Early history

The mythological princess Libuše prophesies the glory of Prague.

The region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age.^[22] Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c. 1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya.^[23]

Around the fifth and fourth century BC, a Celtic tribe appeared in the area, later establishing settlements, including the largest Celtic oppidum in Bohemia, Závist, in a present-day south suburb Zbraslav in Prague, and naming the region of Bohemia, which means "home of the Boii people".^[22][24] In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes (Marcomanni, Quadi, Lombards and possibly the Suebi), leading some to place the seat of the Marcomanni king, Maroboduus, in Závist.^[25][23] Around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map drawn by Roman geographer Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis.^[26]

In the late 5th century AD, during the great Migration Period following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes living in Bohemia moved westwards and, probably in the 6th century, the Slavic tribes settled the Central Bohemian Region. In the following three centuries, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in the Šárka valley, Butovice and Levý Hradec.^[22]

A model representing Prague Castle and its surroundings in the 10th century

The construction of what came to be known as Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, expanding a fortified settlement that had existed on the site since the year 800.^[27] The first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest.^[28] The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, some 70 years later than Prague Castle.^[29] Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which began construction in 1344, but was not completed until the 20th century.^[30]

The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th-century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, founder of the Přemyslid dynasty. Legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars". She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site.^[22]

The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia. Under Duke of Bohemia Boleslaus II the Pious the area became a bishopric in 973.^[31] Until Prague was elevated to archbishopric in 1344, it was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Mainz.^[32]

Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from across Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveler Abraham ben Jacob.^[33] The Old New Synagogue of 1270 still stands in the city. Prague was also once home to an important slave market.^[34]

At the site of the ford in the Vltava river, King Vladislaus I had the first bridge built in 1170, the Judith Bridge (Juditin most), named in honor of his wife Judith of Thuringia.^[35] This bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1342, but some of the original foundation stones of that bridge remain in the river. It was rebuilt and named the Charles Bridge.^[35]

In 1257, under King Ottokar II, Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter") was founded in Prague on the site of an older village in what would become the Hradčany (Prague Castle) area.^[36] This was the district of the German people, who had the right to administer the law autonomously, pursuant to Magdeburg rights.^[37] The new district was on the bank opposite of the Staré Město ("Old Town"), which had borough status and was bordered by a line of walls and fortifications.

Late Middle Ages

The current St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague was founded in 1344.

Prague flourished during the 14th-century reign (1346–1378) of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the king of Bohemia of the new Luxembourg dynasty. As King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, he transformed Prague into an imperial capital. In the 1470s, Prague had around 70,000 inhabitants and with an area of 360 ha (~1.4 square miles) it was the third-largest city in the Holy Roman Empire.^[38]

Charles IV ordered the building of the New Town (Nové Město) adjacent to the Old Town and laid out the design himself. The Charles Bridge, replacing the Judith Bridge destroyed in the flood just prior to his reign, was erected to connect the east bank districts to the Malá Strana and castle area. In 1347, he founded Charles University, which remains the oldest university in Central Europe.

He began construction of the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral, within the largest of the Prague Castle courtyards, on the site of the Romanesque rotunda there. Prague was elevated to an archbishopric in 1344,^[39] the year the cathedral was begun.

The city had a mint and was a center of trade for German and Italian bankers and merchants. The social order, however, became more turbulent due to the rising power of the craftsmen's guilds (themselves often torn by internal conflicts), and the increasing number of poor.

The Hunger Wall, a substantial fortification wall south of Malá Strana and the castle area, was built during a famine in the 1360s. The work is reputed to have been ordered by Charles IV as a means of providing employment and food to the workers and their families.

Charles IV died in 1378. During the reign of his son, King Wenceslaus IV (1378–1419), a period of intense turmoil ensued. During Easter 1389, members of the Prague clergy announced that Jews had desecrated the host (Eucharistic wafer) and the clergy encouraged mobs to pillage, ransack and burn the Jewish quarter. Nearly the entire Jewish population of Prague (3,000 people) was murdered.^[40][41]

The Prague astronomical clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.

In 1400, Prague had 95,000 inhabitants, making it the third largest city in Europe (after Paris and Venice).^[42] Jan Hus, a theologian and rector at the Charles University, preached in Prague. In 1402, he began giving sermons in the Bethlehem Chapel. Inspired by John Wycliffe, these sermons focused on what were seen as radical reforms of a corrupt Church. Having become too dangerous for the political and religious establishment, Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance, put on trial for heresy, and burned at the stake in Konstanz in 1415.

Four years later Prague experienced its first defenestration, when the people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest Jan Želivský. Hus' death, coupled with Czech proto-nationalism and proto-Protestantism, had spurred the Hussite Wars. Peasant rebels, led by the general Jan Žižka, along with Hussite troops from Prague, defeated Emperor Sigismund, in the Battle of Vítkov Hill in 1420.

During the Hussite Wars when Prague was attacked by "Crusader" and mercenary forces, the city militia fought bravely under the Prague Banner. This swallow-tailed banner is approximately 4 by 6 ft (1.2 by 1.8 m), with a red field sprinkled with small white fleurs-de-lis, and a silver old Town Coat-of-Arms in the center. The words "PÁN BŮH POMOC NAŠE" (The Lord is our Relief/Help) appeared above the coat-of-arms, with a Hussite chalice centered on the top. Near the swallow-tails is a crescent-shaped golden sun with rays protruding.

One of these banners was captured by Swedish troops during the Battle of Prague (1648), when they captured the western bank of the Vltava river and were repulsed from the eastern bank, they placed it in the Royal Military Museum in Stockholm; although this flag still exists, it is in very poor condition. They also took the Codex Gigas and the Codex Argenteus. The earliest evidence indicates that a gonfalon with a municipal charge painted on it was used for the Old Town as early as 1419. Since this city militia flag was in use before 1477 and during the Hussite Wars, it is the oldest still preserved municipal flag of Bohemia.

In the following two centuries, Prague strengthened its role as a merchant city. Many noteworthy Gothic buildings^[43][44] were erected and Vladislav Hall of the Prague Castle was added.

Habsburg era

Depiction of the "Prague Banner" (municipal flag dated to the 16th century)^[45]

The coat of arms of Prague (1649)^[1]

In 1526, the Bohemian estates elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg. The fervent Catholicism of its members brought them into conflict in Bohemia, and then in Prague, where Protestant ideas were gaining popularity.^[46] These problems were not preeminent under Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, elected King of Bohemia in 1576, who chose Prague as his home. He lived in the Prague Castle, where his court welcomed not only astrologers and magicians but also scientists, musicians, and artists. Rudolf was an art lover as well, and Prague became the capital of European culture. This was a prosperous period for the city: famous people living there in that age include the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler, the painter Arcimboldo, the alchemists Edward Kelley and John Dee, the poet Elizabeth Jane Weston, and others.

In 1618, the famous second defenestration of Prague provoked the Thirty Years' War, a particularly harsh period for Prague and Bohemia. Ferdinand II of Habsburg was deposed, and his place as King of Bohemia taken by Frederick V, Elector Palatine; however his army was crushed in the Battle of White Mountain (1620) not far from the city. Following this in 1621 was an execution of 27 Czech Protestant leaders (involved in the uprising) in Old Town Square and the exiling of many others. Prague was forcibly converted back to Roman Catholicism followed by the rest of Czech lands. The city suffered subsequently during the war under an attack by Electorate of Saxony (1631) and during the Battle of Prague (1648).^[47] Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000. In the second half of the 17th century, Prague's population began to grow again. Jews had been in Prague since the end of the 10th century and, by 1708, they accounted for about a quarter of Prague's population.^[48]

In 1689, a great fire devastated Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. In 1713–14, a major outbreak of plague hit Prague one last time, killing 12,000 to 13,000 people.^[49]

Monument to František Palacký, a significant member of the Czech National Revival

In 1744, Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Bohemia. He took Prague after a severe and prolonged siege in the course of which a large part of the town was destroyed.^[50] Empress Maria Theresa expelled the Jews from Prague in 1745; though she rescinded the expulsion in 1748, the proportion of Jewish residents in the city never recovered.^[51] In 1757 the Prussian bombardment^[50] destroyed more than one quarter of the city and heavily damaged St. Vitus Cathedral. However a month later, Frederick the Great was defeated and forced to retreat from Bohemia.

The economy of Prague continued to improve during the 18th century. The population increased to 80,000 inhabitants by 1771. Many rich merchants and nobles enhanced the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens full of art and music, creating a Baroque city renowned throughout the world to this day.

In 1784, under Joseph II, the four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město, and Hradčany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called Josefov, was included only in 1850. The Industrial Revolution produced great changes and developments in Prague, as new factories could take advantage of the coal mines and ironworks of the nearby regions. A first suburb, Karlín, was created in 1817, and twenty years later the population exceeded 100,000.

The revolutions in Europe in 1848 also touched Prague, but they were fiercely suppressed. In the following years, the Czech National Revival began its rise, until it gained the majority in the town council in 1861. Prague had a large number of German speakers in 1848, but by 1880 the number of German speakers had decreased to 14% (42,000), and by 1910 to 6.7% (37,000), due to a massive increase of the city's overall population caused by the influx of Czechs from the rest of Bohemia and Moravia and the increasing prestige and importance of the Czech language as part of the Czech National Revival.

20th century

Statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk near Prague Castle

Second World War

Prague liberated by the Red Army in May 1945

Further information: German occupation of Czechoslovakia

Hitler ordered the German Army to enter Prague on 15 March 1939, and from Prague Castle proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. For most of its history, Prague had been a multi-ethnic city^[52] with important Czech, German and (mostly native German-speaking) Jewish populations.^[53] From 1939, when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany, Hitler took over Prague Castle. During the Second World War, most Jews were deported and killed by the Germans. In 1942, Prague was witness to the assassination of one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany—Reinhard Heydrich—during Operation Anthropoid, accomplished by Czechoslovak national heroes Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš. Hitler ordered bloody reprisals.^[54]

In February 1945, Prague suffered several bombing raids by the US Army Air Forces. 701 people were killed, more than 1,000 people were injured and some buildings, factories and historic landmarks (Emmaus Monastery, Faust House, Vinohrady Synagogue) were destroyed.^[55] Many historic structures in Prague, however, escaped the destruction of the war and the damage was small compared to the total destruction of many other cities in that time. According to American pilots, it was the result of a navigational mistake. In March, a deliberate raid targeted military factories in Prague, killing about 370 people.^[56]

On 5 May 1945, two days before Germany capitulated, an uprising against Germany occurred. Several thousand Czechs were killed in four days of bloody street fighting, with many atrocities committed by both sides. At daybreak on 9 May, the 3rd Shock Army of the Red Army took the city almost unopposed. The majority (about 50,000 people) of the German population of Prague either fled or were expelled by the Beneš decrees in the aftermath of the war.

Cold War

Main articles: History of Czechoslovakia (1948–89) and Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

Velvet Revolution in November 1989

Prague was a city in a country under the military, economic, and political control of the Soviet Union (see Iron Curtain and COMECON). The world's largest Stalin Monument was unveiled on Letná hill in 1955 and destroyed in 1962. The 4th Czechoslovak Writers' Congress, held in the city in June 1967, took a strong position against the regime.^[57] On 31 October 1967 students demonstrated at Strahov. This spurred the new secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, Alexander Dubček, to proclaim a new deal in his city's and country's life, starting the short-lived season of the "socialism with a human face". It was the Prague Spring, which aimed at the renovation of political institutions in a democratic way. The other Warsaw Pact member countries, except Romania and Albania, were led by the Soviet Union to repress these reforms through the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the capital, Prague, on 21 August 1968. The invasion, chiefly by infantry and tanks, effectively suppressed any further attempts at reform. The military occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Red Army would end only in 1991. Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc committed suicide by self-immolation in January and February 1969 to protest against the "normalization" of the country.

After the Velvet Revolution

Prague high-rise buildings at Pankrác

In 1989, after riot police beat back a peaceful student demonstration, the Velvet Revolution crowded the streets of Prague, and the capital of Czechoslovakia benefited greatly from the new mood. In 1992, the Historic Centre of Prague and its monuments were inscribed as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1993, after the Velvet Divorce, Prague became the capital city of the new Czech Republic. From 1995, high-rise buildings began to be built in Prague in large quantities. In the late 1990s, Prague again became an important cultural center of Europe and was notably influenced by globalisation.^[58] In 2000, the IMF and World Bank summits took place in Prague and anti-globalization riots took place here. In 2002, Prague suffered from widespread floods that damaged buildings and its underground transport system.

Prague launched a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics,^[59] but failed to make the candidate city shortlist. In June 2009, as the result of financial pressures from the global recession, Prague's officials chose to cancel the city's planned bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[60]

On 21 December 2023, a mass shooting took place at Charles University in central Prague. In total, 15 people were killed, including the perpetrator.^[61]

Climate

Prague seen from satellite

Prague has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb)^[69][70] bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfb), defined as such by the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm.^[71] The winters are relatively cold with average temperatures at about freezing point (0 °C), and with very little sunshine. Snow cover can be common between mid-November and late March although snow accumulations of more than 200 mm (8 in) are infrequent. There are also a few periods of mild temperatures in winter. Summers usually bring plenty of sunshine and the average high temperature of 24 °C (75 °F). Nights can be quite cool even in summer, though. Precipitation in Prague is rather low (just over 500 mm or 20 in per year) since it is located in the rain shadow of the Sudetes and other mountain ranges. The driest season is usually winter while late spring and summer can bring quite heavy rain, especially in form of thundershowers. Temperature inversions are relatively common between mid-October and mid-March bringing foggy, cold days and sometimes moderate air pollution. Prague is also a windy city with common sustained western winds and an average wind speed of 16 km/h (10 mph) that often help break temperature inversions and clear the air in cold months.

Administrative division

Map of Prague cadastral areas and administrative districts

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and as such is the regular seat of its central authorities. Since 24 November 1990, it is de facto again a statutory city, but has a specific status of the municipality and the region at the same time. Prague also houses the administrative institutions of the Central Bohemian Region.

Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda

Until 1949, all administrative districts of Prague were formed by the whole one or more cadastral unit, municipality or town. Since 1949, there has been a fundamental change in the administrative division. Since then, the boundaries of many urban districts, administrative districts and city districts are independent of the boundaries of cadastral territories and some cadastral territories are thus divided into administrative and self-governing parts of the city. Cadastral area (for example, Vinohrady and Smíchov) are still relevant especially for the registration of land and real estate and house numbering.

Prague is divided into 10 municipal districts (1–10), 22 administrative districts (1–22), 57 municipal parts, and 112 cadastral areas.

City government

Prague is autonomously administered by the Prague City Assembly, which is elected through municipal elections and consists of 65 members. Executive body of Prague, elected by the Assembly is a Prague City Council. The municipal office of Prague is called Prague City Hall. It has 11 members including the mayor and it prepares proposals for the Assembly meetings and ensures that adopted resolutions are fulfilled. The Mayor of Prague is Civic Democratic Party member Bohuslav Svoboda.

2011 census

Even though the official population of Prague hovers around 1.3 million as of the 2011 census, the city's real population is much higher due to only 65% of its residents being marked as permanently living in the city.^[76] Data taken from mobile phone movements around the city suggest that the real population of Prague is closer to 1.9 or 2.0 million, with an additional 300,000 to 400,000 commuters coming to the city on weekdays for work, education, or commerce.^[77]

About 14% of the city's inhabitants were born outside the Czech Republic, the highest proportion in the country. However, 64.8% of the city's population self-identified as ethnically Czech, which is slightly higher than the national average of 63.7%. Almost 29% of respondents declined to answer the question on ethnicity at all, so it may be assumed that the real percentage of ethnic Czechs in Prague is considerably higher. The largest ethnic minority are Slovaks, followed by Ukrainians and Russians.^[78]

Prague's population is the oldest and best-educated in the country. It has the lowest proportion of children. Only 10.8% of census respondents claimed adherence to a religion; the majority of these were Roman Catholics.^[78]

Historical population

Development of the Prague population since 1378^[79] (since 1869 according to the censuses within the limits of present-day Prague):^[80][81]

Foreign residents

As of 31 March 2023, there were 325,336 foreign residents in Prague, of which 118,996 with permanent residence in Prague. The following nationalities are the most numerous:^[82]

Foreign residents in Prague (March 2023)
Nationality	Population
Ukraine	147,701
Slovakia	31,074
Russia	27,130
Vietnam	15,245
Other countries/territories  USA 6,589  Kazakhstan 6,097  Romania 5,695  Mainland China 5,559  Bulgaria 5,045  India 4,775  UK 4,238  Hungary 3,554  Italy 3,517  Poland 3,352  Belarus 3,368  Germany 3,322  France 2,826  Turkey 2,523  Uzbekistan 2,207  Serbia 2,018  Croatia 1,762  Moldova 1,759  South Korea 1,436  Spain 1,292  Azerbaijan 1,277  Philippines 1,230  Armenia 1,167  Japan 1,098  North Macedonia 1,078  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,058  Kyrgyzstan 1,009

Cuisine

U Medvídků (A.D. 1466), one of the oldest pubs in Europe

In 2008, the Allegro restaurant received the first Michelin star in the whole of the post-Communist part of Central Europe. It retained its star until 2011. As of 2018, there were just two Michelin-starred restaurants in Prague: La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise and Field. Another six have been awarded Michelin's Bib Gourmand: Bistrøt 104, Divinis, Eska, Maso a Kobliha, Na Kopci and Sansho. However, as of 2022, there are 27 Michelin-starred restaurants in Prague which still include La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise and Field.

Czech beer has a long history, with brewing taking place in Břevnov Monastery in 993. In Old Town, Žižkov and Vinohrady there are hundreds of restaurants, bars and pubs, especially with Czech beer. Prague also hosts several microbrewery festivals throughout the year. The city is home to historical breweries Staropramen (Praha 5), U Fleků, U Medvídků, U Tří růží, Strahov Monastery Brewery (Praha 1) and Břevnov Monastery Brewery (Praha 6). Among many microbreweries are: Novoměstský, Pražský most u Valšů, Národní, Boršov, Loď pivovar, U Dobřenských, U Dvou koček, U Supa (Praha 1), Pivovarský dům (Praha 2), Sousedský pivovar Bašta (Praha 4), Suchdolský Jeník, Libocký pivovar (Praha 6), Marina (Praha 7), U Bulovky (Praha 8), Beznoska, Kolčavka (Praha 9), Vinohradský pivovar, Zubatý pes, Malešický mikropivovar (Praha 10), Jihoměstský pivovar (Praha 11), Lužiny (Praha 13), Počernický pivovar (Praha 14) and Hostivar (Praha 15).

Main attractions

Tourism statistics

Prague is by far the most visited Czech city. In 2022, Prague was visited by 8,044,324 guests who stayed overnight, of which 84.6% were from abroad. Average number of overnight stays of non-residents was 2.4. Most non-residents arriving to Prague and staying overnight were from the following countries:^[109]

Rank	Country	2022	2019
	Total	4,491,611	6,803,741
1	Germany	859,863	900,526
2	Slovakia	350,164	310,966
3	United States	324,369	511,950
4	Poland	277,408	252,633
5	United Kingdom	269,368	495,728
6	Italy	199,649	335,101
7	Ukraine	178,215	170,305
8	France	168,085	248,911
9	Spain	135,552	227,345
10	Netherlands	141,032	148,520
11	Austria	129,479	132,500
12	Israel	114,994	131,304
	South Korea	47,717	272,451
	Russia	27,538	392,968
	Mainland China	25,839	309,299

In 2021, the most visited tourist destinations of Prague were:^[110]

Public universities

Charles University, founded in 1348, was the first university in Central Europe.

University of Economics, Prague

Public arts academies

Private universities

• Jan Amos Komenský University (UJAK) founded in 2001
• Metropolitan University Prague (MUP) founded in 2001
• The University of Finance and Administration (VSFS) founded in 1999

Largest private colleges

International institutions

Public transportation

Škoda 15 T, tram of the Prague tram system

The public transport infrastructure consists of the heavily used Prague Integrated Transport (PID, Pražská integrovaná doprava) system, consisting of the Prague Metro (lines A, B, and C – its length is 65 km (40 mi) with 61 stations in total), Prague tram system, Prague buses service, commuter trains, funiculars, and seven ferries. Prague has one of the highest rates of public transport usage in the world,^[115] with 1.2 billion passenger journeys per year. Prague has about 300 bus lines (numbers 100–960) and 34 regular tram lines (numbers 1–26 and 91–99). There are also three funiculars, one on Petřín Hill, one on Mrázovka Hill and a third at the Zoo in Troja.

SOR NB 18 of the Prague buses service next to the Prague Zoo

The Prague tram system now operates various types of trams, including the Tatra T3, newer Tatra KT8D5, Škoda 14 T (designed by Porsche), newer modern Škoda 15 T and nostalgic tram lines 23 and 41. Around 400 vehicles are the modernized T3 class, which are typically operated coupled together in pairs.

The Prague tram system is the twelfth longest in the world (144 km) and its rolling stock consists of 857 individual cars,^[116] which is the third largest in the world behind Moscow and Budapest. The system carries more than 360 million passengers annually, the highest tram patronage in the world after Budapest, on a per capita basis, Prague has the second highest tram patronage after Zürich.

All services (metro, tramways, city buses, funiculars and ferries) have a common ticketing system that operates on a proof-of-payment system. Basic transfer tickets can be bought for 30 and 90-minute rides, short-term tourist passes are available for periods of 24 hours or 3 days, and longer-term tickets can be bought on the smart ticketing system Lítačka, for periods of one month, three months or one year.^[117] Since August 2021, people up to the age of 14 and over 65 can use Prague's public transport free of charge (proof of age is required). Persons between 15 and 18 years and between 60 and 64 years pay half price for single tickets and day tickets.

Services are run by the Prague Public Transport Company and several other companies. Since 2005 the Regional Organiser of Prague Integrated Transport (ROPID) has franchised operation of ferries on the Vltava river, which are also a part of the public transport system with common fares. Taxi services make pick-ups on the streets or operate from regulated taxi stands.

Prague Metro

Main article: Prague Metro

Staroměstská metro station of Prague Metro

The Metro has three major lines extending throughout the city: A (green), B (yellow) and C (red). A fourth Metro line D is under construction, which will connect the city centre to southern parts of the city (as of 2022, the completion is expected in 2028).^[118][119] The Prague Metro system served 589.2 million passengers in 2012,^[120] making it the fifth busiest metro system in Europe and the most-patronised in the world on a per capita basis. The first section of the Prague metro was put into operation in 1974. It was the stretch between stations Kačerov and Florenc on the current line C. The first part of Line A was opened in 1978 (Dejvická – Náměstí Míru), the first part of line B in 1985 (Anděl – Florenc).

In April 2015, construction finished to extend the green line A further into the northwest corner of Prague closer to the airport.^[121] A new interchange station for the bus in the direction of the airport is the station Nádraží Veleslavín. The final station of the green line is Nemocnice Motol (Motol Hospital), giving people direct public transportation access to the largest medical facility in the Czech Republic and one of the largest in Europe. A railway connection to the airport is planned.

In operation there are two kinds of units: "81-71M" which is modernized variant of the Soviet Metrovagonmash 81-71 (completely modernized between 1995 and 2003) and new "Metro M1" trains (since 2000), manufactured by consortium consisting of Siemens, ČKD Praha and ADtranz. The minimum interval between two trains is 90 seconds.

The original Soviet vehicles "Ečs" were excluded in 1997, but one vehicle is placed in public transport museum in depot Střešovice.^[122] The Náměstí Míru metro station is the deepest station and is equipped with the longest escalator in European Union. The Prague metro is generally considered very safe.

Roads

Barrandov Bridge, part of the Prague Inner Ring Road

The main flow of traffic leads through the centre of the city and through inner and outer ring roads (partially in operation).

• Inner Ring Road (The City Ring "MO"): surrounds central Prague. It is the longest city tunnel in Europe with a length of 5.5 km (3.4 mi) and five interchanges has been completed to relieve congestion in the north-western part of Prague. Called Blanka tunnel complex and part of the City Ring Road, it was estimated to eventually cost (after several increases) CZK 43 billion. Construction started in 2007 and, after repeated delays, the tunnel officially opened in September 2015. This tunnel complex completes a major part of the inner ring road.
• Outer Ring Road (The Prague Ring "D0"): this ring road will connect all major motorways and speedways that meet each other in Prague region and provide faster transit without a necessity to drive through the city. So far 39 km (24 mi), out of a total planned 83 km (52 mi), is in operation. Most recently, the southern part of this road (with a length of more than 20 km (12 mi)) was opened on 22 September 2010.^[123] As of 2021, the next 12 km (7 mi) section between Modletice and Běchovice is planned to be completed in 2025.^[124]

Rail

Prague main train station is the largest and busiest train station in the country.

The city forms the hub of the Czech railway system, with services to all parts of the country and abroad. The railway system links Prague with major European cities (which can be reached without transfers), including Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Regensburg and Munich (Germany); Vienna, Graz and Linz (Austria); Warsaw, Katowice and Kraków (Poland); Bratislava and Košice (Slovakia); Budapest (Hungary); Zürich (Switzerland) via Linz or Leipzig; Rijeka (Croatia, seasonal) and Moscow (Russia, not in service due to COVID-19 and Russian invasion of Ukraine). Travel times range between 2 hours to Dresden and 28 hours to Moscow.^[125]

Prague's main international railway station is Hlavní nádraží,^[126] rail services are also available from other main stations: Masarykovo nádraží, Holešovice and Smíchov, in addition to suburban stations. Commuter rail services operate under the name Esko Praha, which is part of PID (Prague Integrated Transport).

Václav Havel Airport Prague is one of the busiest airports in central Europe, carrying 16.8 millions of passengers in 2018.

Air

Prague is served by Václav Havel Airport Prague, the largest airport in the Czech Republic and one of the largest and busiest airports in central and eastern Europe. The airport is the hub of carriers Smartwings and Czech Airlines operating throughout Europe. Other airports in Prague include the city's original airport in the north-eastern district of Kbely, which is serviced by the Czech Air Force, also internationally. It also houses the Prague Aviation Museum. The nearby Letňany Airport is mainly used for private aviation and aeroclub aviation. Another airport in the proximity is Aero Vodochody aircraft factory to the north, used for testing purposes, as well as for aeroclub aviation. There are a few aeroclubs around Prague, such as the Točná airfield.

Cycling

In 2018, 1–2.5 % of people commute by bike in Prague, depending on season. Cycling is very common as a sport or recreation.^[127] As of 2019, there were 194 km (121 mi) of protected cycle paths and routes. Also, there were 50 km (31 mi) of bike lanes and 26 km (16 mi) of specially marked bus lanes that are free to be used by cyclists.^[128] As of 2021, there are four companies providing bicycle sharing in Prague, none of them is subsidized by the city: Rekola (1,000 bikes), Nextbike (1,000 bikes), Bolt and Lime.

Twin towns – sister cities

Prague is twinned with:

Namesakes

A number of other settlements are derived or similar to the name of Prague. In many of these cases, Czech emigration has left a number of namesake cities scattered over the globe, with a notable concentration in the New World.

Additionally, Kłodzko is sometimes referred to as "Little Prague" (German: Klein-Prag). Although now in Poland, it had been traditionally a part of Bohemia until 1763 when it became part of Silesia.^[147]