In The Very Heart Of Europe
The capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague is situated in the very heart of Europe, on a place that has been an intersection of continental merchant routes since time immemorial. It was the seat of Czech princes and kings from the tenth century A.D. In the mid-14th century, Prague was the centre of the Holy Roman Empire and Europe’s third largest city in terms of population. Prague was developing as an important centre where Czech, German and Jewish cultures met and mingled. Following the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, Prague became the metropolis of the new country. It experienced a growth of its territory and a great building boom.
Prague sits amid the gentle landscapes of the Bohemian plateau, straddling the Vltava River, the Czech Republic's longest river. Central Prague consists of five historical towns: Hradčany, the castle district, on a hill above the west bank; Malá Strana, the 13th-century 'Little Quarter', between the river and castle; Staré Mêsto, the gothic 'Old Town' on the Vltava's east bank; adjacent Josefov, the former Jewish ghetto; and Nové Mêsto or 'New Town,' (new in the 14th century), to the south and east of Staré Mêsto.Within these historical districts - linked by the landmark Charles Bridge - are most of the city's attractions.
Historical Background
Early in the morning of 15 March 1939, a half year before the outbreak of the Second World War, German troops marched into Prague. Not until 9 May 1945, the day after the Allies declared victory, did the Red Army reach the once-and-future Czechoslovak capital, finally bringing the Nazi occupation to a close. Conquered before the war began, liberated after it ended, the city endured more than six years of Nazi rule. Despite the interminable Nazi occupation, Prague escaped the devastation suffered by many other Central European cities. The Czechs did not offer armed resistance to the Germans either in March 1939 or throughout most of the subsequent years. The exception to the absence of violent resistance was, of course, the 1942 assassination of SS chieftain Reinhard Heydrich, carried out by Czechoslovak parachutists sent from abroad. In 1941 and 1942 small teams of Czechoslovak parachutists were trained at Cholmondeley Castle and Park in Malpas, Cheshire, UK. These teams were dropped into Czechoslovakia to organise the Czechoslovak Resistance and to orchestrate the assassination of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich who was the Nazi in command of this area. His savagery and ruthlessness in suppressing the population earned him the name of "The Butcher of Prague". Hitler, enraged, ordered Kurt Daluege, Heydrich's replacement, to “wade through blood” to revenge Heydrich´s death. The village of Lidice was then the most prominent victim of these cruel actions.