PRAHA - Geography and history
Prague (Praha), the capital of the Czech Republic, is situated in the centre of Europe, lying roughly equidistant from the Baltic Sea (365 km), the North Sea (495 km) and the Adriatic Sea (490 km). The city lies in the centre of western part of the country called Bohemia . Prague represents in the same time NUTS-2 and NUTS-3 units.
Prague is distinguished by complicated topography, where the Vltava river and its tributaries cut the old platform of Czech massif. The altitudes range from 177 m to 399 m, which makes a height difference of over 200 m within a relatively small area. This fact complicates the transportation, but gives the cit y its attraction, along with the rich architectonic heritage .
The city's origins date back to the second half of the ninth century when Prague castle was founded and individual settlements gradually developed under its protection. These eventually formed four independent cities, one of which, the Old Town , was called "caput regni" - the capital city of the Czech Kingdom .
Another important date in the city's development was the year 1784 when these four cities merged to form the city of Prague . Between 1850 and 1901 four more towns were annexed. In 1920 Great Prague was established joining another 39 surrounding municipalities to the existing eight Prague sectors. The growth gradually continued up until 1974 when another 30 municipalities of Central Bohemia joined Prague .
Pursuant to the Act of the Czech National Council on the Capital City of Prague, the city is a statutory town. It is administered by the bodies of the Capital city: the Assembly of the City of Prague , the Council of the City of Prague and the Prague City Hall . For execution of the state administration, Prague is from 2001 newly divided to 22 administration districts, from the point of view of self-government it consists of 57 autonomous City districts with own elected bodies. They differ in the level of urbanisation, population density, quality of technical infrastructure and socio-economic conditions of life of their inhabitants.
A unique city
The exceptional situation of Prague results not only from its official status as the Czech capital and its economic importance, but also from its position as a unique memorial of Czech history, and a centre of cultural and scientific development and architectural treasures. This has been recognised by the city's classification as a cultural historical site by UNESCO. Charles University , founded in 1348 and one of the oldest universities of Europe , is based in Prague .
Prague is also a strong industrial centre, has a dynamically developing services sector and the unemployment is very low.
Prague is surrounded by the region of Central Bohemia and covers an area of 496 km2, representing only 0.6 % of the national total The Prague’s population varied around 1,2 m people in the 1990s. The decrease trend has been reversed in last 3 years, only thanks to the immigration. The city experiences some unfavourable demographic trends, with a high average age of the population, low birth rate and high mortality rate. The decrease in 1990s was also attended by significant urban sprawl and development of new housing beyond the Prague ’s borders.
Prague has very well developed system of public transport based on metro, but suffers from increased private car traffic. The overall environmental situation improved significantly. The crime rate is high, with the number of ascertained crimes in 2002 (88,8 per 1 000 inhabitants) being more than twice the 36,5 national average.
Over 2.5 million tourists in 2002
The number of tourists increases year by year. The business recovered quickly after the unprecedented floods, which struck Prague in 2002. The expansion of the tourism can be also documented by extensive development of the Ruzyne airport.
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