The City of Prague, Czech Republic

Gaze at the magnificent skyline of Prague, punctuated by the towers & turrets, steeples & domes of this splendid, historic city & know you are in the Old World. "The City of a Hundred Spires" suffered little damage in the world wars. Its ancient bridges are intact and its old town squares are still completely bordered with original ornately decorated Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings, recently restored and in glorious condition. You will surely feel as if you are walking into history, since very little changed while this country languished under communism.

Like Rome, the city is built on seven hills on the banks of the River Vltava. This veritable treasury of the arts and architecture has in its historical center over 1,700 cultural monuments of immense value, hundreds of ancient houses, palaces and churches, old lanes and beautiful gardens. The famous panorama of Prague Castle is regarded as one of the most enchanting in the world.

Each part of Prague reveals the characteristic traits of the period of its origin. The image of the historical center was most markedly influenced by two architectural styles, namely Gothic and the Baroque.

The historical core of Prague is, however, much more than an urban conservation area. It is a lively center of a modern metropolis into which Prague has changed during the 20th century. And especially after the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Prague changed immensely offering to its visitors a number of new quality accommodations, typical restaurants, famous beer pubs, cafes, wine cellars, shops, visits to theatres, concert halls and other kinds of entertainment's.

Regional map of Czech Republic

The Czech Republic, short form in Czech is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague (Czech: Praha), a major tourist destination. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia.

The Czech lands were under Habsburg rule from 1526, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, disillusion with the Western response and occupation by the Red Army, the Communist party gained the majority in 1946 elections. Czechoslovakia was a Communist state from 1948 until the 1989 Velvet Revolution. On 1 January 1993, the country peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy. President Václav Klaus is the current head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government . The Parliament has two chambers — the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. It is also a member of the OECD, the Visegrád group and the Council of Europe.

The country is the first former member of the Comecon and the first present member of the Visegrád countries to achieve the status of a developed country (2006) according to the World Bank.^[1] The Czech Republic also ranks best compared to the former Comecon members in international surveys, including the Human Development Index and quality of life.

Since 2000, the Czech Republic is divided into thirteen regions (kraje, singular kraj) and the capital city of Prague. Each region has its own elected Regional Assembly (krajské zastupitelstvo) and hejtman (usually translated as hetman or "president"). In Prague, their powers are executed by the city council and the mayor.

The older seventy-six districts (okresy, singular okres) including three 'statutory cities' (without Prague, which had special status) were disbanded in 1999 in an administrative reform; they remain as territorial division and seats of various branches of state administration.

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