Prague A Travel Guide E-Book

Rene Schreiber

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest are cities with a long common history. Prague offers a great insight into the history of the Czech Republic from the Přemyslids, the Habsburgs, the Nazi dictatorship and the communist dictatorship to the present day.

Leseprobe

Rene Schreiber

Prague A Travel Guide

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Foreword

Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest are cities with a long common history. Prague offers a great insight into the history of the Czech Republic from the Přemyslids, the Habsburgs, the Nazi dictatorship and the communist dictatorship to the present day.

Treat yourself to a long weekend in Prague!

Journey

You can get to Prague by train, plane, bus or car.

I recommend you to arrive by train or by plane, as public transport is very well developed.

By train

From Vienna Central Station, the RegioJet runs directly to Prague Central Station in 4 hours and 30 minutes. In between, you can get on in Břeclav, Brno and other Czech cities.

The journey from Vienna to Prague and back again costs only 30 euros in the family compartment! On board there are also stewards and stewardesses who provide you with drinks and food. Depending on the tariff choice, free of charge or chargeable.

By plane

Flight between Vienna and Prague is possible, but unprofitable, as you have to pay 159 euros per flight and also have to be early at the airport. You also have to pay attention to the customs regulations when flying.

By bus

With the Flixbus you can also reach Prague from Vienna. Here the cost of the round trip is 46 euros.

By car

By car you have to take the A23 to the A5 and take the main road up to Brno and continue on the Czech motorway to Prague. The journey time corresponds approximately to the train journey.

Currency

The Czech Republic has not joined the EU's monetary union. The legal tender is the Czech koruna (Kč). The exchange rate in June 2022 was 1 euro to 24.30 Kč.

Public transport

Public transport (bus, tram, train and metro) is very well developed. A 72 hour ticket costs 330 Kč (13,60 €) and a 24 hour ticket 120 Kč (4,94 €).

Entry

To enter the Czech Republic, EU citizens only need a valid travel document (passport or identity card). Citizens from third countries contact the Czech embassy or check the information travel page of their own country to find out which destination is current.

If you come by car, you should inform yourself about the motorists club pages (ADAC, ÖAMTC, ARBÖ, etc.) which things are carried.

Introduction

Czech history is strongly linked to Austrian history until the First World War. Bohemia and Moravia were part of the Habsburg Monarchy until the end of World War I in 1918. After that, the Czechs and Slovaks formed Czechoslovakia. In this state were the territories of Bohemia and Moravia, today's Slovakia and the Carpathian Ukraine (today's Zakarptska Oblast).

Shortly after Austria was annexed by Hitler to Germany, Czechoslovakia was dissolved. The Sudetenland was annexed, Bohemia and Moravia became a protectorate, Slovakia became its own (vassal) state and Carpathian Ukraine became part of Hungary until 1944. Then it went back to the newly formed Czechoslovakia.

Czechoslovakia remained in existence until 31 December 1992 and was peacefully divided into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

Prague remained the capital of the Czech Republic and Bratislava became the Slovak capital. On 1 May 2004, both states joined the EU and the border between Austria and the Czech Republic and Slovakia fell.

Wenzel Square (Václavské náměstí)

The unique designed square was created in connection with the founding of the New Town by Charles IV in 1348. The course is 750 m long and 63 m wide in its upper half and 48 m in the lower part. Within several years, houses and craft workshops, malt factories and breweries were built. At that time the square was called the Horse Market (Koňský trh), because here was the horse trade and in addition, various agricultural products were sold here. Later, bays were built in the lower part for the sale of saddle and belt goods, fabrics and spices. The organization of markets ended here in 1877.

The market square also became the scene of executions, with gallows in both the lower and upper parts of the square. In the lower part of the square called Na Můstku (On the Bridge) there was a pond with a mill, in the middle of a public fountain and later three fountains were built in the axis of the square.

At the end of the 14th century, the Horse Gate or the St. Procopius Gate was built as part of the fortifications. It was located where today's National Museum stands.

In 1680, the Baroque statue of St. Wenceslas was erected at the confluence with Jindřišská Street. It was created by Jan Jiří Bendl and today it is located in Vyšehrad. Later, opposite today's Opletalova Street, a group of statues (John of Nepomuk with angels by an unknown sculptor) was built. The work dates from 1727. Both sculptures were removed in 1879. The place with the statue of the patron saint of the Czech lands became a place where the citizens of Prague gathered in extraordinary moments. After such a memorable popular assembly in 1848, Karel Havlíček Borovský proposed that the horse market be renamed St. Wenceslas Market.