page_title: Prague
section_title: Cultural sights
hierarchical_section_title: Prague / Cultural sights
context_page_description: Prague is the capital and the largest city of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 1.4 million.
  Prague has been known as one of the most beautiful European cities since the Middle Ages. Often called the "City of 100 Towers", the "Rooftop of Europe" or the "Heart of Europe", Prague was a place where many merchants, artists and inventors met.
  Prague is full of historical monuments in all major artistic styles. The historical center of Prague is situated on both banks of the Vltava river. This historical center has six districts, which were once independent cities that joined together in the 18th century. These districts are Staré Město, Pražský hrad, Josefov, Nové Město, Malá Strana, Hradčany and Vyšehrad. It was Prince Bořivoj who established Prague Castle. There are also lots of museums, galleries, theaters, concert halls, and other historical buildings.
context_section_description: Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990 Prague has become one of Europe's most popular tourist places.  It has buildings dating from the 13th century to the present day. The castle looks very important on the hillside.  Charles Bridge is now closed to traffic so that pedestrians can walk across the bridge and buy souvenirs from the stalls.  There are many museums, palaces and theatres.  Tourists often go to the Old Town Square in the centre of Prague.  There are lots of buildings there from different periods of history.  The statue of Jan Hus stands high above the square.  There is a famous Astronomical Clock on the wall of the Old Town Hall.  There are museums dedicated to famous people including Smetana, Dvořák and Franz Kafka.  The Estates Theatre is one of Europe’s oldest theaters.  It was built in the 1780s and Mozart conducted the first performance of his opera Don Giovanni there.
  Prague is on the list of World Heritage Sites.
caption: The Astronomical Clock
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