Wenceslas Square and the National Museum in Prague Magnet

Wenceslas Square and the National Museum in Prague. Travel. Europe. Czech Republic. Prague. Prague (Czech Praha) is the city and capital of the Czech Republic. Located on the banks of the Vltava River, forty kilometres from its confluence in Labu. The main political, economic and cultural centre of the Czech Republic. A major tourist centre in Europe, the number of tourists in 2012 exceeded 5.4 million people. The first historical information about the settlements of the Slavs in the territory of the modern city dates back to the 6th century AD. e. Since X century the capital of the Czech state; in 1526-1918 the main city of Bohemia under the rule of the Habsburgs; from 1918 to 1992 the capital of Czechoslovakia; since 1993 - the Czech Republic. The historic centre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Prague is a traditional European cultural centre, the venue for many famous events of international importance: the international music festivals Prague Spring and Prague Autumn, the Prague International Organ Music Festival and several others. Prague is recognized by many experts and tourists as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Among the main attractions of Prague are 18 stone and steel bridges connecting the banks of the Vltava. One of the most famous, Charles Bridge, a work of medieval architecture. The masterpiece of European Gothic architecture is St. Vitus Cathedral, the construction of which was conducted almost 600 years. The city is famous for its fountains. Five central historical areas in 1993 were included in the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as an architectural and historical reserve. To date, Prague consists of areas that have long been considered separate cities (Stare Mesto, Nové Mesto, Hradčany, Malá Strana, Vyšehrad). In the past, they not only had different status, a system of subordination, management, finance, etc., but often they also quarreled among themselves, sometimes reaching real military action. Finally, to unite individual cities in the territory of Prague was possible only in 1784 during the reign of Emperor Joseph II, the famous reformer. The history of Prague until 1784 is the history of each of these cities, today its quarters.