PRAGUE - the capital of the Czech Republic, has always played an important role in the history of its country and Europe. Since the Middle Ages Prague has been famous as one of the most beautiful cities of the world, and has been attributed adjectives such as “golden“,  “hundred-spired“, and  “the crown of the world“.

The unique character  of the city is  partly a consequence of its natural environment: Prague, similar to Rome built on seven hills, was built on nine hills along the Vltava river, which flows through the city for a distance of 31 km and forms a perfect unit within  the city. The dominant architectonic features of the city are reflected in the river: towers, church spires and cupolas, palaces and town houses, along with the greenery of gardens, parks and islands.

Prague was founded on the cross-roads of ancient trade routes at a site where the most varied spiritual and cultural currents merged. Its history begins with the founding of Prague Castle in the 9th century. Of the original stone buildings in pre-Romanesque style, a basilica remains from the second half of the 10th century, and forms the core of St George´s church. Among the preserved Romanesque structures in Prague, three renovated rotundas can be visited. At the time of the founding of the Old Town of Prague at the beginning of the 13th century, the Romanesque style began to be replaced with  Gothic; the oldest structure in this style is the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia or the Old-New Synagogue, while St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, the Church of Our Lady before Týn etc. are examples of the prime of this style. The greatest flourishing of the Czech state occured at this time, which will eternally be connected with the monarch Charles IV, who founded the famous Charles University in 1348, the first university in Central Europe. The late Gothic style is connected with buildings such as Vladislav Hall, the Powder Tower and the Old Town Hall with the Horologe.

In the 16th century the Renaissance style started to be favoured by the court aristocratic circles. The first and truly representative structure is the Royal Summer Palace along with many aristocratic palaces in Prague. The Church did not favour the Renaissance art; on the other hand, it was completely taken over in the 17th century by the Baroque style. Especially the Lesser Town is characterized by the Baroque style and the Church of St Nicholas forms a predominant feature of this area.

 A number of styles alternated in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The most important buildings include the Classicist Estate Theatre, Neo-Renaissance National Theatre and Rudolfinum and the Art Nouveau Municipal House and Main Railway Station.

The period of the first half of the 20th century was influenced by the Czech Modern style and Architectural Cubism which was an original style, with no counterpart in contemporary international art.

Nowadays, Prague is an important European city that attracts visitors not only by the abundance of architectural gems the generations of our ancestors left us. It is a place where cultural, social and political events of international importance are held as well as a popular destination for trade fairs and congresses.

Views of the City

The Prague spires and other interesting spots provide beautiful views of the city:

Vyšehrad - Rasin Embankment - Smetana' Embankment - Novotného Lávka - Old Town Hall Tower - Powder Tower - Old Town Bridge Tower - Lesser Town Bridge Tower - Prague Castle ramp on Hradčanské náměstí - Petřín View Tower - Letná Park - Hanauer Pavilion - belfry of St Nicholas church - Žižkov TV tower

Castle Vysehrad - Ancient legends situate the original seat of the Czech princes - the legendary Princess Libuse and the first Przemyslides - on the hill. In fact, however, this fort had not been founded until the Prague Castle was already in existence, since it dates back to the mid-10th century. In the latter half of the 11th and in the 12th century Vysehrad used to be the Przemyslides princes' main residence which brought about a generous building activity within its walls. Among noteworthy sight there are the precious romanesque rotunda of St. Martin (interior only for groups announced in advance), the gothic church of St. Peter and Paul (in the late 19th century rebuilt in the neogothic style), the Vysehrad cemetery used as a burial site of the Czech outstanding personalilties since 1869 with a collective tomb called Slavin, the underground casemates housing the originals of several baroque statues from the Charles Bridge. The Vysehrad site is open the whole day.

CHARLES BRIDGE (STONE, PRAGUE) -  The oldest Prague bridge built in the place of the Judita's Bridge that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. The Stone or Prague Bridge since 1870 called Charles Bridge, was founded by Charles IV in the year 1357. By the latest researches the construction was started by Master Otto and finished by Peter Parler in 1402. Both ends of the bridge are fortified by towers (the Lesser Town Bridge Towers, the Old Town Bridge Tower). From 1683 to 1928 thirty sculptures and sculptural groups of the saints were gradually set on the bridge piers (M. Braun, F. M. Brokof, etc.) The bridge is 515 meters long and 10 meters wide.

The smaller tower - the romanesque one, a relic of the Judita's Bridge, was constructed in the 12th century. The higher one is 200 years younger (1464) and its late gothic architecture draws upon the Parler's Old Town Bridge Tower.

The entrance gate to the Charles Bridge from the Old Town river bank, the most beautiful gate of the Gothic Europe was a masterpiece of the Court Buildingworks, was finished before 1380. It is richly adorned with sculptures - coats of arms of the countries belonging to the Czech Crown under the reign of Charles IV, statues of St. Vitus, Charles IV, Wenceslas IV, St. Vojtech (Adalbert) and Sigmund.

OLD TOWN HALL AND ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK - The history of the Old Town Hall began in 1338, when King John of Luxembourg granted Prague’s Old Town the right to establish its own administrative centre. The original basis for the town hall became the gothic house of the wealthy merchant Wolflin of Kamen, for whom a stately tower was built in 1364. The Old Town Hall is associated with the most significant events in the country’s history. This is the place where the king of Bohemia George of Poděbrady was selected in 1458. After the Battle of White Mountain, the leading participants in a revolt were imprisoned here. Twenty seven of these were subsequently executed on 21 June 1621 in front of the Town Hall. When the four districts of Prague merged in 1784, the Town Hall became the seat of the city’s unified official administration. At that time, the building underwent many alterations. Weddings have been held at the Town Hall since 1871. At the end of the Second World War, the Town Hall was the focal point of an insurrection, and the Czech National Committee directed operations from its basement. On 7 May 1945, the Town Hall was bombarded by tanks. In the conflagration that followed, the eastern and northern wings of the building, opposite Týn Church, were completely destroyed. The tower with the Astrological Clock and a chapel were also heavily damaged.

The most valuable room in the Town Hall is the so-called Council Hall from the second half of the 15th century, where all important proceedings occurred. The joist ceiling, with its rich renaissance decoration of the lacunars from the second half of the 16th century and gilded chains, is authentic. The late-gothic console with an angel, which bears the legend Juste Iudicate Filii Hominis (Judge fairly, sons of man) is complemented by a high-gothic sculpture of the suffering of Christ from 1410. The municipal coats of arms above the portals and 46 guild coats of arms and 12 municipal coats of arms on the wooden panelling of the walls are authentic. The interior is completed with a baroque tiled stove.

The so-called Jiřík Hall and Brožík Hall on the second floor are worthy of separate attention. The Jiřík Hall gets its name from a bust of King George (Jíří in Czech) of Poděbrady. There are valuable paintings from the beginning of the 15th century on the walls. On the wall, there is a View of Petřín Hill by Karel Liebscher from 1902. The Brožík Hall took on its current appearance in 1910 and it is used as a conference room. It covers the entire ground plan of the building and the height of two floors. It bears the name of Václav Brožík, the artist responsible for two large oil paintings on canvas, which are displayed here. .

JEWISH TOWN - It dates back to the 13th century, but its present appearance is mainly the result of a vast redevelopment action undertaken between 1893 - 1913. Only a few most significant buildings were saved, the living testimony of the history of Prague Jews which lasted for many centuries. Yet these buildings form the best present complex of Jewish historical monuments in the whole Europe.Six synagogues remain from this old settlement which includes the Jewish Town Hall and the Old Jewish Cemetery - the most remarkable in Europe. Except the Old-New Synagogue they are part of the Jewish Museum.

Old-New Synagogue is the oldest preserved synagogue in the Central Europe. It was built in the early gothic style in the late 13th century and richly adorned by stonework. The inside furnishings (gothic wrought-iron grill, wrought chandeliers) are of ancient origin. Up till now it has served as a house of prayer and the main synagogue of the Prague Jewish community.

Old Jewish Cemetery - Jewish Museum has been established in the mid-15th century it served as a burial site till 1787. Among 12 000 gothic, renaisance and baroque tombstones are also those of Rabbi Jehuda Löw (1609) and Mordechai Maisel (1601).

 POWDER TOWER - In  historical context, the Powder Tower is one of Prague’s most important medieval monuments. This is the place where royal coronation processions would commence. It is also the beginning and end of an important route from Kutná Hora, where silver was mined for the royal coffers. The so-called Mountain Tower (Horská brána) originally stood on this site. Because of its poor state of repair, this later became known as the “Shabby Tower” (Odraná brána) from the middle of the 13th century. At that time, it was still part of the city’s fortifications, but after the New Town was established by Charles IV, the fortification in this place lost its importance. Consequently, in 1475, the erection of a new symbolic tower gate began on the city moat (today’s Na Příkopě Street). The tower only retained its importance until the royal seat returned from the King’s Court (Králův dvůr – on the site of today’s Municipal House) to Prague Castle. The tower remained uncompleted until 1592, when a new entrance and spiral staircase were constructed. The Powder Tower acquired its current appearance during a refurbishment in the 1880s. Above the gateway, in the direction of Celetná Street, stands a statue of George of Poděbrady together with the Jagiellon monarch Vladislav II, who were kings of Bohemia during the relevant era. On the other side of the tower, in the direction of Náměstí Republiky, the building is adorned with statues of the great Czech monarchs Charles IV and Přemysl Otakar II.

 ST NICHOLAS CHURCH - Originally an early gothic church from the beginning of the 13th century stood here, and it was also consecrated in honour of St. Nicholas of Myra. There was already a marketplace nearby during the Romanesque era. The baroque St. Nicholas Cathedral was erected in the years 1703 – 35 under the supervision of the important architect Christoph Dientzenhofer, and later under his son Kilian Ignaz. This building in the Malá Strana district is one of the most stylistically pure and beautiful examples of high-baroque architecture north of the Alps. While the cathedral was the property of the Church, the adjacent tower belonged to the municipality of Malá Strana. Consequently, it has its own building number (556) and entrance. The tower, which also served as a belfry and a watchtower, was built after the cathedral by Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. It was completed in 1755 by his pupil and son-in-law Anselm Lurag. Naturally, the bells were hung in the tower five years before its completion. The tower and the dome of the cathedral are intentionally the same height, i.e. 74 m, and they are both conceived so that they correspond panoramically with St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. The belfry also subsequently became a Prague watchtower. The last watchman lived here until 1891. Until that time, he was obliged to ring a bell in the event of a fire and to hang a red flag from the window in the direction of the conflagration, as well as a lantern at night.

THE PETŘÍN VIEW TOWER - was directly inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was built by the Czech Tourist Club, which had attended the Exposition Universelle in 1889 in Paris and decided to construct a similar tower in Prague. On the 16th of March 1891 work began in accordance with plans by the engineers František Prášil and Julius Souček. It was finished and formally opened on the 20th of August of the same year. The heart of the lookout tower is an octagonal tube structure, which contains an elevator. Two spiral staircases wind around this – one for the journey up and the other for the way down. The lookout tower has two observation decks. The upper deck is at a height of 55 metres. A funicular was also completed together with the lookout tower. In the 1960s, antennae were installed at the top of the tower for television and radio broadcasts. The lookout tower was closed to the public in 1979 because of its poor state of repair. It remained closed until May 1991 on the occasion of the second Jubilee Exhibition.

INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE

The church was built by German Lutherans in 1611 - 1612 and consecrated to the Holy Trinity. The architect was probably Giovanni Maria Filippi, a member of the court of Emperor Rudolph II. After achieving victory over the Counter-Reformation, Emperor Ferdinand II bestowed the church upon the Discalced Carmelites as a reward for their contribution to the Imperial army's victory at the Battle of White Mountain. The Carmelites consecrated the church to Our Lady Victorious, reconstructed the church and built a monastery nearby. The Seminary Garden was created near the monastery, where frogs and fish were raised for days of fasting. The Carmelite monastery was closed during the reign of Emperor Joseph II in 1784, and the church came under the administration of the Knights of Malta. Now it again belongs to the Carmelites.
The famous statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, also known in Catholic countries as Bambino di Praga, has been located inside the church since 1628. The bride of Wratislaw von Pernstein, Maria Maxmilian Manriquez de Lara, brought the statue to Bohemia as dowry in the mid-16th century. She later gave the Infant Jesus to her daughter, Polyxena, upon her marriage to Wilhelm von Rosenberg to protect the family hearth.
The famous wax statue is 16th century Spanish workmanship. It is 47 centimetres tall, and the inside is wrapped in canvas coated with wax. The Infant Jesus uses two crowns and 46 outfits in the colours of the liturgical year. A small museum was built to house the clothing and other religious items.
The church belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Services are also held in English, French, Italian and Spanish.

TYN CHURCH

The name is derived from the walled merchant's courtyard behind the church known as the Ungelt. In as early as the 12th century, an older, Romanesque chapel (cited in records from 1135) was located at the site. The current High Gothic structure was founded in the mid-14th century. Its appearance was strongly influenced by Emperor Charles IV's court workshop under Peter Parler. The richly decorated, 28 metre tall façade window, the tracery in the windows of the nave, the presbytery and grand northern portal are all prominent marks of his work. The church was also the spiritual centre of Prague's independent quarters in the latter half of the 14th century. During the Hussite movement, a group of Jan Hus' supporters led by Jacob of Mies took control of the Týn Church. In 1427, Hussite Bishop John of Rokycan was elected vicar of Týn; he is buried in the church.
The church is a three-aisle basilica with towers at the western façade and three choirs on the eastern side. The towers are 80 metres tall. Baroque adaptations did not affect the exterior of the church at all.
The church is an extensive gallery of Gothic, Renaissance and early Baroque works of art. Of the interior church fixtures, a tin Gothic baptismal font from 1414 (the oldest in Prague) decorated with reliefs of the apostles, a stone Gothic pulpit and two Gothic sedilia with consoles in the shape of crowned heads are particularly outstanding. A stone late Gothic baldachin created by Matěj Rejsek in 1493 is located by the second pillar on the left side aisle. The Calvary (1410) located in the choir of the left aisle is a unique and remarkable wood carving.
The main altar, featuring altarpieces by Karel Škréta (Ascension of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity), is an example of early Baroque portal architecture from 1649. The Týn church organ is the oldest in Prague.
Týn Church can boast of a large number of preserved tombs. One of the most famous is the 1601 tomb of Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer who served the court of Emperor Rudolph II.
The church belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.