Prague Short Break Guide

Article: 48 Hours in Prague - Ideas for a weekend in the Czech capital. - Matt Scott offers some tips on what to do on a weekend in Prague.

Prague was originally settled by Celtic tribes in the 2^nd century BC before being pushed west by Slavic tribes coming from the East. The oldest stone remains were however found in Prague castle, which date from 800AD when Prague began to emerge as the political and cultural powerhouse that it eventually became.

Merchants from all over Europe settled in Prague in the 10^th century, and it notably became an important Jewish settlement. The oldest working synagogue in Europe, built in 1270, still stands in the Josefov district. The first mention of Prague in written text was from Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, a Jewish traveller who lived in Prague in the mid to late 10^th century.

By the 14^th Century Prague was the seat of the Holy Roman Emperor, under King Charles IV, who ordered the building of Novo Mesto (new town) next to the Old Town, and the Charles Bridge to replace the previous one destroyed by flooding, and to connect Prague Castle and Mala Strana to the right bank. King Charles laid the first stone on the 9^th July 1357 at 5:31am. We know the exact time because it is carved into the stone in one of the towers. Astrologers chose this time as the best time to start building a bridge. Judging by how the Bridge has survived so many periods of war, floods and literally millions of tourists, we can only conclude that they got it right.

King Charles also founded the University in his name, now the oldest in Eastern Europe, and began the construction of St Vitus Cathedral with Prague Castle. He died in 1378 to be taken over by his son King Wenceslas, who presided over a tumultuous period in Czech History involving religious prejudice and a reaction against the perceived corruption of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless Prague continued to grow as a merchant city.

The Habsburg Dynasty became rulers in 1526 under Ferdinand I who, as Catholics divided the population causing the Thirty Years War leading to the removal of Ferdinand II who was replaced by a Calvinist, Frederick V. Prague saw a brief decline in this period but after being occupied by Swedish and Saxons, it saw an improvement again but only after a great fire in 1689 and a plague in 1713.

The end of WW1 also saw the end of the Habsburg Dynasty and the birth of the Czech Republic with Prague as its capital, by now a major European city with a population of 800,000. Hitler marched into Prague in 1939 leading to the deportation its Jewish population. After WW2 Prague was unfortunate to be under the political influence of the Soviets, and the “Prague Spring” of 1967 led by Alexander Dubcek led to Soviet invasion. It remained communist until 1989 and the Velvet Revolution. It split from the Slovak Republic in 1993.

Reaching Prague
Czech Airlines no longer fly from the UK, so you have the choice of BA, Easyjet or Ryanair. You may also want to consider Wizzair, but only as a last resort. 

Arriving in Prague
A taxi transfer into the city centre should cost you no more than £25 or so and would take about half an hour. Alternatively the Airport Express bus service leaves from outside both terminals at Prague Airport costs about £2.50 and takes you to the Central Station or Praha Hlavní Nádraží, which is worth visiting from an architectural standpoint. From here you can reach Wenceslas Square by in about 10minutes or the metro system can get you to where you want to be.

Currency
Note that the Czech Republic is not in the Euro zone, it trades in Koruna.