Incomings :: LF3 :: City

PRAGUE - The capital of the Czech Republic

Location of Prague: In the centre of Czech Republic, 50°05"N and 14°27"E
Area: 496 square km
Population: 1,210,000 inhabitants
Time zone : Central European time zone - GMT+1, in summer - GMT+2

Prague is the capital and the largest city of the Czech Republic with a population over a million inhabitants. It is situated along both banks of the Vltava River covering an area of about 500 sq. km. Prague is referred to as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and is also called the mother of cities, the golden city or city of one hundred towers.

The city´s origin dates back to the 9th century. As the seat of the Czech kings it was the political heart of Bohemia. In the mid - 14th century the Bohemian king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. chose Prague as the capital of the empire and made it one of the most prosperous European cities at the time. This period is often called as the Golden Age of Prague. Prague experienced a period of great development - e.g. in 1348 was established the Charles University, which become the first university in Central Europe. The construction of the St. Vitus Cathedral and the Charles Bridge began, the plan of the Prague's New Town was designed, and the Karlštejn castle was founded to protect the imperial jewels and other treasures.
The Habsburg reign (till 1526) brought Prague the Second Golden Age. At that time, the Prague Castle was reconstructed in the Renaissance style.
The Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II was crowned the Czech king in 1575 and moved his court back to Prague (from Vienna, the original seat of power of the Habsburg dynasty) in 1583. Prague became the center of science and alchemy and got the nickname "Magic Prague".
In 1918 the city became the capital of the newly independent Czechoslovakia.

The old city of Prague consists of five historical districts - the Old Town (Staré Město), the New Town (Nové Město), Josefov (the Jewish Quarter), the Lesser Town (Malá Strana) and the Castle area (Hradčany).

Nowadays Prague is a centre of political, economic and culture life. Prague´s architectural heritage is incomparable. It features outstanding examples of all major styles of architecture. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.


Official webpages of Prague (Information Service)
www.pis.cz

PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN PRAGUE

The backbone of the public transport system is the underground (subway) networt called metro with its 3 lines lines ? A (green), B (yellow) and C (red). Metro lines are operated daily between 4 a. m. and 1 a. m. Intervals are from 2 minutes in the rush hour up to 10 minutes in the late evening hours.
The system consist than of tram lines (day nr. 1-26 and night nr. 51-59), bus lines (inner city nr. 100-299, suburbs nr. 300+, night and special lines nr. 500+) and two funicular lines (Petrin and in ZOO).
Transit schematics at www.dpp.cz.

• Tickets

Basic (transferable) ticket 26 CZK
Basic ticket can be used 75 minutes from validation.

Limited (non-transferable) ticket 18K CZK
Apply to trams and buses 20 minutes allowing no change. On metro is valid for the distance of 5 stations from the station of validation (not including the station of validation). Travel time must not exceed 30 minutes after validation. These tickets do not apply to night routes and funicular railways.

Tickets can be bought from ticket vending machines at metro, bus and tram stations, at travel information centres, at post, at tobacconist etc. If you have a SIM card belonging to Czech operators you can use a SMS ticket (write a text: DPP and send it to phone number 902 06 26, this ticket is valid for 90 minutes, the price is 26 CZK).
The ticket is valid only if marked in the validation appliance.

• Passes

30-day / monthly student pass 260 CZK
To get this pass you have to be in age under 26 and college or university student card holder. All needed forms to get a pass you will receive from your contact person. Plus you will need a passport sized photograph. You have to pay a little fee (about 20 CZK) for issue of the pass.

30-day / monthly adult pass 550 CZK

For more information about public transport in Prague, transit schematics see: www.dpp.cz