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Home :: Prague Guide :: Prague - the capital of Czechia

Prague – the capital of Czech republic

Prague Castle Panorama in winter

General information

The capital city of Czech Republic lies in the center of Central Europe. Prague is situated on the river Vltava in central Bohemia and has been the political, cultural, and economic center of the Czech state for over 1100 years.

The city

The city itself has at about 1.3 million inhabitants. Prague belongs to the most visited cities in Europe. Since 1992 the historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and since that the city is becoming a site of European headquarters of many international companies. Nicknames for Prague have included „the mother of cities – Praga mater urbium, "city of a hundred spires“ and „the golden city“. Prague castle was the first main monument founded in 870 A.D. There are some really nice Prague hotels for those travelers looking to spend a night in Prague.

Prague's city centre comprises four areas, spanning both banks of the Vltava River. On one side:

the Old Town (Stare Mesto) with the Old Town Square
the New Town (Nove Mesto) with Wenceslas Square
the Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

On the other side:

the Lesser Quarter (Mala Strana) which leads up to Prague Castle

The main areas close to the city centre are:

Hradčany (at the rear of Prague Castle)
Vinohrady
Holešovice
Smíchov
Karlín
Vyšehrad and Podolí

Places to see in Prague

Prague Castle is the Prague tourist attraction number one. Located on a hill, it offers fine views over the city and more.

Enjoy also excellent views from the following sights:

Old Town Hall Tower
Old Town Bridge Tower
Malá Strana Bridge Tower
Petřín Lookout Tower
Jindřišská Tower
Vyšehrad

Prague Sights & Attractions

Prague – Daliborka Fortress

Prague Castle = Pražský Hrad
Old Town = Staré Město
National Theatre = Narodni Divadlo
Charles Bridge = Karlův Most
Wenceslas Square = Václavské Náměstí
Old Town Square = Staroměstské Náměstí
Lesser Town = Malá Strana
Jewish Quarter = Josefov
Golden Lane = Zlatá ulička
Žižkov Television Tower = Žižkovská rozhledna
Petrin observatory = Petřínská rozhledna

Basic facts about Czech Republic

Area: 78 865 square km
No. of inhabitants: 10,542,080
National composition: Czechs, Moravians and Silesians (68.6%), Slovaks (1.4%), others – Germans, Vietnamese, Russians etc. (29.9%)
Capital city: Prague (Praha)

State constitution: republic (parliamentary democracy with two chambers of parliament.)
President: Miloš Zeman
Language: the official language is Czech. Most of the Czech people are well educated so they can speak more than one language. You can get by with English or German. The older generation knows Russian and French.
Religion: 80% Non-declared or non-religious; 10.3% Roman Catholic

Currency: 1 Czech crown (CZK)
Calling code: +420
Time: Central European Time (GMT + 1), summer time = CET + 1 (GMT + 2)
Climate: average temperature in summer 22.0°C, in winter –0.9°C

Prague information services