2. GEOGRAPHY
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic is
geographically located in the center of Europe, surrounded by Austria, Slovakia,
Poland and Germany, with almost the same distance from the Baltic Sea, the
Mediterranean and the North Sea.
3. Urban Plan
The basic strategic aim in spatial planning of Prague is the change-over from a
monocentric to a polycentric city.
Prague emphasizes the need to alleviate the demand for city centre and make more
balanced use. Spatial planning policy are:
• Regulate the use of land and building.
• Regulate the proportion between built-up and green areas.
• Avoid intensive building work on slopes or valleys.
• Cultivate green areas and integrate into the surroundings.
• New construction projects (high architectonic standards) which are important to
the city's development.
• Encourage the use of public places.
4. Prague have a lot of history and culture and the
city always have the same style of buildings
depending on the period of time , as the
romanesque, gothic , barroque…
Now it has :high tech architecture developed in
the 1970s, with other titles such as Late
Modernism as well as Structural Expressionism.
Characteristics of High Tech architecture
include, glass walls, steel frames, prefabricated
components, and a dominant presentation of
technical and functional elements.
Here we can observe the cathedral of Saint Vito
, some barroc buildings , and a new example of
high tech infrastructure in prague.
5. Zones and Quarters
1. Stare Mesto
2. Vinohrady
3. Zizkov
4. Podoli
5. Smichov
6. Dejvice
7. Letna
8. Florenc
9. Cerny Most
10. Vrsovice
6. Historical significance
The history of Prague covers more than a
thousand years, during which time the
city grew from the Vyšehrad Castle to the
capital of a modern European state, the
Czech Republic.
Around 500 BC: One of the Celtic tribes,
are the first inhabitants known by name
,named the region Bohemia and the river
Vltava.
6th century: Arrival of the Slavs. The
Slavs eventually become the dominant
people.
8th century: First settlement established
on the site of present day Prague.
Around 870: Foundation of Prague Castle.
973: Foundation of Prague bishopric.
1085: Prague becomes the residence of the
first Bohemian king Vratislav I.
1310-1346: John of Luxembourg rules as
the King of Bohemia
1344: Prague bishopric upgraded to
archbishopric. Construction of St. Vitus
Cathedral begins.
1346-1378: Prague becomes the capital of
the Bohemian Kingdom and the Holy
Roman Empire.
7. 1348: Charles University, the first university in
Central Europe.
1784-1848: Period of Czech national revival,
beginning of the industrial revolution, establishment
of Czech institutions.
1918: Proclamation of the independence of
Czechoslovakia. Prague becomes the capital of the
new state.
1939-1945: Occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi
Germany.
1945: The Prague uprising and the "liberation" of
Prague by the Soviet army.
1948: Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with
Soviet backing, assumes control of the country,
leading to four decades of communist dictatorship.
1989: The Velvet Revolution, it was non-violent,
starts on the 17th November. Student and other
popular demonstrations against communism result
in the collapse of communist rule, and the country's
conversion to a parliamentary democracy.
1990: First free elections after the communist era
1993: January 1, Czechoslovakia splits in two and the
Czech Republic is founded
2004: May 1, Czech Republic joins the European
Union (E.U.).
8. Environmental issues
• The Czech Republic suffers from air, water, and land pollution caused by industry,
mining, and agriculture.
• The nation had the world's highest industrial carbon dioxide emissions, totaling
135.6 million metric tons per year.
• The Czech Republic has a total of 15 cubic km of freshwater resources, of which 1%
is used for farming and 57% is used for industry.
• Airborne emissions in the form of acid rain, combined with air pollution from
Poland have destroyed much of the forest in the northern part of the Czech
republic.
• And also the Land erosion caused by agricultural and mining practices is also a
significant problem.