Prague

The essentials about Prague for the oral exam, at B2 level – the specific part of maturita topic 4 (Life in society, social events and social problems). The history is cut down to the milestones you can be asked about, and the sights are sorted by the historic districts, so you can describe a walk through the city. The next topic, Places of Interest in the Czech Republic, follows on from this one.

Basic facts

• Capital of the Czech Republic and its largest city, with about 1.4 million inhabitants.
• Situated in the centre of Bohemia, on both banks of the Vltava, which is crossed by more than a dozen bridges.
• The political centre of the country – the seat of the President, the government and Parliament – and also its economic and cultural heart.
• Its historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992.
• Nicknames: the City of a Hundred Spires (in the early 19th century the mathematician Bernard Bolzano counted 103 of them) and the Golden City.

History in milestones

The historic districts and their sights

The historic centre consists of five old towns: Hradčany (the Castle District) and the Lesser Town on the left bank, and the Old Town, Josefov (the former Jewish Town) and the New Town on the right bank.

Hradčany – the Castle District

Prague Castle dominates the city. Once the seat of Czech kings, it is now the official residence of the President, and it is considered the largest ancient castle complex in the world.

• St Vitus Cathedral – the largest church in the country and a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Its construction began in 1344 under the architects Matthias of Arras and Peter Parler, and it took almost six hundred years to complete (1929). Czech kings were crowned and buried here, and the Czech Crown Jewels are kept in a chamber above St Wenceslas Chapel, whose walls are decorated with semi-precious stones.
• The Old Royal Palace with Vladislav Hall, where official ceremonies, such as the inauguration of the President, take place.
• St George’s Basilica – the best-preserved Romanesque church in Prague.
• Golden Lane – a row of tiny colourful houses built into the castle walls, where castle guards and craftsmen used to live.

The Lesser Town

A picturesque quarter of narrow streets, Baroque palaces and gardens below the Castle. Many embassies have their seat here.

• St Nicholas Church – one of the finest examples of Czech Baroque architecture.
• Nerudova Street – a steep street leading up to the Castle, known for its house signs, which were used instead of house numbers. The writer Jan Neruda lived in the house At the Two Suns.
• Kampa Island, separated from the Lesser Town by a narrow stream called Čertovka, with old mill wheels.

Charles Bridge

The most famous bridge in Prague connects the Lesser Town with the Old Town. Its construction began in 1357, and legend has it that the builders added eggs to the mortar to make it stronger. It is 516 metres long, guarded by Gothic towers at both ends and lined with thirty Baroque statues of saints. The best known is the statue of St John of Nepomuk, who, according to legend, was thrown into the Vltava because he refused to reveal the Queen’s confession to the King. People believe that if you touch the relief on its base, you will come back to Prague. Today the bridge is for pedestrians only and is full of tourists, artists and street musicians.

The Old Town and Josefov

• Old Town Square used to be the main marketplace and was the scene of many historical events. It is dominated by the Gothic Týn Church, and in the middle stands the Jan Hus Memorial. Twenty-seven crosses in the pavement mark the place where the leaders of the uprising were executed in 1621.
• The Old Town Hall has the famous Astronomical Clock (1410), the oldest astronomical clock in the world that still works. Every hour the twelve Apostles appear in its windows.
• The Estates Theatre, where Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni had its world premiere in 1787.
• Josefov – the former Jewish ghetto with the Old-New Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in Europe, and the Old Jewish Cemetery, where the gravestones are crowded on top of each other.

The New Town

Despite its name, the New Town was founded by Charles IV in 1348.

• Wenceslas Square – in fact a 750-metre-long boulevard, originally a horse market. At its top stand the statue of St Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech lands, and the National Museum. The square has witnessed key moments of modern Czech history: independence in 1918, Jan Palach’s self-immolation in protest against the Soviet occupation in 1969, and the mass demonstrations of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
• The National Theatre on the bank of the Vltava – a symbol of the National Revival. It opened in 1881, burnt down shortly afterwards and was rebuilt, again thanks to public collections, by 1883.
• The Municipal House – a jewel of Art Nouveau next to the Gothic Powder Tower.
• The Dancing House (1996) – a modern building whose two towers look like a dancing couple.

Outside the centre

• Vyšehrad – the second castle of the Přemyslids on a rock above the Vltava. Its cemetery, with the Slavín tomb, is the resting place of many famous Czechs, for example the composers Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák and the writers Karel Čapek and Jan Neruda.
• Petřín Hill – a park with a viewing tower built in 1891 as a smaller copy of the Eiffel Tower, a mirror maze and an observatory. You can get there by funicular.

Culture and everyday life

Prague is one of the cultural centres of Central Europe. Opera, ballet and drama can be seen at the National Theatre and the State Opera, concerts of classical music at the Rudolfinum and the Municipal House, and the international music festival Prague Spring takes place every year. Visitors also like Prague’s speciality, black light theatre. The most important museums are the National Museum and the National Gallery.

Getting around is easy thanks to a dense network of public transport: three metro lines (A, B and C, with a fourth line, D, under construction), trams, buses, the funicular to Petřín and even ferries across the Vltava. Václav Havel Airport connects Prague with the rest of the world.

Prague today – things to talk about

Prague is one of the most visited cities in Europe, which brings money and jobs, but it also causes problems. The historic centre is often overcrowded, many flats have been turned into short-term rentals, rents are rising and fewer and fewer locals actually live in the centre. That is why the city tries to attract tourists to other districts and to limit, for example, noisy pub crawls. When you talk about Prague in the exam, it is good to show that you can see both sides.

Key vocabulary

Useful phrases

• Prague dates back to the 9th century, when…
• It was under Charles IV that Prague became…
• It is considered (to be) the largest / the oldest…
• Legend has it that…
• If you go up / down…, you will come to…
• What I like most about Prague is…, although…
• On the one hand, tourism…; on the other hand, …

Questions the examiner may ask

Try to answer each question in two or three sentences, then click on the hint to compare.