map of EU
In 1993, Czechoslovakia split peacefully into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Descriptions of the history , language and culture of the Czech lands are elsewhere on this site. Here, we will zoom in on Prague, the 10th century city in the heart of Europe.
Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, has a more western location than Vienna (Wien). It has a latitude and a climate comparable with the American Midwest.
The entire inner city of Prague is a beautifully preserved historical
area, and includes structures from every architectural period from the
Romanesque to the present. Some of these eras are represented side by side, as
when one unexpectedly comes upon a Romanesque rotunda on a narrow cobbled Old
Town street amongst the facades of later eras. Others eras are piled layer upon
layer, vertically. Renaissance and later Baroque structures were built above medieval
dwellings whose entrances were buried when the level of the land in the Old
Town was raised to prevent flooding by the Vltava River.
Modern Prague is divided into 18 City Parts. Wenceslas Square is the center of Prague 2, the so-called New Town, laid out by Charles IV in the 14th century. The square was once a horse market, but today is a boulevard stretching from Mustek up to the National Museum. On this map of the subway, it is marked by the two information symbols near the stations at each end of the street.
Located in the Old Town Square are the striking monument to Jan Hus
and the astronomical clock on the tower of the Old Town Hall.
Now that you are geographically oriented,
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