Went here in 2003.
Prague has survived time’s trials gloriously intact, through more than 1,000 years of wars, floods, occupations, religious strife and 40 years of communism. Today she wears her age beautifully. Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings flank winding cobblestone streets. Old-fashioned street lamps cast a golden glow throughout the compact, historic center. The fairytale atmosphere more resembles a period movie set than a thriving European Union capital only 16 years free of the Iron Curtain.
The 14 bridges across the Vltava River are a metaphor for the city: the past and the present are always connected here. A thriving culture builds on the rich history of art, music and literature. Sleek internet cafés may stand beside grand, nineteenth-century kavárnas (coffee houses). A modern metro glides underneath the streetcar tracks. But they’re all part of the tapestry of the ancient and the modern that makes Prague such a fascinating dichotomy.
Rudolf II von Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, was largely responsible for making Prague an imperial city once more.
The city has certainly made up for lost time. The economic and cultural engine of Czechoslovakia before it split into two nations – the Czech Republic and Slovakia – in 1992, Prague today has a thriving economy, a rich arts scene, and lively tourism, restaurant and retail sectors. In 2004, the Czech Republic joined the European Union, a milestone some feared was unattainable.
This blend of tradition and progress unfolds in a spectacular setting. Four districts form the city’s core, all within Prague 1 and Prague 2, abutting the Vltava’s riverbank. The more populated eastern side contains New Town (Nové Mìsto), Old Town (Staré Mìsto), and the Jewish Quarter (Josefov) on the eastern bank. The Lesser Quarter (Malá Strana) is on the western bank, tucked in the shadow of Prague Castle and Petøín hill.
High above Malá Strana is Hradèany, the castle district. Today the hushed neighborhoods along the ramparts house boutique hotels and embassies as well as successful artists such as filmmaker Jan Švankmajer, writers and the occasional celebrity.
The Vinohrady area lies just outside the center and once sheltered the royal vineyards, thus its name: “víno” (both wine and vine) and “hrad” (castle). Recently this neighborhood has become popular among expats and the young and upwardly mobile. Many new restaurants and boutiques reflect the changing demographic.
The city’s other obsession is classical music. The celebrated nineteenth-century composers Antonín Dvoøák and Bedøich Smetana are national heroes. Every Czech knows Smetana’s masterpiece, Má vlast (My Country), which always opens the annual Prague Spring Music Festival. On almost any street, visitors can catch a flurry of violin notes or piano scales pouring from a church, school or apartment block.
