57 Facts About Prague

1.

Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures.

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2.

Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe.

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3.

Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

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4.

Prague is classified as an "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies.

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5.

In 2017, Prague was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, and Istanbul.

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6.

Prague's is said to have ordered the city "to be built where a man hews a threshold of his house".

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7.

Prague is called the "City of a Hundred Spires", based on a count by 19th century mathematician Bernard Bolzano; today's count is estimated by the Prague Information Service at 500.

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8.

Nicknames for Prague have included: the Golden City, the Mother of Cities and the Heart of Europe.

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9.

Around the fifth and fourth century BC, a Celtic tribe appeared in the area, later establishing settlements including an oppidum in Zavist, a present-day suburb of Prague, and naming the region of Bohemia, which means "home of the Boii people".

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10.

Around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map drawn by Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis.

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11.

Construction of what came to be known as Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, expanding a fortified settlement that had existed on the site since the year 800.

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12.

Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which began construction in 1344, but wasn't completed until the 20th century.

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13.

Until Prague was elevated to archbishopric in 1344, it was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Mainz.

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14.

Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from across Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveler Abraham ben Jacob.

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15.

Prague flourished during the 14th-century reign of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the king of Bohemia of the new Luxembourg dynasty.

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16.

Prague began construction of the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral, within the largest of the Prague Castle courtyards, on the site of the Romanesque rotunda there.

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17.

Prague was elevated to an archbishopric in 1344, the year the cathedral was begun.

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18.

Prague lived in the Prague Castle, where his court welcomed not only astrologers and magicians but scientists, musicians, and artists.

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19.

In 1618, the famous second defenestration of Prague provoked the Thirty Years' War, a particularly harsh period for Prague and Bohemia.

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20.

Prague was forcibly converted back to Roman Catholicism followed by the rest of Czech lands.

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21.

Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60, 000 it had had in the years before the war to 20, 000.

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22.

Prague took Prague after a severe and prolonged siege in the course of which a large part of the town was destroyed.

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23.

Prague was chosen as its capital and Prague Castle as the seat of president Tomas Garrigue Masaryk.

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24.

At this time Prague was a true European capital with highly developed industry.

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25.

For most of its history, Prague had been a multi-ethnic city with important Czech, German and Jewish populations.

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26.

In 1942, Prague was witness to the assassination of one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany—Reinhard Heydrich—during Operation Anthropoid, accomplished by Czechoslovak national heroes Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis.

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27.

In February 1945, Prague suffered several bombing raids by the US Army Air Forces.

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28.

Many historic structures in Prague, however, escaped the destruction of the war and the damage was small compared to the total destruction of many other cities in that time.

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29.

The majority of the German population of Prague either fled or were expelled by the Benes decrees in the aftermath of the war.

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30.

Prague was a city in a country under the military, economic, and political control of the Soviet Union.

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31.

In 2002, Prague suffered from widespread floods that damaged buildings and its underground transport system.

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32.

Prague launched a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, but failed to make the candidate city shortlist.

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33.

In June 2009, as the result of financial pressures from the global recession, Prague's officials chose to cancel the city's planned bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

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34.

Prague is approximately at the same latitude as Frankfurt, Germany; Paris, France; and Vancouver, Canada.

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35.

Precipitation in Prague is rather low since it is located in the rain shadow of the Sudetes and other mountain ranges.

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36.

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and as such is the regular seat of its central authorities.

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37.

Until 1949, all administrative districts of Prague were formed by the whole one or more cadastral unit, municipality or town.

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38.

Prague is autonomously administered by the Prague City Assembly, which is elected through municipal elections and consists of 55 to 70 members.

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39.

Executive body of Prague, elected by the Assembly is a Prague City Council.

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40.

Video games set in Prague include Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, Still Life, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

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41.

Prague employs almost a fifth of the entire Czech workforce, and its wages are significantly above average.

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42.

The number of foreign residents in Prague has been increasing in spite of the country's economic downturn.

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43.

In 2005, Prague was deemed among the three best cities in Central and Eastern Europe according to The Economist's livability rankings.

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44.

Prague is the site of some of the most important offices and institutions of the Czech Republic.

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45.

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Prague has become one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

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46.

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.

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47.

Prague is classified as an "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies, comparable to Vienna, Manila and Washington, D C Prague ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016.

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48.

Prague Zoo, selected in 2015 as the fourth best zoo in the world by TripAdvisor.

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49.

Universities seated in Prague represent important centres of science and research activities.

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50.

Prague was selected to host administration of the EU satellite navigation system Galileo.

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51.

Prague has one of the highest rates of public transport usage in the world, with 1.

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52.

The system carries more than 360 million passengers annually, the highest tram patronage in the world after Budapest, on a per capita basis, Prague has the second highest tram patronage after Zurich.

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53.

Since 2005 the Regional Organiser of Prague Integrated Transport has franchised operation of ferries on the Vltava river, which are a part of the public transport system with common fares.

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54.

Prague is served by Vaclav Havel Airport Prague, the largest airport in the Czech Republic and one of the largest and busiest airports in central and eastern Europe.

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55.

Prague is the site of many sports events, national stadiums and teams.

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56.

City of Prague maintains its own EU delegation in Brussels called Prague House.

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57.

Prague was the location of U S President Barack Obama's speech on 5 April 2009, which led to the New START treaty with Russia, signed in Prague on 8 April 2010.

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