Prague
Czech PRAHA, city, capital of the Czech Republic. Situated on the Vltava River, Prague is the country's major economic and cultural centre and has a rich architectural heritage that dates to the 9th century. From small original settlements, Prague has spread over hills, up tributary valleys, and along riverside terraces.
Prague has been prominent in the Czech Republic's economic life since the intensive development in the 19th century of the textile and machinery industries. Manufacturing is still the largest employer, followed by commerce, construction, education, culture, administration, transport and communications, and science and research. Principal industries include heavy and precision engineering and the production of food (including the famous Prague beer), electronics, and chemicals.
The Vltava River cuts a north-south path through central Prague. On its left (west) bank are located the Royal Garden, Hradcany (Prague Castle), and the Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter"), which is blanketed by gardens and parks. The right (east) bank of the Vltava is dominated by the Staré Mesto ("Old Town," dating from the 12th century) and the Nové Mesto ("New Town," 14th century). Both are rich in historical monuments and churches, and the latter is responsible for Prague's description as the "city of a hundred spires." The narrow streets, small taverns, and restaurants of the older sections contrast with the broad sweep of Václevské Square and with modern parks and housing developments. New housing estates, for example (referred to as "towns"), have been erected on the periphery to alleviate Prague's housing shortage.
Architectural treasures range from the Romanesque (the 10th-century Church of St. George) through the Gothic (St. Vitus' Cathedral and Týn Church) to the Baroque (the Vald-stejn and Clam-Gallas palaces), Rococo (the Golz-Kinský Palace), Classical (the Bedrich Smetana Museum and the Belvedere Palace), and Neoclassical (the National Museum and the National Theatre). The Old-New Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery--Europe's oldest--testify to the strong Jewish tradition in Prague's life. The architectural harmony of the city has been enhanced by post-1945 planning, which has preserved the ancient core of the city and has supervised all modern building.
Prague is famed for its cultural life, particularly in music and literature. The music of the great Czech composers Bedrich Smetana, Antonín Dvorák, and Leos Janácek is commemorated annually in a spring festival. The city's fine orchestras--the Prague Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic--are world-renowned. The writers Franz Kafka, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Jaroslav Hasek, all born in Prague, became internationally famous. In the democratic revolution of 1989, which peacefully overthrew the communist government of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, a Prague playwright, became the nation's president.
Institutions of higher education include Charles University (1348), the oldest in central Europe. Scientific study, promoted by the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, is built on the tradition of such Prague scholars as Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Albert Einstein. The Academy of Arts and the Academy of Music are also located in the city.