Other Tourist Objects

There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. Prague hosts Music Festivals including the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Prague Autumn International Music Festival and the Prague International Organ Festival. Film Festivals include the Febiofest, the One World and Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Prague also hosts the Prague Writers Festival, the Prague Fringe Festival, the World Roma Festival as well as hundreds of Vernissages and Fashion Shows.
Many films have been made at the Barrandov Studios. Hollywood movies set in Prague include Mission Impossible, Blade II and xXx. Among others, Czech films Empties and The Fifth Horseman is Fear were shot in Prague.
Prague restaurant Allegro received the 1st Michelin star in the whole Eastern Europe (post-communist Europe).

Tourist Objects

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Prague has become one of Europe's (and the world's) most popular tourist destinations. It is the sixth most-visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Berlin. Prague suffered considerably less damage during World War II than some other major cities in the region, allowing most of its historic architecture to stay true to form. It contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Art Nouveau to Baroque, Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-Classical and ultra-modern. Some of the most known sights are:
Old Town (Staré Město) with its Old Town Square
The Astronomical Clock
The picturesque Charles Bridge
The vaulted gothic Old New Synagogue of 1270.
New Town (Nové město) with its busy and historic Wenceslas Square
Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter)
Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) with its St. Vitus Cathedral
Josefov (the old Jewish quarter) with Old Jewish Cemetery and Old New Synagogue
Jan Žižka equestrian statue in Vítkov park, Žižkov - Prague 3.
The Lennon Wall

The History

The area on which Prague was founded was settled in ancient times since the Paleolithic Age. Around 200 BCE the Celts had a settlement in the south, called Závist, but later they were replaced by Germanic tribes. The Slavs conquered the site from the 4th century CE onward, though for a period were subdued by the Eurasian Avars. According to a legend, Prague was founded by the Princess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, founder of the dynasty with the same name. Whether this legend is true or not, Prague's first nucleus was founded in the latter part of the 9th century as a castle on a hill commanding the right bank of the Vltava: this is known as Vyšehrad ("high castle") to differentiate from another castle which was later erected on the opposite bank, the future Prague Castle. Soon the city became the seat of the dukes and kings of Bohemia. It was an important seat for trading where merchants coming from all Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the Jewish merchant and traveller Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub. The Old New Synagogue of 1270 survives. The city became a bishopric in 973.

Charles Bridge.
King Vladislav II had a first bridge on the Vltava built in 1170, the Judith Bridge, which crumbled down in 1342. The Charles Bridge was later built on its foundations.
In 1257, under King Otakar II, Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter") was founded in Prague in the future Hradčany area: it was the district of the German people. These had the right to administrate the law autonomously, pursuant to Magdeburg Rights. The new district was on the opposite bank of the Staré Město ("Old Town"), which had a borough status and was defended by a line of walls and fortifications.

What is Praha

Prague is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and is among the most visited cities on the continent. Though it suffered one large bombing raid during the Second World War, it largely escaped the utter destruction which befell so many European cities during that period and emerged largely intact. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre 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. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" (Praga mater urbium, or "Praha matka měst" in Czech)", "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city". Prague is a candidate city for the 2016 Olympics.