PRAHA - Geography and history
Prague (Praha) is situated in the centre of Europe, lying, as the crow flies, roughly equidistant from the Baltic Sea (365 km), the North Sea (495 km) and the Adriatic Sea (490 km). The region lies in the central part of the Czech highlands (Ceská vysocina) and in the south, the River Berounka meets the Vltava. The Czech Tableland extends into the south-east of the region. The highest point is on the plateau of Zlicín (399 m) which lies in the south-west and the lowest is the River Vltava at the northern edge of the city (177 m), which makes a total height difference of over 200 m within a relatively small area. As a result of the effects of erosion, Prague lies on a plateau cut by the deep valleys of the River Vltava and its tributaries.
The city's origins date back to the second half of the ninth century when Prague castle was founded and individual settlements gradually developed under its protection. These eventually formed four independent cities, one of which, the Old Town, was called "caput regni" - the capital city of the Czech Kingdom.
Another important date in the city's development was the year 1784 when these four cities merged to form the city of Prague. Between 1850 and 1901 four more towns were annexed. In 1920 Great Prague was established joining another 39 surrounding municipalities to the existing eight Prague sectors. The growth gradually continued up until 1974 when another 30 municipalities of Central Bohemia joined Prague.
Pursuant to the Act of the Czech National Council on the Capital City of Prague, the city is a statutory town. It is administered by the bodies of the Capital city: the Assembly of the City of Prague, the Council of the City of Prague and the Prague City Hall. For execution of the state administration, Prague is from 2001 newly divided to 22 administration districts, from the point of view of self-government it consists of 57 autonomous City districts with own elected bodies. These City districts are significantly different. There are City districts of distinct character of urban centre, City districts of prevalent residential area with houses dating back to the 1920´s and 1930´s, City districts of chiefly industrial nature, neighbourhoods of high-rise houses, and suburban areas many of which originated by gradual connection of surrounding municipalities of rural type. They differ in the level of urbanisation, population density, quality of technical infrastructure and socio-economic conditions of life of their inhabitants. As for the number of inhabitants these City districts are also very different. While population of four City districts account for more than 100,000 each, 20 City districts comprise less than 2,000 inhabitants each, of which five have less than 500 inhabitants each.
Prague is surrounded by the region of Central Bohemia and covers an area of 496 km2, representing only 0.6 % of the national total, although with over 1.1 million inhabitants in 2002, it is the sixth largest region in population terms.
A unique city
The exceptional situation of Prague results not only from its official status as the Czech capital and its economic importance, but also from its position as a unique memorial of Czech history, and a centre of cultural and scientific development and architectural treasures. This has been recognised by the city's classification as a cultural historical site by UNESCO. Charles University, founded in 1348 and one of the oldest universities of Europe, is based in Prague.
Prague is also a strong industrial centre, has a dynamically developing services sector and the unemployment is very low.
Not everything is rosy though; there is an excessive level of road traffic owing to increases particularly in the number of private cars (from 420 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996 to 479 in 2002). This has contributed to the poor quality of air as compared to the national average. In 2001, the highest values of all the regions of the Republic were measured in Prague: solid emissions 2.8 t.km-2, nitrogen oxides 8.3 t.km-2 and hydrocarbons 6.3 t.km-2. Values of emissions of sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide are also high, higher values are, however, reported from the Severozapad region and the kraj of Moravskoslezský.
The region also experiences some unfavourable demographic trends, with a high average age of the population, low birth rate and high mortality rate.
The crime rate is high too, with the number of ascertained crimes in 2002 (88,8 per 1 000 inhabitants) being more than twice the 36,5 national average.
Over 2.5 million tourists in 2002
International co-operation takes place in banking, environmental issues, education, trade, and many other areas. Many international companies, organisations and firms have established in Prague and they now number over 16 000. Examples are Allianz, Eurest, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Delvita, Dresdner Bank, Fischer Reisen, Hewlett-Packard, Ikea, McDonald's, Mercedes-Benz, Nestlé Food, Philips, Raiffeisenbank, Siemens, Tesco etc.
The Czech Republic is a member of a number of international organisations and has concluded a number of contracts and agreements concerning different types of international cooperation. As well as some international institutions, the radio broadcasting station Free Europe is also based in Prague.
Another significant aspect of international co-operation and of the country's openness to the world is tourism. Of the total of 2 198 542 foreigners who visited Prague in 2002, 18.1 % were German, 8.4 % Italian, 5.8 % Spanish, 10.8 % British, 5.8 % American, and 4.8 % French. These visitors have generated significant income for Prague's tourism industry.
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