Editing Prague (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Prague}}
{{For timeline}}
Prague has grown from a settlement stretching from [[Prague Castle]] in the north to the fort of [[Vyšehrad]] in the south, to become the capital of a modern European country. With archaeological deposits over 10m deep, the city serves as a model for the implementation of comprehensive regulations for the protection of archaeological heritage throughout the Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Novák|first1=D|last2=Staňková|first2=V|last3=Rýpar|first3=V|last4=Podliska|first4=J|last5=Hasil|first5=J|title=Managing the Urban Archaeological Heritage of Prague: The Benefits of Collaboration|journal=Internet Archaeology|date=2025|issue=70|doi=10.11141/ia.70.3|doi-access=free|url=https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue70/3/index.html|archive-date=24 March 2025|access-date=25 March 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250324173203/https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue70/3/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Early history===
[[File:Josef Mathauser - Kněžna Libuše věští slávu Prahy.jpg|thumb|The mythological princess [[Libuše]] prophesies the glory of Prague]]
The region was settled as early as the [[Paleolithic]] age.<ref name="Demetz1997" /> Jewish chronicler [[David Gans|David Solomon Ganz]], citing [[Cyriacus Spangenberg]], claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in {{Circa|1306}} [[Anno Domini|BC]] by an ancient king, Boyya.<ref name=ganz />

Around the fifth and fourth century BC, a [[Celts|Celtic]] tribe appeared in the area, later establishing settlements, including the largest Celtic [[oppidum]] in [[Bohemia]], Závist, in a present-day south suburb [[Zbraslav]] in Prague, and naming the region of Bohemia, which means "home of the Boii people".<ref name="Demetz1997">{{cite book |last=Demetz |first=Peter|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/pragueinblackgol00deme |title=Prague in Black and Gold: Scenes from the Life of a European City |publisher=Hill and Wang |location=New York |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8090-7843-1 |chapter=Chapter One: Libussa, or Versions of Origin |access-date=7 April 2016|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="bohemiaradio">{{cite web |url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/unearthing-bohemias-celtic-heritage-ahead-of-samhain-the-new-year |title=Unearthing Bohemia's Celtic heritage ahead of Samhain, the 'New Year' |last=Kenety |first=Brian |date=29 October 2004 |publisher=Czech Radio |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-date=10 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810140803/http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/unearthing-bohemias-celtic-heritage-ahead-of-samhain-the-new-year |url-status=live}}</ref> In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] ([[Marcomanni]], [[Quadi]], [[Lombards]] and possibly the [[Suebi]]), leading some to place the seat of the [[Marcomanni]] king, [[Maroboduus]], in Závist.<ref name="marobudradio">{{cite web |url=http://www.rozhlas.cz/leonardo/historie/_zprava/202797 |title=Atlantis české archeologie |last=Kenety |first=Brian |date=19 November 2005 |publisher=Czech Radio |language=cs |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-date=13 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913181056/http://www.rozhlas.cz/leonardo/historie/_zprava/202797 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ganz">Dovid Solomon Ganz, Tzemach Dovid (3rd edition), part 2, Warsaw 1878, pp. 71, 85 ([https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21930&st=&pgnum=72&hilite=available online] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421152851/https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21930&st=&pgnum=72&hilite=available |date=21 April 2022}})</ref> Around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map drawn by Roman geographer [[Ptolemy|Ptolemaios]] mentioned a Germanic city called ''Casurgis''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cs-magazin.com/index.php?a=a2011021048 |title=Praha byla Casurgis |trans-title=Prague was Casurgis |language=cs |publisher=cs-magazin.com |date=February 2011 |access-date=7 April 2016 |archive-date=13 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413175204/http://www.cs-magazin.com/index.php?a=a2011021048 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the late 5th century AD, during the great [[Migration Period]] following the collapse of the [[Western Roman Empire]], the Germanic tribes living in Bohemia moved westwards and, probably in the 6th century, the [[West Slavs|Slavic tribes]] settled the Central Bohemian Region. In the following three centuries, the [[Czechs|Czech tribes]] built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in the [[Divoká Šárka|Šárka valley]], [[Jinonice|Butovice]] and [[Levý Hradec]].<ref name="Demetz1997" />
[[File:Maqueta del castell de praga.JPG|thumb|left|upright|A model representing [[Prague Castle]] and its surroundings in the 10th century]]

The construction of what came to be known as [[Prague Castle]] began near the end of the 9th century, expanding a fortified settlement that had existed on the site since the year 800.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinky.cz/kultura/24807-slovane-na-hrade-zili-uz-sto-let-pred-borivojem.html |title=Slované na Hradě žili už sto let před Bořivojem&nbsp;– |publisher=[[Novinky.cz]] |access-date=14 April 2011 |archive-date=5 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405080130/http://www.novinky.cz/kultura/24807-slovane-na-hrade-zili-uz-sto-let-pred-borivojem.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hrad.cz/en/prague-castle/history/archaeological-research.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401033615/http://www.hrad.cz/en/prague-castle/history/archaeological-research.shtml |archive-date=1 April 2009 |title=Archaeological Research&nbsp;– Prague Castle |publisher=Hrad.cz |date=8 July 2005 |access-date=30 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort [[Vyšehrad]], was founded in the 10th century, some 70 years later than Prague Castle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.praguewelcome.cz/en/visit/monuments/top-monuments/65-vysehrad.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312091714/http://www.praguewelcome.cz/en/visit/monuments/top-monuments/65-vysehrad.shtml |archive-date=12 March 2013 |title=TOP MONUMENTS – VYŠEHRAD |publisher=praguewelcome.cz |access-date=14 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Prague Castle is dominated by the [[St. Vitus Cathedral|cathedral]], which began construction in 1344, but was not completed until the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/gothic-buildings-prague |title=5 of the Best Gothic Buildings in Prague|work=Architectural Digest |access-date=23 August 2018 |archive-date=23 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823210649/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/gothic-buildings-prague |url-status=live}}</ref>

The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th-century Czech duchess and prophetess [[Libuše]] and her husband, [[Přemysl, the Ploughman|Přemysl]], founder of the [[Přemyslid dynasty]]. Legend says that Libuše, prophesied from her castle at Vyšehrad, came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars". She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site.<ref name="Demetz1997" />

The region became the seat of the [[duke]]s, and later [[King of Bohemia|kings of Bohemia]]. Under Duke of Bohemia [[Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia|Boleslaus II the Pious]] the area became a [[Diocese|bishopric]] in 973.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FeFACISbhCgC&q=archbishopric&pg=PA115 |title=Hastening Toward Prague: Power and Society in the Medieval Czech Lands |last=Wolverton |first=Lisa |date=9 October 2012 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0812204223 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410180614/https://books.google.com/books?id=FeFACISbhCgC&q=archbishopric&pg=PA115 |url-status=live}}</ref> Until Prague was elevated to [[archbishopric]] in 1344, it was under the jurisdiction of the [[Archbishopric of Mainz]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.radio.cz/en/section/travel-tip/prague-an-architectural-gem-in-the-heart-of-europe |title=Prague – an architectural gem in the heart of Europe {{!}} Radio Prague |work=Radio Praha |access-date=23 August 2018 |archive-date=24 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724001258/http://radio.cz/en/section/travel-tip/prague-an-architectural-gem-in-the-heart-of-europe |url-status=live}}</ref>

Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from across Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the [[Al-Andalus|Hispano-Jewish]] merchant and traveler [[Abraham ben Jacob]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hx2xBWN3hX0C&q=Ibrahim+ibn+Ya%27qub+prague+jew+965&pg=PA8 |title=The Jews of Bohemia and Moravia: Facing the Holocaust |last=Rothkirchen |first=Livia |author-link=Livia Rothkirchen |date=1 January 2006 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0803205024 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410180614/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hx2xBWN3hX0C&q=Ibrahim+ibn+Ya%27qub+prague+jew+965&pg=PA8 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Old New Synagogue]] of 1270 still stands in the city. Prague was also once home to a [[Slavery|slave]] market.<ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=cHRvtwTLcMAC&pg=PA417 The Cambridge Economic History of Europe: Trade and industry in the Middle Ages] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503104929/https://books.google.com/books?id=cHRvtwTLcMAC&pg=PA417&dq&hl=en |date=3 May 2016}}''". Michael Moïssey Postan, Edward Miller, Cynthia Postan (1987). [[Cambridge University Press]]. p. 417. {{ISBN|0-521-08709-0}}.</ref>

At the site of the ford in the Vltava river, King [[Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia|Vladislaus I]] had the first bridge built in 1170, the Judith Bridge (Juditin most), named in honor of his wife [[Judith of Thuringia]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://www.radio.cz/en/static/charles-bridge/history |title=History of Charles Bridge {{!}} Radio Prague |work=Radio Praha |access-date=23 August 2018 |archive-date=5 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905164019/https://www.radio.cz/en/static/charles-bridge/history |url-status=live}}</ref> This bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1342, but some of the original foundation stones of that bridge remain in the river. It was rebuilt and named the Charles Bridge.<ref name=":0" />

In 1257, under King [[Ottokar II of Bohemia|Ottokar II]], [[Malá Strana]] ("Lesser Quarter") was founded in Prague on the site of an older village in what would become the [[Hradčany]] (Prague Castle) area.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UhkCBQAAQBAJ&q=king+ottokar+Mal%C3%A1+Strana+1257&pg=PT337 |title=The Rough Guide to Prague |last=Guides |first=Rough |date=16 January 2015 |publisher=Rough Guides UK |isbn=9780241196311 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407215756/https://books.google.com/books?id=UhkCBQAAQBAJ&q=king+ottokar+Mal%C3%A1+Strana+1257&pg=PT337 |url-status=live}}</ref> This was the district of the German people, who had the right to administer the law autonomously, pursuant to [[Magdeburg rights]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBFwIGv2qMEC&q=Magdeburg+rights+Mal%C3%A1+Strana&pg=PA196 |title=The West European City: A Geographical Interpretation |last=Dickinson |first=Robert E. |author-link=Robert E. Dickinson |date=2003 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780415177115 |access-date=28 October 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407160748/https://books.google.com/books?id=bBFwIGv2qMEC&q=Magdeburg+rights+Mal%C3%A1+Strana&pg=PA196 |url-status=live}}</ref> The new district was on the bank opposite of the [[Old Town (Prague)|Staré Město]] ("Old Town"), which had [[borough]] status and was bordered by a line of walls and fortifications.

===Late Middle Ages===
[[File:Archikatedra Świętych Wita, Wacława i Wojciecha w Pradze 20190816 1333 5260.jpg|thumb|The current [[St. Vitus Cathedral]] in Prague was founded in 1344.]]
Prague flourished during the 14th-century reign (1346–1378) of [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor]] and the king of [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] of the new [[House of Luxembourg|Luxembourg dynasty]]. As King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, he transformed Prague into an imperial capital. In the 1470s, Prague had around 70,000 inhabitants and with an area of 360 ha (~1.4 square miles) it was the third-largest city in the Holy Roman Empire.<ref>{{cite news |title=Deset století architektury (1997) [TV cyklus] - Nové Město pražské (1998), 2. série - 21. díl |url=https://www.fdb.cz/film/deset-stoleti-architektury-2-serie-21-dil-nove-mesto-prazske/52565 |work=FDb.cz |language=cs |access-date=4 March 2023 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305221610/https://www.fdb.cz/film/deset-stoleti-architektury-2-serie-21-dil-nove-mesto-prazske/52565 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Charles IV ordered the building of the [[New Town, Prague|New Town]] (Nové Město) adjacent to the [[Old Town (Prague)|Old Town]] and laid out the design himself. The Charles Bridge, replacing the Judith Bridge destroyed in the flood just prior to his reign, was erected to connect the east bank districts to the Malá Strana and castle area. In 1347, he founded [[Charles University]], the [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|oldest university]] in Central Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cuni.cz |title=Charles University Official Website |access-date=21 April 2022 |archive-date=29 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029011251/http://www.cuni.cz/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

His father [[John of Bohemia]] began construction of the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] [[St. Vitus Cathedral|Saint Vitus Cathedral]], within the largest of the Prague Castle courtyards, on the site of the Romanesque rotunda there. Prague was elevated to an archbishopric in 1344,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Palmitessa |first=James |date=2002 |title=The Archbishops of Prague in Urban Struggles of the Confessional Age 1561–1612 |url=http://brrp.org/proceedings/brrp4/palmitessa.pdf |journal=Bohemian Reformation and Religious Practice |volume=4 |pages=261–273 |access-date=24 February 2019 |archive-date=25 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225103017/http://brrp.org/proceedings/brrp4/palmitessa.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> the year the cathedral was begun.

The city had a [[mint (coin)|mint]] and was a center of trade for German and Italian bankers and merchants. The social order, however, became more turbulent due to the rising power of the [[Artisan|craftsmen]]'s [[guild]]s (themselves often torn by internal conflicts), and the increasing number of poor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKechnie |first=Gordon |date=2018-11-12 |title=PRAGUE REVISITED – PART I {{!}} Hungarian Review |url=https://hungarianreview.com/article/20181119_prague_revisited_part_i/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=hungarianreview.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-25 |title=Prague Story |url=https://czechtour.org/en/prague-story/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=CzechTour.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Hunger Wall, a substantial fortification wall south of Malá Strana and the castle area was built during a famine in the 1360s. The work is reputed to have been ordered by Charles IV as a means of providing employment and food to the workers and their families.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prague's Hunger Wall, Impressive Story and Sight |url=https://www.praguewise.com/hunger-wall.html |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=PragueWise}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hunger Wall Visiting Hours, Tickets, and Historical Significance in Prague |url=https://audiala.com/en/czech-republic/prague/hunger-wall |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Audiala: Your Pocket Tour Guide |language=en}}</ref>

Charles IV died in 1378. During the reign of his son, King [[Wenceslaus, King of the Romans|Wenceslaus IV]] (1378–1419), a period of intense turmoil ensued. During Easter 1389, members of the Prague clergy announced that Jews had desecrated the host (Eucharistic wafer) and the clergy encouraged mobs to pillage, ransack and burn the Jewish quarter. Nearly the entire Jewish population of Prague (ca 750 people) was murdered.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.everything2.org/title/The%2520Prague%2520Pogrom%2520of%25201389 |publisher=Everything2 |title=The Prague Pogrom of 1389 |date=April 1389 |access-date=16 June 2009 |archive-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618060237/http://www.everything2.org/title/The%2520Prague%2520Pogrom%2520of%25201389 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prague.cz/jewish-quarter/ |publisher=prague.cz |title=The former Jewish Quarter in Prague |date=April 1389 |access-date=16 June 2009 |archive-date=17 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417235108/http://www.prague.cz/jewish%2Dquarter/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Astronomical Clock (8341899828).jpg|left|thumb|The [[Prague astronomical clock]] was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.]]
[[Jan Hus]], a theologian and [[Rector (academia)|rector]] at Charles University, preached in Prague. In 1402, he began giving sermons in the [[Bethlehem Chapel]]. Inspired by [[John Wycliffe]], these sermons focused on what were seen as radical reforms of a corrupt Church. Having become too dangerous for the political and religious establishment, Hus was summoned to the [[Council of Constance]], put on trial for [[heresy]], and burned at the stake in [[Konstanz]] in 1415.

Four years later Prague experienced its [[Defenestrations of Prague|first defenestration]], when the people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest [[Jan Želivský]]. Hus' death, coupled with Czech proto-nationalism and [[proto-Protestantism]], had spurred the [[Hussite Wars]]. Peasant rebels, led by the general [[Jan Žižka]], along with Hussite troops from Prague, defeated Emperor [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]], in the [[Battle of Vítkov Hill]] in 1420.

During the [[Hussite Wars]] when Prague was attacked by "Crusader" and mercenary forces, the city militia fought bravely under the Prague Banner. This swallow-tailed banner is approximately {{cvt|4|by|6|ft|m|abbr=off}}, with a red field sprinkled with small white fleurs-de-lis, and a silver old Town Coat-of-Arms in the center. The words "PÁN BŮH POMOC NAŠE" (The Lord is our Relief/Help) appeared above the coat-of-arms, with a Hussite chalice centered on the top. Near the swallow-tails is a crescent-shaped golden sun with rays protruding.

One of these banners was captured by Swedish troops during the [[Battle of Prague (1648)]] when they captured the western bank of the [[Vltava river]] and were repulsed from the eastern bank, they placed it in the [[Swedish Army Museum|Royal Military Museum]] in [[Stockholm]]; although this flag still exists, it is in very poor condition. They also took the [[Codex Gigas]] and the [[Codex Argenteus]]. The earliest evidence indicates that a [[gonfalon]] with a municipal charge painted on it was used for the Old Town as early as 1419. Since this city militia flag was in use before 1477 and during the Hussite Wars, it is the oldest still preserved municipal flag of Bohemia.

In the following two centuries, Prague strengthened its role as a merchant city. Many noteworthy Gothic buildings<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.hrad.cz/castle/architektura/gotika_uk.html |title=Architecture of the Gothic |publisher=Old.hrad.cz |date=13 October 2005 |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808144404/http://old.hrad.cz/castle/architektura/gotika_uk.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hrad.cz/en/prague-castle/photogallery/prague-castle/9.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401061009/http://www.hrad.cz/en/prague-castle/photogallery/prague-castle/9.shtml |archive-date=1 April 2009 |title=Old Royal Palace with Vladislav Hall – Prague Castle |publisher=Hrad.cz |date=16 December 2011 |access-date=18 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> were erected and [[Vladislav Hall]] of the Prague Castle was added.

===Habsburg era===
[[File:Prague banner c1477.png|upright=0.7|thumb|Depiction of the "Prague Banner" (municipal flag dated to the 16th century)<ref>
This swallow-tailed banner is approximately {{cvt|4|by|6|ft|m|abbr=off}}, with a red field sprinkled with small white fleurs-de-lis, and a silver old Town Coat-of-Arms in the centre. The words ''PÁN BŮH POMOC NAŠE'' (The Lord God is our Help) appeared above the coat-of-arms, with a Hussite "host with chalice" centered on the top. Near the swallow-tails is a crescent-shaped golden sun with rays protruding. One of these banners was captured by Swedish troops in [[Battle of Prague (1648)]], when they captured the western bank of the Vltava River and were repulsed from the eastern bank, they placed it in the Royal Military Museum in [[Stockholm]]; although this flag still exists, it is in very poor condition. They also took the [[Codex Gigas]] and the [[Codex Argenteus]]. The earliest evidence indicates that a gonfalon with a municipal charge painted on it was used for Old Town as early as 1419. Since this city militia flag was in use before 1477 and during the Hussite Wars, it is the oldest still preserved municipal flag of Bohemia.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}</ref>]]
[[File:Praha CoA CZ small.svg|upright=0.7|thumb|The [[coat of arms of Prague]] (1649)<ref name=Vojtisek>{{ill|Václav Vojtíšek|cs}}, ''[http://www.historie.hranet.cz/heraldika/pdf/vojtisek1928a.pdf Znak Hlavního Města Prahy / Les Armoires de la Ville de Prague] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417192932/http://www.historie.hranet.cz/heraldika/pdf/vojtisek1928a.pdf |date=17 April 2016}}'' (1928), cited after [http://www.nakedtourguideprague.com/the-coat-of-arms-of-prague/ nakedtourguideprague.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009114718/http://www.nakedtourguideprague.com/the-coat-of-arms-of-prague/ |date=9 October 2016}} (2015).</ref>]]

In 1526, the Bohemian estates elected [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] of the [[House of Habsburg]]. The fervent Catholicism of its members brought them into conflict in Bohemia, and then in Prague, where Protestant ideas were gaining popularity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prague.st/city-info/static/eng/czech-history/religious-conflicts.php |title=Religious conflicts |publisher=Prague.st |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235726/http://www.prague.st/city-info/static/eng/czech-history/religious-conflicts.php |url-status=live}}</ref> These problems were not preeminent under Holy Roman Emperor [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II]], elected King of Bohemia in 1576, who chose Prague as his home. He lived in Prague Castle, where his court welcomed not only astrologers and magicians but also scientists, musicians, and artists. Rudolf was an art lover as well, and Prague became the capital of European culture. This was a prosperous period for the city: famous people living there in that age include the astronomers [[Tycho Brahe]] and [[Johannes Kepler]], the painter [[Giuseppe Arcimboldo|Arcimboldo]], the alchemists [[Edward Kelley]] and [[John Dee]], the poet [[Elizabeth Jane Weston]], and others.

In 1618, the famous [[Defenestrations of Prague|second defenestration of Prague]] provoked the [[Thirty Years' War]], a particularly harsh period for Prague and Bohemia. [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]] of Habsburg was deposed, and his place as King of Bohemia taken by [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine]]; however his army was crushed in the [[Battle of White Mountain]] (1620) not far from the city. Following this in 1621 was an execution of 27 Czech Protestant leaders (involved in the uprising) in Old Town Square and the exiling of many others. Prague was forcibly converted back to [[Roman Catholicism]] followed by the rest of Czech lands. The city suffered subsequently during the war under an attack by [[Electorate of Saxony]] (1631) and during the [[Battle of Prague (1648)]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.family-lines.cz/html/Articles/30-war.htm |title=The Kingdom of Bohemia during the Thirty Years' War |publisher=Family-lines.cz |access-date=14 April 2011 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718172046/http://www.family-lines.cz/html/Articles/30-war.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000. In the second half of the 17th century, Prague's population began to grow again. [[History of the Jews in the Czech Republic|Jews]] had been in Prague since the end of the 10th century and, by 1708, they accounted for about a quarter of Prague's population.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Prague.html |title=Prague |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-date=13 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113164529/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Prague.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1689, a great fire devastated Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. In 1713–14, a major outbreak of [[plague (disease)|plague]] hit Prague one last time, killing 12,000 to 13,000 people.<ref>M. Signoli, D. Chevé, A. Pascal (2007).''"[https://books.google.com/books?id=3u3rNCWtv0MC&pg=PA51 Plague epidemics in Czech countries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503110934/https://books.google.com/books?id=3u3rNCWtv0MC&pg=PA51&dq&hl=en |date=3 May 2016}}"''. p.51.</ref>
[[File:Frantisek Palacky monument.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[František Palacký Monument, Prague|Monument]] to [[František Palacký]], a significant member of the Czech National Revival, created by [[Stanislav Sucharda]].<ref>Source: [https://umenipromesto.eu/katalog/detail/1364?v=list umenipromesto.eu]</ref>]]

In 1744, [[Frederick the Great]] of Prussia invaded Bohemia. He took Prague after a severe and prolonged siege in the course of which a large part of the town was destroyed.<ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Prague|volume=22|pages=248–250}}</ref> [[Maria Theresa|Empress Maria Theresa]] expelled the Jews from Prague in 1745; though she rescinded the expulsion in 1748, the proportion of Jewish residents in the city never recovered.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Jewish History of Prague |url=https://aish.com/the-jewish-history-of-prague/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Aish.com|date=6 October 2022 }}</ref> In 1757 the [[Prussia]]n bombardment<ref name=EB1911/> destroyed more than one-quarter of the city and heavily damaged St. Vitus Cathedral. However, a month later, Frederick the Great was defeated and forced to retreat from Bohemia.

The economy of Prague continued to improve during the 18th century. The population increased to 80,000 inhabitants by 1771. Many rich merchants and nobles enhanced the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens full of art and music, creating a [[Baroque]] city renowned throughout the world to this day.

In 1784, under [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]], the four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město, and Hradčany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called [[Josefov]], was included only in 1850. The [[Industrial Revolution]] produced great changes and developments in Prague, as new factories could take advantage of the coal mines and ironworks of the nearby regions. The first suburb, [[Karlín]], was created in 1817, and twenty years later the population exceeded 100,000.

[[Revolutions of 1848|The revolutions in Europe in 1848]] also touched Prague, but they were fiercely suppressed. In the following years, the [[Czech National Revival]] began its rise, until it gained the majority in the town council in 1861. Prague had a large number of German speakers in 1848, but by 1880 the number of German speakers had decreased to 14% (42,000), and by 1910 to 6.7% (37,000), due to a massive increase in the city's overall population caused by the influx of [[Czechs]] from the rest of Bohemia and [[Moravia]] and the increasing prestige and importance of the Czech language as part of the Czech National Revival. In 1891, the city council ordered that all German inscriptions be removed in Prague, while Czechs at the same time demanded equal status for the Czech and German languages in Bohemia and Moravia.<ref>{{cite book|title=Das böhmische Staatsrecht in den deutsch-tschechischen Auseinandersetzungen des 19. und 20. Jahrhundert|editor=Kurt Oberdorffer|publisher=Elwert|year= 1960|pages=38|contribution=Stellungnahme des Deutschtums er Sudetnländer zum "Historischen Staatsrecht"|author=Helmut Slapnicka}}</ref>

{{Panorama|image=Panorama von Prag – Vincenc Morstadt – 1835.jpg||height=220|caption=Panorama of Prague from the Schönborn Garden, circa 1835. The drawing by Czech vedutist [[Vincenc Morstadt]] was engraved by Friedrich Geissler.}}

===20th century===
[[File:Praha 2009-12-26-27.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Prague|Statue]] of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk near [[Prague Castle]]]]

====First Czechoslovak Republic====
{{Main|First Czechoslovak Republic}}
World War I ended with the defeat of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] and the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prague was chosen as its capital and Prague Castle as the seat of president [[Tomáš Masaryk|Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]]. At this time Prague was a true European capital with highly developed industry. By 1930, the population had risen to 850,000.

====Second World War====
[[File:Prague liberation 1945 konev.jpg|thumb|The Red Army [[Prague offensive|enters]] Prague in May 1945]]
{{further|German occupation of Czechoslovakia}}
[[Hitler]] ordered the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] to enter Prague on 15 March 1939, and from Prague Castle proclaimed [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia|Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate]]. For most of its history, Prague had been a multi-ethnic city<ref name=TOT1>{{cite web |url=http://www.atlas-europa.de/t04/bevoelkerung/europ_staedte/pdf/BevStaedte-Tabelle_dt.pdf |title=Einwohnerzahl europäischer Städte |quote=Prag insgesamt 1940 928.000 |language=de |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=17 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517074618/http://www.atlas-europa.de/t04/bevoelkerung/europ_staedte/pdf/BevStaedte-Tabelle_dt.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> with important Czech, German and (mostly native German-speaking) Jewish populations.<ref name=JEW1>{{cite web |url=http://www.jüdische-gemeinden.de/index.php/gemeinden/p-r/1593-prag |title=Aus der Geschichte jüdischer Gemeinden |quote=1937/38 ca. 45.000 |language=de |access-date=21 April 2022 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331004340/https://www.xn--jdische-gemeinden-22b.de/index.php/gemeinden/p-r/1593-prag |url-status=live}}</ref> From 1939, when the country was occupied by [[Nazi Germany]], Hitler took over Prague Castle. During the [[Second World War]], most Jews were [[Holocaust|deported and killed]] by the Germans. In 1942, Prague was witness to the assassination of one of the most powerful men in [[Nazi Germany]]—[[Reinhard Heydrich]]—during [[Operation Anthropoid]], accomplished by Czechoslovak national heroes [[Jozef Gabčík]] and [[Jan Kubiš]]. Hitler ordered bloody reprisals.<ref>Bryant, Chad (2007). ''Prague in Black: Nazi Rule and Czech Nationalism''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, p.&nbsp;167ff. {{isbn|978-0674024519}}</ref>

In February 1945, [[1945 Bombing of Prague|Prague suffered several bombing raids]] by the [[United States Army Air Forces|US Army Air Forces]]. 701 people were killed, more than 1,000 people were injured and some buildings, factories and historic landmarks ([[Emmaus Monastery]], [[Faust House (Prague)|Faust House]], [[Vinohrady Synagogue]]) were destroyed.<ref name="Bombing">{{cite web |url=http://www.praguepost.com/archivescontent/40592-looking-back-at-the-bombing-of-prague.html |title=Looking Back at the Bombing of Prague |website=[[The Prague Post]] |date=14 February 1945 |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=14 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114154013/http://www.praguepost.com/archivescontent/40592-looking-back-at-the-bombing-of-prague.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Many historic structures in Prague, however, escaped the destruction of the war and the damage was small compared to the total destruction of many other cities in that time. According to American pilots, it was the result of a navigational mistake. In March, a deliberate raid targeted military factories in Prague, killing about 370 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=The bombing of Prague from a new perspective |date=13 December 2011 |url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/czech-history/the-bombing-of-prague-from-a-new-perspective |publisher=Radio Prague |access-date=10 June 2018 |archive-date=20 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220172922/http://radio.cz/en/section/czech-history/the-bombing-of-prague-from-a-new-perspective |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 5 May 1945, two days before Germany capitulated, an [[Prague uprising|uprising]] against Germany occurred. Several thousand Czechs were killed in four days of bloody street fighting, with many atrocities committed by both sides. Fought concurrently with the Prague uprising, the [[Prague offensive]] significantly helped the [[liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945|liberation of Czechoslovakia]].  At daybreak on 9 May, the {{nowrap|[[3rd Shock Army]]}} of the [[Red Army]] took the capital city almost unopposed. The majority (about 50,000 people) of the German population of Prague either fled or were [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expelled]] by the [[Beneš decrees]] in the aftermath of the war.

====Cold War====
{{Main|History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989)|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic}}
[[File:Havla 1989.jpg|thumb|Velvet Revolution in November 1989]]

Prague was a city in a country under the military, economic, and political control of the [[Soviet Union]] (see [[Iron Curtain]] and [[COMECON]]). The world's largest [[Stalin Monument (Prague)|Stalin Monument]] was unveiled on [[Letná]] hill in 1955 and destroyed in 1962.
The 4th Czechoslovak Writers' Congress, held in the city in June 1967, took a strong position against the regime.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pehe |first1=Jiří |author-link=Jiří Pehe |title=Post-Communist Reflections of the Prague Spring |url=http://www.pehe.cz/Members/redaktor/post-communist-refections-of-the-prague-spring |website=Jiří Pehe |date=6 November 2008 |access-date=7 September 2017 |archive-date=17 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917092115/http://www.pehe.cz/Members/redaktor/post-communist-refections-of-the-prague-spring |url-status=live}}</ref> On 31 October 1967 students demonstrated at [[Strahov (district of Prague)|Strahov]]. This spurred the new secretary of the [[Czechoslovak Communist Party]], [[Alexander Dubček]], to proclaim a new deal in his city's and country's life, starting the short-lived season of the "[[socialism with a human face]]". It was the [[Prague Spring]], which aimed at the renovation of political institutions in a democratic way. The other [[Warsaw Pact]] member countries, except [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]] and [[People's Republic of Albania|Albania]], were led by the [[Soviet Union]] to repress these reforms through the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|invasion of Czechoslovakia]] and the capital, Prague, on 21 August 1968. The invasion, chiefly by infantry and tanks, effectively suppressed any further attempts at reform. The military occupation of Czechoslovakia by the [[Red Army]] would end only in 1991.{{fact|date=April 2025}} [[Jan Palach]] and [[Jan Zajíc]] committed suicide by [[self-immolation]] in January and February 1969 to protest against the "[[Normalization (Czechoslovakia)|normalization]]" of the country.

===After the Velvet Revolution===
[[File:Mrakodrapy v Praze 2018.jpg|thumb|Prague high-rise buildings at [[Pankrác]]]]
In 1989, after riot police beat back a peaceful student demonstration, the [[Velvet Revolution]] crowded the streets of Prague, and the capital of [[Czech and Slovak Federative Republic|Czechoslovakia]] benefited greatly from the new mood. In 1992, the [[Historic Centre of Prague]] and its monuments were inscribed as a cultural [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. In 1993, after the [[Velvet Divorce]], Prague became the capital city of the new Czech Republic. Since the 1990s, high-rise buildings began to be built in Prague in large quantities. In the late 1990s, Prague again became an important cultural center of Europe and was notably influenced by [[globalisation]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McAdams |first1=Michael |title=Global Cities as Centers of Cultural Influence: A Focus on Istanbul, Turkey |url=https://journals.openedition.org/transtexts/149 |work=Transtext(e)s Transcultures |date=1 September 2007 |issue=3 |pages=151–165 |doi=10.4000/transtexts.149 |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715123335/https://journals.openedition.org/transtexts/149 |url-status=live |issn=1771-2084}}</ref> In 2000, the [[IMF]] and [[World Bank]] summits took place in Prague and [[Anti-globalization protests in Prague|anti-globalization riots]] took place here. In 2002, Prague suffered from [[2002 European floods|widespread floods]] that damaged buildings and its underground transport system.

Prague [[Prague bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics|launched a bid]] for the [[2016 Summer Olympics]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/index.php?news=1174578823 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807095901/http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/index.php?news=1174578823 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |title=Prague Assembly Confirms 2016 Olympic Bid |publisher=Gamesbids.com |access-date=14 April 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> but failed to make the candidate city [[shortlist]]. In June 2009, as the result of financial pressures from the [[Great Recession|global recession]], Prague's officials chose to cancel the city's planned bid for the [[2020 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/olympic_bids/future_bids_2016/1216134440.html |title=It's Official&nbsp;– Prague Out of 2020 Bid |publisher=[[GamesBids]] |date=16 June 2009 |access-date=14 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910085801/http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/olympic_bids/future_bids_2016/1216134440.html |archive-date=10 September 2010}}</ref>

On 21 December 2023, [[2023 Prague shooting|a mass shooting]] took place at [[Charles University]] in central Prague. In total, 15 people were killed and 25 injured. It was the deadliest mass murder in the history of the Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lopatka |first1=Jan |last2=Hovet |first2=Jason |title=Gunman kills 14 in unprecedented attack at Prague university |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/prague-university-shooting-leaves-several-dead-police-say-2023-12-21/ |access-date=29 December 2023 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=22 December 2023}}</ref>