Prague is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and is among the most visited cities on the continent. Since 1992, the historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. 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”.
OLD TOWN SQUARE
– for centuries the main market square of Prague with the oldest City Hall. In the centre of the square there is a statue of Czech catholic reformer Jan Hus who was burnt for his faith in 1415. Two beautiful churches decorate the square, a white and protestant Nicholas and a dark and catholic Virgin Mary before Tyn. The dominant part of the square is the City Hall from 1380´s with the Astronomical clock that shows four different times and has a play of twelve wooden apostles who turn around every hour. At the same time all the other figures move and shake their bodies and everything plays, strikes and sounds!!! The square has tens of gorgeous barock and roccoco houses with good bohemian restaurants and shops.
WENCESLAS SQUARE
– the centre of the New Town. Originally a horse market that converted to a modern shopping street full of shops and stores. The dominant part of the square is the National Museum with domestic collections and the riding statue of Czech national patron Saint Wenceslas, the first builder of the Prague Cathedral. The square is a place in Prague where the Prague people go shopping and socializing, where they go meet for a good cappucino and to gym and at the same time where the most offices are and where you buy the most beautiful flowers.
NATIONAL THEATRE
– standing proudly beside Vltava decorated with the golden crown and sculptures, it is a symbol of the Czech emancipation of the nineteenth century. After 20 years of money collections and 13 years of construction (1868-1881) the building burned down a few days before its inauguration. After a quick reconstruction it was finally opened in 1883 by the performance of the opera “Libuse” by Bedrich Smetana.
MUNICIPAL HOUSE
– the greatest Art Nouveau Construction built between 1905 – 1911 is where in 1918 the creation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia was signed. Probably one of the best Prague traditional cafés you find here with an original “belle époque” decoration and a pianist.
CHARLES BRIDGE
– the oldest of Prague stone bridges from 1357 built by the Father of the country, Emperor Charles IV. The bridge conects the Lower Town with the Old Town and used to be the only bridge here for long centuries. The bridge is decorated by thirty sandstone statues representing various catholic religious orders like the Jesuits, the Franziskans, the Norbertins…
PRAGUE CASTLE
– a unique complex of tens of various buildings surrounding the hill to create a seat of kings. First settlement established here in 880´s… The castle used to be a mansion of all Czech kings. The castle is formed by couple courtyards, Royal palace, Cathedral and other churches, houses for servants, cooks, soldiers, monasteries, convents, church schools, palaces of the nobility, prisons, gardens, fortification…
JEWISH TOWN
– a former medieval ghetto has converted to a beautiful and rich quarter with expensive restaurants. A charm of this place are the old synagogues with the mysterious Jewish cemetery where over 120,000 people are buried in twelve layers on top of each other. The Jewish Museum attracts milions of visitors from all over the world every year for its compatibility and for the fact that nothing from the buildings was damaged during WW II although Prague had been occupied by the Nazis…