The Vltava River, like a green jade belt, divides the city into two parts, and the steep mountain walls along both sides of the river gradually disappear into the undulating wilderness in the distance. The dozen or so old and modern bridges that span the river are majestic, linking the two parts of the city in a coordinated and skillful way. Mount Bertrzyna, which towers over the city, is lush with trees and beautiful scenery, making it a secluded resting place. The city's old tower buildings with spires or domes, whether Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, or Renaissance, are well preserved, with the largest number of Gothic or Baroque, the most famous, most of them are churches. The spires of the towers, high and low, adjoin each other to form a forest of towers, which is why Prague is known as the "City of a Hundred Towers". Under the sunlight, the "hundred towers" appear to be golden, which is why it is also known as the "Golden Prague".
The name Prague comes from the German language and is known locally as Blaha, meaning "threshold," because the Vltava River flows through a reef here, and the current is so fast that it seems to cross a threshold. There is also a legend: in ancient times, when the city began to build, the architect came here to survey, he met an old man, is sawing wood to do the threshold, do exceptionally serious, careful, the architect was y moved, after the city was built, it was named Prague.
Prague is a city with a long history, as early as 1,000 years ago, this is the political center of the Czech Republic Kingdom, from the 13th century A.D. to become the first royal city of the Czech dynasty counting on more than 700 years of history. From the 13th to the 15th century it was an important economic, political and cultural center of Central Europe. The city is surrounded by mountains and water, with numerous monuments and more than 2,000 historical relics under state protection. It is not an exaggeration to say that in every street and alley in the old town, you can find almost all forms of buildings since the 13th century, such as the famous St. Vitus Church built in 1344, the iconostasis on the Vltava River built in 1357, the artistic value of the Charles Bridge, built in 1348, the oldest institution of higher education in Central Europe, Charles University, as well as the splendid Prague Palace and the historic National Theatre and so on. the historic National Theater, among others. Some of the quieter streets in the Old Town still retain their medieval appearance, with stone paved streets, old gas lamps and many houses with religious frescoes. Many of the streets in the Old Town have become too narrow for cars and trams as the city's traffic has grown.
The Old Town Square in the center of the Old Town has existed for more than 900 years and is a meeting place for the masses. The square houses the Old Town Hall, a Gothic building built in 1338. South of the square is the famous Carolinum Palace, the oldest building of Charles University. Near Carolinum Palace is the famous Bethlehem Church. The Gunpowder Gate House, the only remaining of the 13 gates of the Old City. On the square is the Clock Tower, built in 1410, which is famous for its beautifully chic autoharp, even though the outer wall siding of the clock tower has partially peeled away due to its age. Visitors to Prague always go to the Old Town Square to see the old clock tower, and Prague citizens passing by the clock tower often stop to check their watches. Every hour, the clock on the window door will automatically open, the bell rings, 12 icons such as a lantern like one in the window, bowing to the people. This complex and marvelous autoharp was built in the mid-15th century by a pincer with a hammer, pliers, files and other tools, and to this day it keeps time accurately and has become a treasured piece for people to see.
The New Town is a bustling commercial area with the famous Vaclav Square and the Dvorak Museum. In addition, there is a small city center that preserves the medieval style, where there are many palatial buildings mainly in the Baroque style. Most of the city is characterized by curved and narrow streets, and the most famous building here is the St. Nicholas Church, built in the 17th and 18th centuries, which is known as an example of Baroque religious architecture in Prague.
Today Prague is a modern metropolis in Central Europe, the political, economic and cultural center of the country, and a national and international transportation hub. Prague is also the country's largest machinery manufacturing industry base, with automobiles, aircraft, machine tools, internal combustion locomotives, mining equipment and other heavy machinery manufacturing industry is the most prominent. Over the years, Prague in the municipal construction, pay attention to both maintain the old city style, but also pay attention to improve the degree of modernization. The development of the city and the suburbs is coordinated to form an organic whole. The city's various public **** buildings, institutions, factories, residential housing, service facilities, transportation and other attention to the rational allocation, emphasizing the protection of environmental health, pay attention to the protection and increase the area of greenery, so that it becomes a tourist city.
Prague Castle-Prazsk? Hrad (Prague Castle)
Overview of attractions
Prague Castle is located in the hills of the Vltava River, has a history of more than 1,000 years, more than 60 years of the Office of the President of the successive presidents are located in the Castle, so it is also known as the "Presidential Palace", the Castle includes the following parts. Prague Castle GalleryThe newly reconstructed Prague Castle Gallery (Obrazarna Prazskeho Hradu) must pay a separate fee to enter, which has a collection of many classical paintings, starting from as early as the 16th century, and mainly from the 16th to 18th centuries paintings, including the works of artists from various countries such as Italy, Germany and the Netherlands*** There are more than 4,000 paintings in the collection. The original site of the Prague Castle Gallery was the Castle Stables. In the process of transforming the site into the Castle Gallery, the earliest church of Prague Castle, the Church of the Holy Virgins, was unearthed and part of its remains are stored in the Castle Gallery. Katedrala sv. Vita is the most important landmark of Prague Castle. In addition to its rich architectural features, Katedrala sv. Vita is the royal coronation and burial place of Prague Castle. St. Vitus Cathedral was enlarged three times, the circular church of St. Wenceslas in 929 A.D., which was enlarged into a rectangular church in 1060 A.D., and the current Gothic building, which was ordered by Charles IV in 1344 A.D., but was not officially finished until 1929 A.D. A few highlights of a visit to St. Vitus Cathedral include the 20th-century stained glass windows, the Tomb of St. John, and the St. Wenceslas Chapel. As you enter the church, the brightly colored stained glass on the left is the work of Prague's famous painter Muha, adding a modern touch to this 1,000 year-old church; around the back of the altar, in sterling silver and ornately decorated, is the Tomb of St. John, the 1736 Counter-Reformer who is buried in St. Vitus Cathedral and commemorated in sterling silver and ornate decorations. Continuing on is the Chapel of St. Wenceslas, which, compared to the Tomb of St. John in sterling silver in front of it, presents a gilded splendor, from the frescoes to the sacramental steeple decorated with gold colors, which is of considerable artistic value. From the outside, the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral has many classic architectural features, such as the arches on the main doors and the flying buttresses, all of which are magnificently decorated. Old Palace The Old Palace (Stary Kralovsky Palac) was the residence of the former kings of Bohemia, and various parts of it have been restored by successive rulers. The entire palace building is roughly divided into three floors, the entrance is the high Vladislav Hall, which is also the center of gravity of the entire palace, to the upper floor of the new territorial hall has a lot of images of the early clerks; the lower floor of the Gothic Charles IV Palace, and imitation of the Romanesque palace halls, most of the rooms in the Great Fire of 1541 A.D. was destroyed, and therefore some of them are the remains of the later reconstruction. St. George's Church The red church with twin towers behind St. Vitus Cathedral (Bazilika sv. Jiri) is St. George's Church, the best-preserved Romanesque building in the Czech Republic. Completed in 920 and enlarged several times since then, most recently at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the church's cornerstone and the two minarets were preserved from the 10th century to the present day. The St. George's Convent, the first convent in Bohemia, was demolished and converted into a military barracks in the 18th century. It is now the National Gallery, which houses a collection of Czech art from the 14th to the 17th centuries, including paintings from different periods of Gothic art, the Renaissance and the Baroque. Gunpowder TowerThe Gunpowder Tower (Prasna Vez-Mihulka) here, like the Gunpowder Tower in the Old Town Square, was originally used as a fortress to guard the city, but was later used for storing gunpowder, and in the 16th century the king had warlocks reside here to study the art of turning lead into gold, and later in the 18th century it was used to house the sacristy of the Cathedral of St. Vitus. It is now a museum exhibiting art, astronomy and alchemical artifacts of the Middle Ages. Zlata Ulicka (Golden Lane) One of the most famous sights in Prague Castle, Zlata Ulicka (Golden Lane) is as crowded with tourists as the Charles Bridge, and No. 22, where Kafka lived, is now a small, cute bookstore that sells Kafka's works. Golden Lane, between St. George's Church and the Toy Museum, is the most picturesque street in Prague, where you turn into a small alley and arrive at the Golden Lane of huts, which looks like a fairy tale with small houses. Originally a place for servants and craftsmen, Golden Lane was later named after the magicians who made gold for the king, but after the 19th century, it gradually became a slum. It was redeveloped in the mid-20th century and the original premises were converted into small stores. Nowadays, different kinds of souvenirs and handicrafts can be found in each store, such as wooden toys at No.16, tin Prague soldiers at No.20, hand-painted clothes at No.21, and No.19 has the most interesting appearance, with a lovely garden shed with flowers and trees.