"The City of 100 Spires" a Prague Travel Page by nicolaitan

Prague represented our introduction to Central Europe and was a totally wonderful experience. We visited the Castle District, Wenceslas Square, and the Old Town Square area as well as the Jewish Ghetto and found all exciting and interesting. And of course we went to Kampa and walked across the bridge. Prague escaped the most serious damages of WWII and the medieval centre with cobblestoned alleys, hidden squares and churches remains intact and inviting. Shopping for selected items was rewarding and we were pleased with the dining experience as well. Gourmet restaurants are now interpersed with the traditional. The residents we met, of course largely in a service setting, were initially reserved and a little aloof in the presence of obvious Americans. But they became warm, hospitable, and friendly very quickly, perhaps realizing that we were not ogres. This is a statement I could and will repeat on my Budapest page to be constructed. Prague represents a great vacation experience.

Human habitation in the Prague area can be dated to 6000BC. Early inhabitants from 4000 BC forward included Germanic and Celtic tribes (Vltava is Celtic in orgin). Slavic-Czech tribes invaded over the early 1st Century AD, gradually gaining complete control. The first acknowledged ruler was the Czech prince Borislov Premslovec in the later 9th Century. He introduced Christianity and constructed the first fortified settlement at the current Prague Castle area, the home of Czech rulers ever since (with a few early exceptions). His grandson, Prince Wenceslas of Christmas Carol fame was assassinated in 929 for political reasons, later canonized, and is the nation's patron saint. After his death, the area became part of the Holy Roman Empire and became an important trade city.

In the 13th Century, focal towns developed - the predecessors of the Old and New Town, Little Quarter, and Casle Quarter of current day Prague. The city experienced its greatest development during the 14th Century reign of Charles IV of the Luxembourg dynasty. He built the bridge across the Vltava we now call Charles Bridge, founded the first University in central - eastern Europe called unsurprisingly Charles University, and began the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral after arranging for Prague to be an archbishopric. He made Prague the dominant city of the Empire with the castle the dominant site. At his design, the cathedral towers over the castle.

The power of the dynasty weakend over the next 100 years and the country was torn by the Hussite wars. The reformist preacher Jan Hus was burned at the stake in 1415 for alleged heresy. After 4 years of discontent, rebellion began led by the warrior-priest Jan Zelisky. The word defenestration, literally to throw someone out a window, was the fate of local Catholic leaders thrown from the upper levels of the Old Town Hall. In this era of turmoil, the Catholic Hapsburg family took the rule in the early 16th Century.

These combined events were part of the causes of the Thirty Year War which decimated the area and led to external rule. The Protestant uprising in 1618 ended in major defeat for the uprising at the battle of White Mountain followed by the execution of many Protestant noblemen. The importance of Prague and its castle decreased significantly over the next century. 150 years later a new Czech nationalist movement developed. The four towns along the river were united to one in 1784. The city became tolerant to religious minorities granting political and religious rights. Napoleion dictated the end of the HRE in the early 19th Century. Wth the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1876. Museums and theatres opened, celebrating Czech history and culture. After the fall of the empire in 1918, Czechoslovakia became an independent nation with Prague as capitol. The first president was Tomas Masaryk.

Nazi Germany occupied Prague from 1941-5, replaced by the Red Army in 1945. The Communist reign of terror began in 1948 with the creation of a totalitarian state. In the face of growing unrest, Communist Party Leader Dubcek allowed in 1968 greater freedoms. Russian tanks and armor put an end to the so-called "Prague Spring" and Dubcek ended up working at the forestry service, a bit of a demotion. But with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the "Velvet Revolution" led to the end of Communist rule in 1989. Czechoslovakia was established as a democratic country. In 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia went their separate ways. The Czech Republic was accepted to the European Union in 2004. Since the expulsion of the Communisty regime, just 17 years ago, the wonders of Prague and its remarkable history have made the city a magnet for tourists to celebrate its ancient heritage.