 
 
70
 
23
12th
 
 
40
 
19th
9
 
 
31
 
13
4th
 
 
32
 
6th
0
 
 
25th
 
2
-3
Temperature in ° Cprecipitation in mm
Source: Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ)
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Prague
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 0.4 2.7 7.7 13.3 18.3 21.4 23.3 23.0 19.0 13.1 6.0 2.0 O 12.6
Min. Temperature (° C) −5.4 −4.0 −1.0 2.6 7.1 10.5 11.9 11.7 8.7 4.3 0.2 −3.3 O 3.6
Precipitation ( mm ) 23.5 22.6 28.1 38.2 77.2 72.7 66.2 69.6 40.0 30.5 31.9 25.3 Σ 525.8
Rainy days ( d ) 6.8 5.6 6.2 7.3 9.8 10.3 9.1 8.8 7.0 5.5 7.0 6.8 Σ 90.2
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
0.4
−5.4
2.7
−4.0
7.7
−1.0
13.3
2.6
18.3
7.1
21.4
10.5
23.3
11.9
23.0
11.7
19.0
8.7
13.1
4.3
6.0
0.2
2.0
−3.3
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g
23.5
22.6
28.1
38.2
77.2
72.7
66.2
69.6
40.0
30.5
31.9
25.3
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Place name

Vltava bridges in Prague
From the "Golden City" Powder Tower seen

etymology

There are two suggestions for the origin of the name of Praha ( Prag, Praga ). On the one hand, a connection with práh "beam, threshold" is suspected, with reference to wooden beams that would have straightened the Vltava river . Another theory, which Max Vasmer considered more likely, is related to the word pražit "burn" (presumed motif of the fire clearance ).

In the founding legend attested by the chronicler Cosmas , the name is etymologized with reference to the word for "threshold". The city founder Libuše is said to have sent her entourage into a forest to knock a doorstep out of a tree . This is where Prague is said to have been founded by Libuše.

Golden city of a hundred spiers

The nickname "Golden City" refers to the sandstone towers, which shimmer in shades of gold when the sun shines. Another explanation for this name is that Emperor Charles IV had the towers of Prague Castle gilded. In addition, the city was a magnet for alchemists at the time of Rudolf II .

The name "City of a Hundred Towers" has also been known for several centuries and comes from the numerous towers that characterize the historic cityscape.

In the second half of the 10th century, the merchant Ibrahim ibn Yaqub described Prague as "the city built of stone and lime" or "Stone Prague". Other nicknames for Prague are Praga totius Bohemiae domina (Prague, the mistress of all Bohemia) and Praga mater urbium (Prague, the mother of all cities). In the Middle Ages, Prague was referred to as Praga caput regni (Prague, the head of the kingdom), today it is changed as a coat of arms to Praga caput rei publicae (head of the republic).

story

Settlement of the area goes back to the Paleolithic . Throughout prehistory and early history , the Prague Basin was one of the most densely populated landscapes in Bohemia . Until about 50 BC The Celtic Boier settled here , followed by the Germanic Marcomanni for over 500 years . The first Slavic groups advanced into the area around the second half of the 6th century.

View of Prague, woodcut from Schedel's World Chronicle (1493)
Second lintel in Prague from 1618, which sparked the Thirty Years War

In the 9th century the Prague Castle with the suburbium lying below in the area of ​​today's Lesser Town and in the 10th century a second castle on the Vyšehrad was built as the seat of the Přemyslids . Under the protection of the two castles, local craftsmen as well as German and Jewish merchants developed on both sides of the Vltava. Around 1230/1234 Wenceslas I had the largest of these settlements fortified on the Vltava bend and granted it city rights. Prague became the royal residence of the Bohemian rulers. His son Přemysl Ottokar II drove away the Czech population living on the other bank of the Vltava below the castle and founded Prague's first New Town, the Lesser Town (Malá Strana) in 1257 . As the third Prague city, the burgraves built the dependent Hradschin -stadt (also castle town, Hradčany ) immediately west of the castle before 1320 .

Under Emperor Charles IV and his son Wenceslaus IV, Prague flourished economically, culturally, politically and in many other areas as the seat of the Holy Roman Empire in the second half of the 14th century. Charles University was founded here in 1348 as the first university in Central Europe. With the construction of the New Town of Prague in the same year, the agglomeration became the fourth largest city north of the Alps with well over 40,000 inhabitants and, in terms of its area, the third largest city in Europe. From 1419, however, it was badly shaken and partially destroyed in the Hussite Wars .

At the end of the 16th century, Emperor Rudolf II made Prague a royal seat again. Magnificent baroque palaces and churches bear witness to this time. The Thirty Years' War was triggered by the second lintel in Prague . The Seven Years' War left its mark on the city. In 1784 the four previously independent cities of Hradschin ( Hradčany ), Lesser Town ( Malá Strana ), Old Town ( Staré Město ) and New Town ( Nové město ) merged to form the common city of Prague.

Charles Bridge towards the old town side (around 1840)

During the 19th century, Prague experienced a significant cultural boom. Among other things, the National Museum and the National Theater were built . Around 1860, Prague lost its German majority, which had existed since the Middle Ages . The city was characterized by a lively cultural exchange between the nationalities, but there were also increasing conflicts between the ethnic groups, which were often of a social nature. Around 1900 the cosmopolitan Prague was a center for artists and writers of the Czech and German languages.

After the First World War , the Czech national movement around Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk reached its goal and Czechoslovakia , the national state of Czechs and Slovaks , was founded, the capital of which was Prague. This state was heavily burdened by the conflicts between the ethnic groups, but was one of the few states in Europe that remained democratic until the end of the 1930s. In the 1930 census, 42,000 Prague citizens gave German as their mother tongue; they lived mainly in the city center (Old Town and Lesser Town).

The fate of democratic Czechoslovakia was finally sealed with the Munich Agreement in 1938 and the invasion of the Wehrmacht on Hitler's orders the following year. Prague became the capital of the newly established Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . About 120,000 Jews lived in the Bohemian lands that year, many of them in Prague. The National Socialists murdered around 78,000 of them. On May 27, 1942, resistance fighters carried out a fatal assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich , the deputy Reich Protector. When the news of Hitler's suicide became known in Prague at the end of the Second World War on May 1, 1945 , the three-day mourning flags ordered from Berlin took place without resistance. It was only when Soviet troops approached the urban area that on the afternoon of May 4th there was an uprising of Prague citizens and barricade fighting. On May 9th, troops of General Vlasov , who had previously fought alongside the Wehrmacht, reached the city and were able to support the rebels. The Red Army Prague could eventually take after strong opposition. On the orders of the Soviet dictator Stalin , many members of the Prague units of the Vlasov Army, as well as Vlasov himself, were imprisoned.

Immediately after the end of the war in May 1945, most of Prague's Germans were expelled. Many of them were initially interned, around 5000 were killed or died in the internment camps. In 1945, as part of the Beneš Decrees , the Hungarians residing in Prague were also expropriated and some of them were expelled to Hungary or forcibly resettled by 1947. In February 1948 Prague came under the communist regime of Klement Gottwald .

The central Wenceslas Square , the scene of numerous political demonstrations in the 20th century

During the Prague Spring 1968, a peaceful attempt was made to replace the prevailing authoritarian socialism with liberal reforms into “socialism with a human face”. This was put down at gunpoint by Warsaw Pact troops on August 21st .

In September 1989 refugees from the GDR who had sought refuge in the German embassy were allowed to leave for the West. In November 1989, Prague was the scene of the so-called Velvet Revolution , which marked the end of the socialist regime in Czechoslovakia .

Population development

About 1.3 million people live in the capital Prague, which is almost an eighth of the total population of the Czech Republic. The majority is spread across the numerous suburbs and the new development areas on the outskirts. The historic city center only has about 40,000 inhabitants.

The unemployment rate has been very low for years. Currently (2019) it is 2.04 percent of the Prague population.

Population development until 1945
year resident Remarks
1230 approx. 3-4,000 only old town
1370 approx. 40,000 Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Hradschin
1600 approx. 60,000 Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Hradschin
1794 74,485 in the four main quarters 65,624 Christians (including 3,764 foreigners), on the Vyšehrad 705 inhabitants and in the Jewish city 8,138 Israelites
1804 76,000
1837 105,500
1857 142,588 71,924 of them native: 40,216 Czechs (55.9%), 24,000 Germans (33.4%), 7,706 Jews (10.7%). The latter were assigned according to their language, therefore total: Czechs 58.6%, Germans 41.4% .; 176,326 with the suburbs
1869 157.813 of which 118,638 locals, “Counting locals according to nationalities”: 96,690 Czechs (81.5%), 21,247 Germans (17.9%), 701 others (0.6%); 223,371 with the suburbs
1880 162,323 314,400 with the suburbs
1900 222,588 474,897 with the suburbs, in the city proper 88.9% Catholics, 1.8% Evangelicals and 8.9% Jews, the colloquial language after 91.3% Czechs and 8.6% Germans
1925 718,300 after incorporation of the suburbs Karlín , Vinohrady , Smíchov , Žižkov , Nusle and Dejvice
Population since the end of the Second World War
year 1950 1980 1998 2001 2005 2007 2008 2012 2016 2017
resident 931,500 1,182,800 1,193,300 1,169,100 1,173,000 1,194,407 1,233,211 1,241,664 1,267,449 1,280,508

Politics and administration

The New Town Hall , seat of the magistrate
The incumbent Mayor of Prague Zdeněk Hřib

The organs of the capital Prague are: City Council (Zastupitelstvo hlavního města Prahy), City Council (Rada) and Lord Mayor (Primátor) . The 65-member city council is elected in the general local elections by proportional representation. This then elects the eleven-member city council and the head of the city, the Primátor, from its own ranks. The last local elections took place in October 2018, after which Zdeněk Hřib was appointed Lord Mayor of the Pirate Party on November 15, 2018.

Since the administrative reform of 2000, the urban area of ​​Prague has been an independent higher self-governing territorial unit and is thus equal to the other 13 regions (Kraj) of the Czech Republic. The Primátor of Prague immediately fulfills the duties of the captain of a region .

Every regulation and the budget of the city must be approved by the city council. The city administration office is the magistrate . Its areas of responsibility are the self-government of the city at the overall level and the execution of the delegated state authority as soon as this is not due to the smaller self-government units.

Since July 1, 2001, the city has been divided into 57 districts (městská část) and 22 administrative districts (správní obvod) . The administration of the individual districts is called the district authority (e.g. Úřad městské části Praha 1 ). Within the framework of self-government, the districts have structures similar to those of the entire city: district council, council and mayor .

The districts are united with others in 22 administrative districts (some districts form the administrative district alone). In these administrative districts there is always a district authority which takes on administrative tasks for all districts in the administrative district. It is called the Commissioned Authority (pověřený úřad) .

Allocation of seats in the city council

The results of the last elections:

Distribution of seats in the Prague City Council (2018)
Political party 2018 2014 2010 2006 2002
ODS 14th 8th 20th 42 30th
Piráti 13 4th - - -
Praha sobě 13 - - - -
TOP 09 (2018: + STAN ) 13 16 26th - -
ANO 2011 12th 17th - - -
ČSSD 0 8th 14th 12th 12th
KSČM 0 4th 3 6th 8th
Others 0 8th 0 10 20th

Administrative districts

For administrative purposes , Prague has been divided into 22 numbered administrative districts (správní obvod) since 2002 , which consist of one or more districts (městská část) , of which there are a total of 57. The city districts in turn are made up of cadastral areas ( katastrální území, currently a total of 112) and in the inner urban space only rarely correspond to the historically developed city quarters or the suburbs and suburbs that were incorporated early on. So the district is 1 (same district 1) from the previous quarters Stare Mesto (Old Town) and Josefov and parts of the city district Holešovice , Hradčany (Prague Castle), Malá Strana (Lesser Town), Nove Mesto (New Town) and (Královské) Vinohrady together . The numbering of the 22 city districts runs through Prague in ascending order spiraling clockwise from the inside to the outside.

The following list gives an overview of the city districts, in brackets a selection of the associated city districts and cadastral communities.

Map of the administrative districts (správní obvod) and city districts (městská část) of the city of Prague
Old Town Hall

In addition, there are divisions in Prague into ten judicial and postal districts as well as four police districts.

Prague is the administrative seat of the Středočeský kraj ( Central Bohemian Region ), although the city itself does not belong to this region.

Coat of arms, flag

The shield of the Prague coat of arms (Small City Coat of Arms ):

Blazon : “In red a growing black grooved, silver tinned, golden city wall with three growing black grooved golden towers with silver crossed black windows, the outer ones with shingle-covered golden tent roofs, the middle higher with the same hipped roof, in the middle an open black silver-framed gate with outward-facing gate leaves natural colors and half-drawn golden portcullis, underneath an armored silver arm with a sword that stands out . "

Large city coat of arms: “On the shield there are three gold-crowned silver stab helmets (toad head helmets) with red and gold covers . A gold-crowned, gold-armored and tongued silver lion grows on the middle helmet , the two outer ones each decorated with twelve national flags with golden pole tips. Shield holder : Two gold crowned, gold armored and tongued silver lions. Under the pedestal a red ribbon with the motto in black capital letters :. PRAGA CAPUT REI PUBLICAE "

Declaration of the coat of arms: the towers and walls stand for the Prague Castle, the silver arm for the defense readiness, the silver lion ( helmet ornament and both shield holders ) is the Bohemian lion . The Latin motto means: "Prague, capital (city) of the republic"

The Prague flag is yellow and red striped lengthways, the height-to-length ratio is two to three.

Prague CoA CZ.svg Praha CoA CZ small.svg Flag of Prague.svg
Large city coat of arms Small city coat of arms City flag

Town twinning

Prague has partnerships with the following cities. The year of the contractual agreement in brackets.

In the past, Prague was twinned with the following cities:

Economy and Infrastructure

The capital of the Czech Republic has traditionally been one of the country's most important economic centers. Tourism is significant with 5.5 million overnight guests in 2013, 86 percent of them foreigners. Office buildings, luxury apartments and hotels have emerged, while the number of residents in the center has fallen from 100,000 to a fifth. Foreign tourists generated revenues of $ 2.7 billion in 2016.

According to a study from 2014, the greater Prague area generated a gross domestic product of 89.2 billion US dollars ( PPP ). In the ranking of the economically strongest metropolitan regions worldwide, he came 151st place. The GDP per capita was $ 46,947. The city of Prague is responsible for a quarter of the country's economic activity. In a ranking of the most important financial centers worldwide, Prague took 71st place (as of 2018). Compared with the GDP of the EU , expressed in purchasing power standards , Prague achieved an index of 171 percent in 2011 (EU-27: 100).

  • Total debt: 26.8 billion crowns, equivalent to almost 1 billion euros (2010)
  • Debt per inhabitant: 792 euros (2010)
  • Unemployment: 3.4% (June 2002) ; 2.5% (April 2009)

Processing industry

Percentage of branches of industry in Prague in total production in the Czech Republic (2002)

The manufacturing industry of Prague accounts for 7.6 percent of the country's total production, so the city ranks fifth out of a total of 14 regions (kraje) in the regional structure. The industrial areas are particularly located in the northeast and southwest of the city. In 2003 there were 733 industrial companies (20 or more employees) with a total of 111,000 employees in the urban area.

In terms of size, two sectors have an outstanding position here: the production of foodstuffs and of electrical and optical devices, both sectors with a volume of around 33,000 million crowns in 2002 (or around 12 percent of the production in the Czech Republic); the manufacture of radio and television sets is particularly well represented (20 percent of total production).

These two branches are followed by the printing industry with a production of almost 24,500 million kroner; the position of this branch is underlined by the fact that Prague occupies the first place in this branch in percentage terms in the Czech Republic due to a high concentration (with 44 percent of the total production).

However, other traditional industries are also located in the urban area:

  • Metal processing
  • mechanical engineering
  • Chemistry including the pharmaceutical industry
  • Building materials including products made from minerals (glass, porcelain, ceramics)
  • Vehicle construction, here in particular rail vehicles ( Siemens , formerly ČKD or ČKD Tatra ), furthermore motorcycles (here the traditional Jawa brand ), but also small and light aircraft (and their maintenance and repair); not impressive in terms of production volume, but with a share of 23 percent of the country's production

Other industries play a rather subordinate role.

traffic

Long-distance transport

Prague main train station
Prague airport

Prague is a European transport hub .

The highways D1 from Brno , D5 from Nuremberg, D8 from Dresden and D11 from Hradec Králové meet in Prague . There are also plans to build the D3 motorway from Prague via České Budějovice to Linz. In addition, the D4 highways lead to Příbram, D6 to Karlovy Vary, D7 to Chomutov and D10 to Turnov. All of these roads are to be connected with each other by the Prague Outer Ring ( D0 ) in the future. There are currently 40 km of this. In total, it should cover 83 km when completed.

The main train stations are the Prague Main Train Station , the Holešovice Train Station , the Smíchov Train Station and the Masaryk Train Station .

The Prague airport is located in Ruzyně in the northwest of the city and carries since 2012 the name Vaclav Havel Airport .

Prague has an inland port on the Vltava .

Transportation

Tram in the city center
Rajská zahrada metro station

According to the judgment of the International Automobile Federation, Prague's public transport is one of the best in Europe.

The backbone of local public transport is the Prague Metro with three lines and a dense network of trams. In the outskirts in particular, they are supplemented by numerous bus routes. From 1936 to 1972 several trolleybus routes operated in Prague , but these were discontinued in favor of the expansion of the metro and new tram lines.

The three underground lines A (Nemocnice Motol ↔ Depo Hostivař), B (Zličín ↔ Černý most) and C (Letňany ↔ Háje), the first sections of which were built at the beginning of the 1970s with Soviet help, cross in the center Prags at the three stations Můstek (A | B), Muzeum (A | C) and Florenc (B | C). The two main long-distance train stations, the main train station (Hlavní nádraží) and Holešovice (Nádraží Holešovice), can be reached via line C, while the Smíchov (Smíchovské nádraží) and Masaryk train station (Masarykovo nádraží) stations, which are important for regional traffic, are accessible via line B. run between 5 a.m. and midnight.

The Prague tram network comprises around 25 (day) lines. At numerous transfer stations, they are linked with each other and with the underground lines and some of them go to the outskirts of the city. They are usually also on the move between 5 a.m. and midnight. In addition to it, and as a substitute for the subway run between 0:00 and 5:00 AM nine night tram lines, a central connecting stop Lazarská (near the Charles Square possess). The network of night trams is supplemented by a number of night bus routes.

Some areas around the city center and most of the outskirts are served by bus routes. There is also a network of regular suburban trains of the Czech Railways (Esko), comparable to S-Bahns , which, together with the other modes of transport, are largely organized in the joint transport association Pražská integrovaná doprava (PID or ROPID).

A special means of transport is the one of the two previously existing funiculars , the Petřín funicular , which opened in 1891 and runs with two interruptions from the Újezd tram stop to the Petřín mountain . The second of its kind, the Letná funicular , was only in operation from 1891 to 1916. With the cable car of the NH Hotel Prague, there has been another, technically similar, smaller means of transport with only one cabin, the cable car of the NH Hotel Prague , which connects the city with the higher-lying NH Hotel .

The tram line 22 (Bílá Hora ↔ Nádraží Hostivař) is popular with tourists. It starts at Bílá hora (White Mountain), the site of the battle on White Mountain , then opens up, among other things, the Stern Castle and Břevnov Monastery and stops near the Hradschin . The subsequent drive down the serpentines to the Lesser Town of Prague offers a view over the Vltava. It then travels via the National Theater and Charles Square as well as other parts of downtown Prague to the eastern outskirts of Prague, where it ends in the Hostivař district near the local train station.

education

Chapel of the Carolinum from the 15th century

In addition to the oldest university in Central Europe, Charles University in Prague , founded in 1348, the Czech Technical University in Prague was founded in the city in 1863 . The other universities in the city are the Czech Agrarian University in Prague , the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague , the University of Economics in Prague and the Police Academy of the Czech Republic . The public art schools include the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague , the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and the School of Applied Arts, since 1946 called the Academy of Art, Architecture and Design Prague . There are also a large number of schools and other public and private educational institutions in the city.

The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is also based in Prague. The numerous research institutes are spread over the entire city area. The National Library of the Czech Republic is located in Prague .

Culture

Old Town Square with a view of the Old Town Hall and the Tyn Church

As one of the oldest and largest cities in Central Europe, Prague, which was largely spared the destruction of the Second World War , is today of great importance as a tourist destination. The historical center of Prague has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992 .

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Prague was ranked 69th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

architecture

The Prague Castle with the St. Vitus Cathedral , the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square with Tyn Church , Ungelt , town hall and astronomical clock are the best known sights. The second medieval castle, Vyšehrad with the Church of St. Peter and Paul, is one of the better-known structures. The Old Town is particularly by its old houses, often to the Romanesque and Gothic embossed go back, its numerous churches and narrow streets. On the Lesser Town and in the Hradschin City, on the other hand, palaces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods dominate . The John Lennon Wall is located there near the island of Kampa . Not far from both parts of the city is the Strahov Monastery . Several synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery have been preserved in the old Jewish district of Josefov .

In founded in 1348 Neustadt houses the New Town Hall at Karlsplatz , many Gothic and Baroque churches and monasteries as well as the largest and busiest square in Prague, the Wenceslas Square barely still recalls its medieval origins, the as-lined swanky shopping malls Boulevard. The Maria Schnee church is in the immediate vicinity .

Prague is also famous for its numerous Art Nouveau buildings . In Prague, cubism also influenced architecture. Cubist architecture is considered to be specific to the Czech Republic. A well-known example is the house of the Black Mother of God by the architect Josef Gočár . Modern architecture is also represented in addition to the Werkbundsiedlung Prague , located a little outside in the Dejvice district (Prague 6), with some exceptional buildings such as the Villa Müller by Adolf Loos and Frank Gehry's Dancing House .

The Řepora open-air museum

The 13 large Prague Vltava bridges from different times shape the cityscape. The Prague TV tower rises above the roofs of the Žižkov district . Another lookout and transmission tower is the Petřín lookout tower, modeled on the Eiffel Tower . The 60 meter high tower was opened in 1891. Starting in 1955, the 30 m tallest monument to Stalin , carved from granite , rose above the Vltava and the city . It was blown up again in 1962.

Outside the city there are numerous attractions such as through the battle in 1620, now famous White Mountain ( Bílá hora ) with the Renaissance hunting lodge Schlossstern, the close location Benedictine Břevnov , the Ctěnice Castle , the Baroque Troja Castle with its painted ceiling and the Prague Zoo .

Museums

National Museum on Wenceslas Square
Kampa Museum

The city is home to a variety of museums. The oldest, largest and probably best known is the National Museum (Národní muzeum) with its historical main building, visible from afar, on the southeastern narrow side of Wenceslas Square . The Jewish Museum ( Židovské muzeum v Praze ) with various facilities in the Josefov district is also well known . The history of the city is shown in the Museum of the City of Prague (Muzeum hlavního města Prahy) with a unique city model by Antonín Langweil from 1837. In Praha-Střešovice there is a Prague public transport museum in the historic tram depot. Within the Prague urban area, this also includes the Historical Museum in Lobkowicz Palace (Lobkowický palác) at Prague Castle, the Lapidarium in the Výstaviště exhibition area, the Antonín Dvořák Museum (Muzeum Antonína Dvořáka) in the Villa Amerika and the Bedřich Smetana Museum (Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany) .

The exhibitions of the National Gallery in Prague (Národní galerie v Praze) are also spread over the entire city area. in the Agnes Monastery , in the Sternberg Palace ( Šternberský palác ) not far from Prague Castle and in the Exhibition Palace ( Veletržní palác ). Other fine arts museums include the Mucha Museum, the Decorative Arts Museum and the Kampa Museum .

The beer museum of the Staropramen brewery , the museum of communism or the toy museum at the castle are among the more unusual museums . To the west is the Řepora open - air museum , in which a settlement from the 14th century was rebuilt.

The Police Museum of the Czech Republic is located in a former Augustinian monastery in Prague-Karlshof in Prague's New Town.

theatre

There are numerous large and small stages in Prague. In addition to the National Theater ( Národní divadlo with drama, opera, ballet) and the State Opera (Státní opera) , the Laterna magika , an avant-garde theater in the "New Scene" (Nová scéna) attached to the National Theater, is internationally known , which has an original interweaving of film, light, music, ballet and pantomime. The Black Theater , consisting of pantomime and light effects on a black background, is also worth seeing. In the theater the railing ( Theater on the Balustrade ) began Vaclav Havel as a stagehand. The Divadlo Járy Cimrmana has cult status among Czechs . Two operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( La clemenza di Tito and Don Giovanni ) were premiered in the classical Estates Theater (Stavovské divadlo) in the heart of the old town . In the Vila Bertramka in the district of Smíchov is a museum which Mozart and his Prague friends, the couple Josefína and Frantisek Xaver Dusek , recalls.

music

The Czech Philharmonic (Česká Filharmonie) is considered one of the best orchestras in Europe. Every year the Prague Spring music festival takes place in the Rudolphinum . This festival lasts for several weeks.

Sports

Ice hockey and soccer are the most popular sports in Prague, Sparta Prague and Slavia Prague are the two most important clubs in both sports. Slavia Prague has the Eden stadium , which was renovated until May 2008 , while Sparta Prague has the Generali Arena , each with a capacity of 21,000 and 20,374 spectators. The Strahov Stadium , built in 1926, was used for mass events in Czechoslovakia before and after World War II. It held up to 250,000 spectators and is still considered the largest stadium in the world today .

Well-known multi-purpose sports halls are the Tesla Arena and the O 2 Arena , which opened in 2004 and has a capacity of 18,000 and is primarily used for ice hockey. Every year, the Speedway World Cup Grand Prix of the Czech Republic takes place in the Marketa Stadium, which can hold 13,000 spectators , as part of the individual speedway world championship.

Since 1995 there have been regular international running events open to everyone in spring and early autumn, including a half marathon (2007 in March), a junior marathon (2007 also in March) and a marathon (2007 in May). The marathon is currently being marketed as the Volkswagen marathon.

The Prague Black Panthers are an American football team and won the EFAF Cup in 2009 .

Memorial sites for the victims of National Socialism

Memorial column in Prague at the site of Heydrich's attack
Monument at the Praha-Bubny train station

The Pinkas Synagogue in Josefstadt, which belongs to the Jewish Museum, represents the central place of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust in Prague. On the walls in the interior are the names of 80,000 Jews from Bohemia and Moravia who were murdered by the National Socialists in the Holocaust. On October 8, 2008, the first stumbling blocks in memory of the victims of National Socialism were laid by the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig . Prague was the first Czech city with stumbling blocks. The stumbling blocks are decentralized throughout the city. The last relocation so far took place in 2013.

In memory of the demonstration participants murdered by the National Socialists on the Czechoslovak Independence Day on October 28, 1939, Jan Opletal and Václav Sedláček , a memorial was erected in Žitná ulice. Numerous streets in the Czech Republic are named after Opletal, including Opletalova in Prague , which turns off Wenceslas Square . To commemorate Operation Anthropoid , the assassination attempt on May 27, 1942, on the deputy Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich , a memorial was erected at the site of the attack. The perpetrators of the assassination, Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík , were venerated as national heroes after the end of the occupation in the restored Czechoslovakia. Numerous places and streets in the Czech Republic and Slovakia now bear their names, in Prague the ulice Kubišova and the ulice Gabčíkova.

In 2015 , a monument designed by Aleš Veselý was erected next to the Praha-Bubny train station , from which the deportation trains departed, in the form of tracks jutting into the sky. Since 2016 the station has been converted into a museum for the victims of the Shoah.

Personalities

Honorary citizen of the city of Prague

literature

bibliography

  • Detlev Arens : Prague. Culture and history of the "Golden City". DuMont art travel guide. 5th updated edition. DuMont, Ostfildern 2013, ISBN 978-3-7701-4303-0 .
  • Detlev Arens: Prague. Literary forays. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2007, ISBN 978-3-538-07250-3 .
  • Hartmut Binder : Prague - literary walks through the golden city. Vitalis, Prague 2017, ISBN 978-3-89919-496-8 .
  • Michael Bussmann, Gabriele Tröger: Prague. 3rd, updated and expanded edition. Müller, Erlangen 2005, ISBN 3-89953-205-8 .
  • Peter Demetz : My Prague. Memories 1939 to 1945. Translated by Barbara Schaden. Zsolnay, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-552-05407-3 (mixture of personal memories of the occupation and their general historical representation, reviews ).
  • Peter Demetz: Prague in black and gold. Seven moments in the life of a European city. Translated by Joachim Kalka . Piper, Munich / Zurich 1998, ISBN 3-492-03542-6 ; Unabridged paperback edition: ibid. 2000 (= Series Piper. 3044), ISBN 3-492-23044-X (easy-to-read, broad-based city history on a scientific basis).
  • Lukas Sadowski: Prague Stories. Seven years in the golden city. BookRix, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-95500-044-8 (e-book).
  • Robert Fischer : The Prague Book. Highlights of a fascinating city. Kunth, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-89944-851-1 .
  • Freren: Prague around 1600. Art and culture at the court of Rudolf II. Ruhr Cultural Foundation 1988, ISBN 3-923641-19-2 .
  • Freren: Prague around 1600. Contributions to art and culture at the court of Rudolf II. Ruhr Cultural Foundation 1988, ISBN 3-923641-18-4 .
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  • Jindřich Lion: Jewish Prague - Jewish Prague. Mandelbaum, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-85476-139-2 .
  • Jozef Petro, Karin Werner: Prague and the surrounding area. 6th, completely updated edition. Reise-Know-how-Verlag Rump, Bielefeld 2005, ISBN 3-8317-1310-3 .
  • Emanuel Poche: Prague. A picture manual. Art monuments in Czechoslovakia. Edition Leipzig, Leipzig 1978.
  • Madeleine Reincke et al .: Prague. Baedeker Alliance travel guide. 12th edition, completely revised and redesigned. Verlag Karl Baedeker, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 3-8297-1044-5 .
  • Vlasta Reittererová , Elisabeth Th. Hilscher-Fritz, Hubert Reitterer : Prague. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 4, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-7001-3046-5 .
  • Hugo Rokyta : The Bohemian Lands. Handbook of monuments and memorials of European cultural relations in the Czech lands. Three vols. Vol. 1: Prague. 2., revised. and exp. Ed., Prague: Vitalis 1995, ISBN 80-901621-7-7 .
  • Dirk Rupnow: Perpetrator, Memory, Victim - The “Central Jewish Museum” in Prague 1942–1945. Picus, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-85452-444-7 .
  • Harald Salfellner: Prague. A travelguide. Vitalis , Prague 2011, ISBN 978-3-89919-186-8 .
  • Harald Salfellner: Prague - The Golden City. Vitalis, Prague 2014, ISBN 978-3-89919-187-5 .
  • Vladimir Soukup and others: Prague. Vis-a-vis. Updated new edition. Dorling Kindersley, Munich / Starnberg 2005, ISBN 3-928044-39-7 .
  • Alexander J. Schneller: That Jazz of Praha. Fourteen jazz portraits in words and pictures. Vitalis, Prague 2006, ISBN 3-89919-097-1 .
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  • Tobias Weger: Little History of Prags , Pustet, Regensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-7917-2329-7 .
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  • Isabella Woldt: Reclam's City Guide Prague. Architecture and Art (= UB. Volume 18514). Reclam, Ditzingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-15-018514-8 .

Historical

  • Jaroslaus Schaller: Description of the royal capital and residence city of Prague together with all the interesting sights that are in it. 1795
  • Johann Friedrich Opitz, full description of the royal Capital and residence city of Prague from the oldest to the present day. 1787
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Czech

  • Pavel Price: Italští umělci v Praze: Renesance-Manýrismus-Baroko. 1986.
  • Emanuel Poche: Praha na úsvitu nových dějin. Panorama, Prague 1988.
  • Václav Ledvinka: Pražské paláce: Encyklopedický ilustrovaný přehled. 1995.
  • Marek Lašťovka, Václav Ledvinka: Pražský uličník. Encyklopedie názvů pražských veřejných prostranství (two volumes: A - M and O - Z ). Libri, Praha 1997, ISBN 80-85983-24-9 , ISBN 80-85983-23-0 and ISBN 80-85983-25-7 (both volumes); Addendum and additions, German names: Volume 3, 2012, ISBN 978-80-87271-50-6 ( Pražský uličník: encyklopedie názvů pražských veřejných prostranství. Volume 3, Nově schválené názvy, prodloužení 1998; a doplňky k 1. a 2. dílu, rejstřík německých názvů ).
  • Martin Ouředníček: Sociální geografie pražského městského regionu. Katedra sociální geografie a regionálního rozvoje Přírodovědecké fakulty Univerzity Karlovy v Praze, Prague 2006, ISBN 80-86561-94-1 .

Web links

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Individual evidence

  1. Český statistický úřad - The population of the Czech municipalities as of January 1, 2021 (PDF; 349 kB)
  2. Europe's richest regions: Bratislava and Prague before Vienna ( Memento from April 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: Wirtschaftsblatt, May 21, 2015.
  3. see UNESCO list: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/616
  4. Most visited cities in the world: London in first place. In: forgSight.com, accessed on August 13, 2015 (data from MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index; article from June 15, 2015).
  5. All height information rounded off according to: Turistická mapa, hiking map 1: 50,000. Ed .: Club českých turistů. Fol. 36. Okolí Prahy západ. 3. vydání, dotisk. TRASA, Prague 2004, ISBN 978-80-7324-006-6 . Map base: MO ČR ( Ministerstvo obrany České republiky. Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic).
  6. Data basis: Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (Český hydrometeorologický ústav) , especially the sub-pages with climate information (English), missing data there kindly made available for the climate graphic.
  7. Max Vasmer : Russian Etymological Dictionary s. V. " Порог " ( Невероятно родство с перегиня (см.) Или чешск. Praha "Прага" польск. Местн. Н. Praga, которые удачнее относят к церк.-слав. Пражити "жечь, поджаривать" . "Improbable relationship [the word for 'threshold'] to peregin [ curvature ] or Czech. Praha, Polish local n. Praga, which are better put to kirchenslav. pražiti 'burn, roast'. "); see a. Markéta Kachlíková: Praha: práh (threshold) or pražit (burn)? In: radio.cz. August 5, 2011, accessed May 20, 2013.
  8. Christina Lüdeke: Prague. In: planet-wissen.de. October 4, 2010, accessed May 20, 2013.
  9. Current unemployment data Český statistický úřad
  10. Julius Max Schottky : Prague as it was and how it is. Volume 1. Prague 1851, p. 118 ( preview in Google book search).
  11. Statistics of the Royal Capital Prague: Published by the statistical commission of the Royal Capital Prague under the editing of the board of the municipal statistical bureau Prof. Jos. Heirs . Self-published. Print by Ignaz Fuchs, Prague 1871, p. 137 ( google.at [accessed on March 2, 2018]).
  12. Statistics of the Royal Capital Prague: Published by the statistical commission of the Royal Capital Prague under the editing of the board of the municipal statistical bureau Prof. Jos. Heirs . Self-published. Print by Ignaz Fuchs, Prague 1871, p. 136 ( google.at [accessed on March 2, 2018]).
  13. Meyer's Large Conversation Lexicon. 6th edition, Volume 16, Leipzig and Vienna 1908, pp. 251-256.
  14. a b 2006 election results according to: List of Members ( Memento of February 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) and list of parliamentary groups ( Memento of February 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ); Composition of the City Council 2006 according to: List of City Councils ( Memento of February 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (as of February 26, 2007); City partnerships according to: twin cities ( memento of February 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (status: February 18, 2007); all on www.praha-mesto.cz.
  15. www.radio.cz
  16. Information on the website of the tourist office. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: praguewelcome.cz. Formerly in the original ; accessed on June 22, 2014 (English, no mementos).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.praguewelcome.cz
  17. ^ Alena Wagnerová: Prague falls silent. In: nzz.ch. September 27, 2010, accessed September 14, 2018 .
  18. Global Destination Cities Report 2016. (PDF; 21.1 MB) (No longer available online.) In: mastercard.com. Mastercard , September 21, 2016, archived from the original on September 24, 2016 ; accessed on July 11, 2018 .
  19. ^ Alan Berube, Jesus Leal Trujillo, Tao Ran, and Joseph Parilla: Global Metro Monitor . In: Brookings . January 22, 2015 ( brookings.edu [accessed July 19, 2018]).
  20. Mark Yeandle: The Global Financial Centers Index 23. (PDF; 2.9 MB) (No longer available online.) In: passthrough.fw-notify.net. Financial Center Futures, March 2018, archived from the original on March 27, 2018 ; accessed on July 13, 2018 .
  21. epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu : Regional gross domestic product (PPS per inhabitant in% of the EU-27 average), by NUTS 2 regions.
  22. ↑ People in Prague travel well by bus and train. Prague Newspaper , February 24, 2010.
  23. Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  24. Martina Schneibergová: Welcome to the Middle Ages: Řepora open-air museum . Radio Prague . November 20, 2010.
  25. Andrew Satter: Rethinking 'Fortress Strahov' - City Hall's global ambitions. In: The Prague Post. December 11, 2003.
  26. Memorial sites portal to places of remembrance in Europe: Pinkas Synagogue Prague. In: memorialmuseums.org, accessed May 30, 2016.
  27. Bubny Silence Memorial. Homepage of the project.