1 The capital of the Czech Republic , Prague is a beautiful city famous for its music , literature , and architecture .
1 Czech Praha city , capital of the Czech Republic .

4 Over the years , the city has spread across the surrounding hills , river valleys , and riverside terraces .
16 From its original small riverside settlements , Prague has spread over its hills , up river valleys , and along riverside terraces .

5 The Prague metropolitan area covers 192 square miles ( 496 square kilometers) .
17 The Prague metropolitan area covers 192 square miles ( 496 square kilometres) .

6 Prague is a centuries-old city with a wealth of historic landmarks .
4 The physical attractions and landmarks of Prague are many .

7 The great castle of Hradcany ( Prague Castle ) was begun in the 9th century .
6 The winding course of the Vltava , with its succession of bridges and changing vistas , contrasts with the ever-present backdrop of the great castle of Hradcany ( Prague Castle ) , which dominates the left-bank region of the city from behind massive walls set high on a hill .

9 Next to the castle is St . Vitus ' Cathedral , begun in the 14th century but not completed until 1929 .
101 His reign also saw the growth of the planned New Town ( Nove mesto ) adjacent to the Old Town; construction of the Charles Bridge ( 1357 , reconstructed in 1970 ) linking the Old Town and the Mala Strana; and the beginning ( 1344 ) of the great St . Vitus ' Cathedral , which was not completed until 1929 .

12 Charles Bridge , which dates from 1357 , connects the Lesser Quarter to the Old Town ( Stare Mesto ) across the Vltava River .
5 Among the finest is the Charles Bridge ( Karluv most ) , which stands astride the Vltava River .

23 Prague is famous for its active and varied cultural life .
11 Prague is famous for its cultural life .

24 The city is home to two orchestras -- the Prague Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic -- and hosts an international music festival each spring .
13 In addition , the lyric music of the great Czech composers Bedrich Smetana , Antonin Dvorak , and Leoch Janacek is commemorated each year in a spring music festival .

24 The city is home to two orchestras -- the Prague Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic -- and hosts an international music festival each spring .
65 Prague has a renowned and active musical life , which reaches a high point each year in the internationally known spring music festival .

24 The city is home to two orchestras -- the Prague Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic -- and hosts an international music festival each spring .
66 The city's fine orchestras -- the Prague Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic -- have won reputations abroad .

35 Prague is the site of the oldest university in Central Europe , Charles University .
58 There are several institutions of higher education in Prague , but by far the most famous is Charles University , founded in 1348 and the oldest in central Europe .

39 Prague is the economic center of the Czech Republic .
1 Czech Praha city , capital of the Czech Republic .

39 Prague is the economic center of the Czech Republic .
30 Though Prague is renowned for its cultural life and monuments , it has also played an important role in the economic life of what is now the Czech Republic since the early and intensive development in the 19th century of such industries as those producing textiles and machinery .

40 Textile and machinery industries were developed in the city early in the 19th century .
30 Though Prague is renowned for its cultural life and monuments , it has also played an important role in the economic life of what is now the Czech Republic since the early and intensive development in the 19th century of such industries as those producing textiles and machinery .

44 For thousands of years trade routes linking Northern and Southern Europe crossed the area that is now Prague .
82 For thousands of years that portion of the Vltava's course where Prague was to rise was crossed by trade routes linking northern and southern Europe .

48 John of Luxembourg became king of Bohemia , the historic country in which Prague was located .
98 Following the eclipse of the Premyslids , the house of Luxembourg came to power when John of Luxembourg , son of the future emperor Henry VII , became king of Bohemia .

49 His son , Charles IV , became Holy Roman Emperor in 1355 and had his capital at Prague .
99 His son , Charles IV , Bohemian king and Holy Roman emperor , had his capital at Prague from 1346 to 1378 and took considerable personal interest in the development of the city .

51 In the 15th century Prague came to be controlled more and more by German and Italian merchants who settled there .
118 The merchants and the mostly German , Spanish , and Italian nobility who were active in and around Prague in this period had an enormous effect on both architecture and cultural life .

55 In 1618 a revolt against the Hapsburgs at Hradcany castle was one of the events that began the Thirty Years ' War , which led to changed borders across Europe .
114 The second Defenestration of Prague ( 1618 ) , when the governors of Bohemia were thrown from the windows of the council room in Hradcany -- one of the major events precipitating the Thirty Years ' War -- was followed by the decisive defeat of Protestant forces at the Battle of the White Mountain , near the city , in 1620 .

56 War and outbreaks of disease in the 17th century led to the decline of the city as a cultural and political center .
140 Throughout the 1990s Prague underwent a cultural , economic , and political transformation .

59 During the 19th century the Industrial Revolution had a major effect on Prague .
120 The onset of the Industrial Revolution had major effects in Prague .

61 The opening of its first railway in 1845 led to further expansion .
122 The population exceeded 100,000 by 1837 , and expansion continued after the city received its first railway eight years later .

72 In 1989 large demonstrations in favor of democracy took place in Wenceslas Square .
135 In November 1989 , Prague's Wenceslas Square became the cradle of the movement that swiftly ended four decades of communist rule in Czechoslovakia .

73 The gatherings helped put an end to four decades of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia .
135 In November 1989 , Prague's Wenceslas Square became the cradle of the movement that swiftly ended four decades of communist rule in Czechoslovakia .

74 When Czechoslovakia itself broke up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 , Prague became the capital of the Czech Republic .
139 When Czechoslovakia itself was dissolved into its constituent republics on January 1 , 1993 , Prague maintained its prominent international status as capital of the Czech Republic .