Facts.
Photo: Edgard Hörz |
Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia and having received the city laws in 1234 the Czech capital of Prague, in the run of its long and eventful history, was the seat of the dukes and kings of Bohemia, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under King Charles IV during the 14th century and alongside Vienna the second-most important city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Prague, of which the city centre has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1992, is also know under many nicknames: for example „the mother of cities – Praga mater urbium, "city of a hundred spires“ and „the golden city“. Its centre consists of four areas: the Stare Mesto ( The Old Town) with the Old Town Square, Nove Mesto (the New Town), the Jewish quarter Josefov on one side of the Vlatva and Mala Strana (the Lesser Quarter) which leads up to Prague Castle on the other side of the river.
Prague is nowadays composed of 22 numbered administrative districts which are further divided into the 57 municipal districts. With three metro lines, several tram lines (including the "nostalgic tram" no. 91), buses and three ferries it is well organized in its infrastructure and a nodal point of the aerial and railway system of the Czech Republic.
As one of the traditional cultural centres of Eastern Europe Prague hosts many cultural institutions such as the National Theatre, the National Museum, the State Opera and events like the music festivals Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Prague Autumn International Music Festival and the Prague International Organ Festival or the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
The city is not only the seat of the Charles University in Prague (founded in 1348), the oldest university in this part of Europe but also home to other colleges and academies (the Czech Technical University or the Academy of Fine Arts).