Praha [antikvár]

PRAGUEA picturesque variety of natural conditions amplified by a careful stratification of buildings and a magic of preserved monuments allow for a general adoption of the saying that Prague is the most beautiful Central European city. A strategic geographical position in the very heart of Europe on the crossroads of ancient trade corridors became a precondition of a favourable development of the town around the Vltava river.The first settlements in the Vltava basin were in the Early Stone Age. Upon the arrival of the Slavs in the 7th century, a continuous building of settlements began on the left river bank. Later, Jews took up their residence in this area too. An elevated headland of the Vltava river became the most significant settlement of the Czech tribe, governed by the tenacious Premyslid dynasty. In 884, the first Christian church was established here, consecrated to the Virgin Mary. Interrelations with church were typical of the princes seat built up here, supporting the power of the ruling dynasty. Before a bishopric was established in 973, the Romanesque St. George's basilica as built in 921 and the first stone two-storey chapel was founded before 935 by Prince Wenceslas, consecrated to St. Vitus. Here, the first coronation of King Vratislav II of the Premyslid dynasty took place in 1085. (As a result of controversies between the members of the Premyslid dynasty, another castle was built on the Vysehrad rock, where the following coronations started.)The royal town of Prague started gaining political importance, which was reflected in its architecture. A soft rhythm, robustnesss and mass are characteristic of the architecture between 1100 and 1230. Promoted by the royal power, the commercially prospering town keeps spreading. In 12321234, the Old (Great) Town was founded on the right Vltava bank by Wenceslas I and populated on the right Vltava bank by Wenceslas I and populated also with German colonists, who built the St Nicholas cathedral. Initiated by Premysl Otakar II, the Lesser Town was founded in 1257, with the support of foreign settlers. Then, the Hradcany Town was founded in the vicinity of the Prague Castle by a Prague burgrave Berka of Duba. Charles IV, under whom Prague achieves the glory of the Kaiser's residential town, gives rise to the New Town in 1348. In order to multiply the prestige and the power of the Luxemburg dynasty, this emperor presents the town with the highest dignity: Prague becomes an equal and a self-confident partner to the most advanced European towns. Charles IV raises the king's seat to a higher levela French-style cathedral is being finished near the castle. In 1348, the first Central European university is founded to promote culture and education. Prague is encircled with walls and enriched with such constructions as the Charles Bridge, for example. A further communicative arrangement and constructional expansion of Prague resulted from an accumulation of the rhythm of streets and lanes of the medieval town and the Jewish ghetto. After Charles' death, however, the town development slows down significantly.What came during the Hussite revolutionary movement was rather detrimental to the architectural development of the town. In 1391, the Bethlehem Chapel was completed and witnessed John Huss preaching sermons. The 14161437 period was characterized by social uprisings and the iconoclastic movement, which inflicted great damage to Prague's historical monuments.A new wave of constructing efforts in 1471 1526 during the reign of the Jagellon dynasty develops the architecture of the St. Vitus Cathedral and the Prague Castle in particular. Under Ferdinand I, enforcing the Counter-Reformation and advocating the absolutistic interests of the Habsburg dynasty against the Czech Estates, the contrasts culminated, and a rebellion against the monarch broke out. Its defeat in