We think Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is the most beautiful city on this trip.

The original settlements of Prague comprised of 5 boroughs, Old Town, New Town, Castle (Hradčany), Little Quarter (Malá Strana), and Jewish Quarter along both sides of the River Vltava. Now, they form the center of a much larger modern metropolitan of 1.3 million people.

For two brief periods in history (under Charles IV and Rudolph II), Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, and flourished as the political center of Central Europe. Otherwise, from 15th to early 20th century, Prague and all of Bohemia were ruled by the Hapsburg dynasty from Vienna. Revolts were brutally suppressed, such as the defenestration of 1618, which sparked the Thirty Years' War. The Hapsburg rulers banned the Czech language from schools and publication. By 1800, only the peasants spoke Czech. The intelligentsia class only spoke German. The reawakening of Czech nationalism began in the 19th century. That dream was partly realized at the end of WWI with the dissolution of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. However, throughout most of the 20th century, the Czech homeland was occupied by Nazi Germany or Communist Soviet Union.
Please click here to see photos from our 2014 trip.

Prague Castle (Pražský hrad): Located on a hill on the west side of the River Vltava, it has always been the administrative center of Bohemia. The St. Vitus Cathedral dominates its skyline.
Lesser Quarter (Malá Strana): The area immediately below the Prague Castle on the west side of the River Vltava, is connected to the Old Town by the Charles Bridge.
Old Town (Staré Město): Center around the Old Town Square on the east side of the River Vltava, it is Prague’s oldest settlement. It is connected to the Lesser Quarter by the Charles Bridge.
New Town (Nové město): This settlement to the south and outside the original Old Town city wall was found by Charles IV in the 14th century. Larger than the Old Town, its most famous landmark is Wenceslas Square.
Jewish Quarter (Josefov): This area immediately north of Old Town started as a Jewish settlement and ghetto in the 10th century. It was the last of the 5 boroughs to join the city of Prague in 1850.
Vyšehrad Castle: A fortress on a hill along the River Vltava south of New Town, it was first built in the 10th century. It gradually lost influence to the Prague Castle as a royal residence and seat of government.	Prague Castle Charles Bridge Prague Old Town Prague New Town St. Vitus over Charles Bridge Rudolfinum Vyšehrad Castle Vltava River Lock The Moldau Vltava River Prague at Twilight Sunset behind Prague Castle Antonín Dvořák Bedrich Smetana Church of St. Peter and Paul Golden Muse Svatopluka Cecha Bridge Prague Castle over Vltava River Devil´s Stream Vltava River Lock By the Vltava River Malá Strana (Lesser Quarter) Angelo Hotel Angelo Hotel Wedding Day in Prague Prague Panorama Prague Panorama comment | share Type your message and click Add Comment It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name Name Email help private comment NeilG 07-Dec-2007 23:14 Nice gallery of a great city. Voted rbreitz 07-Nov-2007 22:08 Wonderful tour via great photos - Thank You!! Guest 21-Sep-2007 17:20 Nice Gallery, good lighting. We were there back in April and had beautiful Sunshine all week, have a look on: http://www.pbase.com/neil_t/prague&page=all Well Done, Neil Guest 30-Aug-2007 20:42 Very nice gallery Peter ! Regards Tom Briggs 18-Aug-2007 20:06 Beautiful gallery, Peter, and we agree it's arguably the most beautiful city in Europe ... our gallery from 2005 is athttp://www.pbase.com/tombriggs/prague Hans Chr. Sřrensen 13-Aug-2007 08:41 Very nice gallery! So many great pictures. Type your message and click Add Comment It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name Name Email help private comment click on thumbnails for full image