Prague

The story of Prague

Prague's Czech name, Praha, is tied to práh, "threshold", and to the prophecy of Princess Libuše, who foresaw "a city whose glory will touch the stars" rising where a man hewed a doorsill in the forest. The city has spent a millennium living up to the billing.

Under Emperor Charles IV in the 14th century Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, gaining its stone bridge, university, and cathedral. It survived Hussite wars, two famous defenestrations (Prague invented the word), Habsburg rule, and communism, emerging with every architectural era intact, which is why film crews use it as all of old Europe at once.

Curiosities: Prague Castle is listed by Guinness as the largest ancient castle complex in the world; the astronomical clock has performed its apostle parade since 1410; Czechs drink more beer per head than anyone on earth; and the alchemists' cottages of Golden Lane once housed Kafka too.