All You Need To Know About The History Of Prague

By Author: Paul Pride
Total Articles: 10
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The next time you are taking your cycling holidays through Europe, you can impress all your friends within your activity holidays by your intimate knowledge of Prague’s history.
The first human settlements in the area of Prague are very ancient; as early as the fourth millennium BC, where a tribe of hunters settled. This lasted until in the sixth century with the arrival of the Slovenes. That is when the city began to take shape, parallel to the creation of the Slovenian state of Premislydi. The big bang occurred in the second half of the ninth century, when Prince Bořivoj settled on the rocky spur of Hradcany. There he built the original fortress, which he later expanded. The complete overhaul took place and the robust enrichment was then handed over and operated by Charles IV in the mid the fourteenth century. A similar story followed in the adjacent Church of St. Vito, which grew parallel to the castles progress. This was probably thanks to the surrounding areas donations, as all around the town of Hradcany it became inhabited mainly by courtiers. Prague became an important commercial and mercantile centre and ...
... the steady increase in population meant that during the thirteenth century it was necessary to establish the district of Mala Strana on the bank of the Vltava opposite the ancient Stare Mesto, which was equipped with the same period a massive ring of fortifications.
The dynasty died out in 1306 and the Bohemian throne passed to the Luxembourg dynasty, whose major proponent was Charles IV (1346 -1378). Its expansionist policy and its desire to strengthen the imperial authority started paving the way for a period of prosperity in Bohemia, especially from a business perspective, making the new capital of Prague a vital node for European communications and commerce. The most remarkable contributions that went towards enhancing the prestige of the emperor and the embellishment of the city came in 1348. The emperor founded the university that bears his name, one of the oldest and finest in Europe.
On the death of Charles the country lived a great religious and social crisis, linked to the theology professor Jan Hus who was a strong opponent of the church hierarchy, he found followers mainly among peasants and lower classes, to excommunication and death at the stake. His martyrdom and the banning of the Hussites in Bohemia caused a series is popular uprisings, which in 1419, with the first Defenestration of Prague turned into a real war. This is when Sigismund, King of Germany and the son of Charles, obtained the crown of Bohemia.
It was thanks to secret negotiations instigated by the Prague merchants with Austria that the Habsburgs ascended to the Bohemian throne in 1526. From 1583 Prague became the centre of reverence of Emperor Rudolf II, who brought back the status of capital, returning it to its former glory. However, the continuing separatist rebellions and uprisings that continued to shake the region provoked ferocious reprisals of the Habsburgs. After the Battle of Bila Hora to Prague in 1620 began a period of cultural decline, both social and political, which culminated with its governance enduring a transfer to the imperial court Vienna.
However, as early as the late 1600's, and especially after the great fire of 1689, the people of Prague began to raise their heads again and to resume the enrichment and expansion of the city. Since the end of the eighteenth century, Prague a process of administrative reorganization that brought the city architecture to look like that which it currently maintains. In 1918, Prague became the capital of Czechoslovakia and then became the capital of the Czech Republic in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet regime. So as you are considering activity holidays, and you come across a brochure of Prague, think about its rich heritage and remember those first hunters who settled here as you enjoy your cycling holidays through the town.

Peter Swift is a European historian who enjoys cycling holidays and activity holidays through the various countries he studies.