PRAGUE, the capital of Bohemia, and situated at the base and on the slope of the hills which skirt both sides of the isleted Moldau. It offers a highly pic turesque appearance from the beauty of its site, and the numerous lofty towers (more than 70 in number) which rise above the many noble palaces, public buildings, and bridges of the city. The royal Burg, on the Hradschin, the an cient residence of the Dukes of Bohemia, dates mainly now from the 16th and 17th centuries, and has 440 rooms. In the neighboring cathedral of St. Vitus (1344) are the splendid royal mausoleum (1589) and the shrine (1736) of St. John of Nepomuk containing 11/2 tons of silver. Of 47 other Catholic churches the chief are the domed Jesuit church of St. Nicholas, with its lavish decorations, and the Teyn Church (1407), the old Hussite Church, with the grave of Tycho Brahe, and its marble statues of the Slavonic martyrs, Cyril and Methodius. Of five bridges and two railway viaducts the most striking is the Karlsbriicke (1357-1503), 543 yards long, with gate towers at either end, and statues of John of Nepomuk and other saints. Other noteworthy objects are the town hall (1381-1884), the Pulverturm (1475), and the Premonstratensian monastery of Strahow. Prague has, besides, numerous public gardens and walks in the suburbs, with several royal and noble parks open to the public in the vicinity of the city. The university, founded in 1348, had 10,000 students at the beginning of the 15th century. It possesses a library of 195,000 volumes, a fine observatory, museums of zoology and anatomy, a bo tanical garden, etc. The manufactures include machinery, chemicals, leather, cotton, linen, gloves, beer, spirits, etc.
Prague is the great center of the com merce of Bohemia, and the seat of an important transit trade.
History.—Prague was founded by Ger man settlers about 1100. In the 14th century its munificently endowed uni versity brought foreigners to it from every part; but in 1424 Prague was con quered and almost destroyed by the Hussites. In the Thirty Years' War it suffered severely, and in 1620 the battle was fought at the Weissenberg, near the city, in which the Elector-Palatine, Fred erick V., was completely defeated, and compelled to renounce his assumed crown. Swedes and Imperialists succes sively gained possession of the town dur ing the war; and a century later it again fell into the hands of different victors, having been compelled in 1744 to capitulate to Frederick the Great, who here on May 6, 1757, defeated 60,000 Austrians under Prince Charles of Lorraine. From Napoleon's downfall, Prague has made rapid strides, and en joyed prosperity and quiet, except in 1848, when the meeting of the Slavonic Congress within its walls called forth such strongly marked democratic demon strations on the part of the supporters of Pan-Slavism that the Austrian Gov ernment dissolved the conclave and bom barded the town to restore quiet. In 1866 Prague was occupied bloodlessly by the Prussians, who here on Aug. 23, con cluded a treaty with Austria. The Re public of Czecho-Slovakia was proclaimed Oct. 28, 1918, and Prague became its capital. Pop. about 650,000.