Prague

Prague, the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, also served as the historic capital of Bohemia. Situated along the Vltava River, its population of roughly 1.4 million ranks it as the twelfth-largest city in the European Union, while its broader metropolitan area contains about 2.3 million people.

The city is rich in architectural history, featuring Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and a residence for several Holy Roman Emperors, notably Charles IV and Rudolf II. Prague was also an important center for the Habsburg monarchy and Austria-Hungary. It played key roles in the Bohemian and Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War, and, during the 20th century, served as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the world wars and throughout the post-war Communist period.

Cultural highlights include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with its astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill, and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the historic center has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city boasts over ten major museums, plus numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and historical exhibits. A modern public transportation system covers the city, and it hosts a variety of public and private schools, including Charles University—the oldest university in Central Europe.

According to GaWC studies, Prague is classified as a "Beta+" global city. Its deep history draws many tourists; as of 2017, it welcomed more than 8.5 million international visitors annually, making it the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, and Istanbul.

The name "Prague" has several proposed origins. A legend from Cosmas of Prague's Chronica Boemorum (1119–1125) says the Czech name Praha comes from the word for "threshold." In the 18th century, Josef Dobrovský suggested it derived from an old Slavic word meaning "ford" or "rapid," referencing the Vltava crossing and its rapids. Since the 19th century, the accepted theory linked it to the old Czech verb pražiti ("to burn") and pražina ("burned forest"), referring to a forest cleared by fire for a settlement. In the mid-20th century, linguist Antonín Profous refined this, arguing pražiti also means "to roast" (as in the sun), and the name described a hot, arid place, related to the shale bedrock where Prague Castle was founded.

Prague is nicknamed the "City of a Hundred Spires," a count from 19th-century mathematician Bernard Bolzano; today, the Prague Information Service estimates about 500 spires. Other nicknames include the Golden City, the Mother of Cities, and the Heart of Europe. Its Jewish community, one of the world's oldest continuously existing, has called it Ir va-em be-yisrael, "The city and mother in Israel."

The city grew from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to Vyšehrad fort in the south, becoming the capital of a modern European country. With archaeological deposits over 10 meters deep, it serves as a model for protecting archaeological heritage in the Czech Republic.

The region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed the city was founded as Boihaem by an ancient king named Boyya. Around the fifth and fourth centuries BC, a Celtic tribe arrived, later establishing settlements including the largest Celtic oppidum in Bohemia, Závist, in present-day Dolní Břežany south of Prague, and naming the region Bohemia ("home of the Boii people"). By the last century BC, Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes (Marcomanni, Quadi, Lombards, and possibly Suebi), leading some to place the Marcomanni king Maroboduus's seat at Závist. A 2nd-century map by Roman geographer Ptolemy mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis near present-day Prague.

In the late 5th century AD, during the great Migration Period after the Western Roman Empire's collapse, Germanic tribes moved west. Probably in the 6th century, Slavic tribes settled the Central Bohemian Region. Over the next three centuries, Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, notably in the Šárka valley, Butovice, and Levý Hradec.

Construction of what became Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, expanding a fortified settlement that had existed since the year 800. The first masonry under the castle dates from 885 at the latest. The other major fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, about 70 years later. Prague Castle is dominated by its cathedral, which started construction in 1344 but was not completed until the 20th century.

Legend attributes Prague's foundation to the 8th-century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, founder of the Přemyslid dynasty. According to the tale, Libuše, prophesying from her castle at Vyšehrad, came out on a rocky cliff above the Vltava and declared: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars." She then ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built.