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This article is about the capital of the Czech Republic. For other uses, see Prague (disambiguation).
"Praha" redirects here. For other uses, see Praha (disambiguation).
Prague
Praha
Capital city
Hlavní město Praha
Prague (/prɑːɡ/; Czech: Praha [ˈpraɦa] ( listen), German: Prag) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, the 14th largest city in the European Union[7] and also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its larger urban zone is estimated to have a population of 2.2 million.[8] The city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters.
Prague has been a political, cultural and economic centre of central Europe complete with a rich history. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque eras, Prague was the capital of the kingdom of Bohemia and the main residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably of Charles IV (r. 1346–1378).[9] It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia, during both World Wars and the post-war Communist era.[10]
Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Main attractions include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city. Also, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe.[11]
Prague is classified as a "Beta+" global city according to GaWC studies[12] and ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016.[13] Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination and as of 2014, the city receives more than 6.4 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul and Rome.[14]
History[edit]
Main articles: History of Prague and Timeline of Prague
During the thousand years of its existence, the city grew from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to the fort of Vyšehrad in the south, becoming the capital of a modern European country, the Czech Republic, a member state of the European Union.
Early history[edit]
The Prague astronomical clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.
The region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age.[15] Around the fifth and fourth century BC, the Celts appeared in the area, later establishing settlements including an oppidum in Závist, a present-day suburb of Prague, and giving name to the region of Bohemia, "home of the Boii".[15][16] In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes (Marcomanni, Quadi, Lombards and possibly the Suebi), leading some to place the seat of the Marcomanni king Maroboduus on the southern Prague's site Závist.[17][18] Around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map of Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis.[19]
In the late 5th century AD, during the great Migration Period following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes living in Bohemia moved westwards and, probably in the 6th century, the Slavic tribes (Venedi) settled Central Bohemian Region. In the following two centuries, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in the Šárka valley, Butovice and later in Levý Hradec.[15]
The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, with a fortified settlement already existing on the site in the year 800.[20] The first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest.[21] The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, some 70 years later than Prague Castle.[22] Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which was founded in 1344, but completed in the 20th century.
The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, founder of the Přemyslid dynasty. Legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars." She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site.[15]
A 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c. 1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya.[18]
The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia. Under Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973. Until Prague was elevated to archbishopric in 1344, it was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Mainz.
Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from all of Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveller Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub. The Old New Synagogue of 1270 still stands. Prague contained an important slave market.[23]
At the site of the ford in the Vltava river, King Vladislaus I had the first bridge built in 1170, the Judith Bridge (Juditin most), named in honour of his wife Judith of Thuringia. This bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1342. Some of the original foundation stones of that bridge remain.
In 1257, under King Ottokar II, Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter") was founded in Prague on the site of an older village in what would become the Hradčany (Prague Castle) area. This was the district of the German people, who had the right to administer the law autonomously, pursuant to Magdeburg rights. The new district was on the bank opposite of the Staré Město ("Old Town"), which had borough status and was bordered by a line of walls and fortifications.
The era of Charles IV[edit]
Prague flourished during the 14th-century reign (1346–1378) of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the king of Bohemia of the new Luxembourg dynasty. As King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, he transformed Prague into an imperial capital and it was at that time the third-largest city in Europe (after Rome and Constantinople).
He ordered the building of the New Town (Nové Město) adjacent to the Old Town and laid out the design himself. The Charles Bridge, replacing the Judith Bridge destroyed in the flood just prior to his reign, was erected to connect the east bank districts to the Malá Strana and castle area. On 9 July 1357 at 5:31 am, Charles IV personally laid the first foundation stone for the Charles Bridge. The exact time of laying the first foundation stone is known because the palindromic number 135797531 was carved into the Old Town bridge tower having been chosen by the royal astrologists and numerologists as the best time for starting the bridge construction.[24] In 1347, he founded Charles University, which remains the oldest university in Central Europe.
He began construction of the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral, within the largest of the Prague Castle courtyards, on the site of the Romanesque rotunda there. Prague was elevated to an archbishopric in 1344, the year the cathedral was begun.
The city had a mint and was a centre of trade for German and Italian bankers and merchants. The social order, however, became more turbulent due to the rising power of the craftsmen's guilds (themselves often torn by internal fights), and the increasing number of poor people.
The Hunger Wall, a substantial fortification wall south of Malá Strana and the Castle area, was built during a famine in the 1360s. The work is reputed to have been ordered by Charles IV as a means of providing employment and food to the workers and their families.
Charles IV died in 1378. During the reign of his son, King Wenceslaus IV (1378–1419), a period of intense turmoil ensued. During Easter 1389, members of the Prague clergy announced that Jews had desecrated the host (Eucharistic wafer) and the clergy encouraged mobs to pillage, ransack and burn the Jewish quarter. Nearly the entire Jewish population of Prague (3,000 people) perished.[25][26]
Jan Hus, a theologian and rector at the Charles University, preached in Prague. In 1402, he began giving sermons in the Bethlehem Chapel. Inspired by John Wycliffe, these sermons focused on what were seen as radical reforms of a corrupt Church. Having become too dangerous for the political and religious establishment, Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance, put on trial for heresy, and burned at the stake in Constanz in 1415.
Four years later Prague experienced its first defenestration, when the people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest Jan Želivský. Hus' death, coupled with Czech proto-nationalism and proto-Protestantism, had spurred the Hussite Wars. Peasant rebels, led by the general Jan Žižka, along with Hussite troops from Prague, defeated Emperor Sigismund, in the Battle of Vítkov Hill in 1420.
During the Hussite Wars when the City of Prague was attacked by "Crusader" and mercenary forces, the city militia fought bravely under the Prague Banner. This swallow-tailed banner is approximately 4 by 6 feet (1.2 by 1.8 metres), with a red field sprinkled with small white fleurs-de-lis, and a silver old Town Coat-of-Arms in the centre. The words "PÁN BŮH POMOC NAŠE" (The Lord is our Relief) appeared above the coat-of-arms, with a Hussite chalice centred on the top. Near the swallow-tails is a crescent shaped golden sun with rays protruding.
One of these banners was captured by Swedish troops in Battle of Prague (1648), when they captured the western bank of the Vltava river and were repulsed from the eastern bank, they placed it in the Royal Military Museum in Stockholm; although this flag still exists, it is in very poor condition. They also took the Codex Gigas and the Codex Argenteus. The earliest evidence indicates that a gonfalon with a municipal charge painted on it was used for Old Town as early as 1419. Since this city militia flag was in use before 1477 and during the Hussite Wars, it is the oldest still preserved municipal flag of Bohemia.
In the following two centuries, Prague strengthened its role as a merchant city. Many noteworthy Gothic buildings[28][29] were erected and Vladislav Hall of the Prague Castle was added.
Habsburg era[edit]
In 1526, the Bohemian estates elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg. The fervent Catholicism of its members was to bring them into conflict in Bohemia, and then in Prague, where Protestant ideas were gaining popularity.[30] These problems were not pre-eminent under Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, elected King of Bohemia in 1576, who chose Prague as his home. He lived in the Prague Castle, where his court welcomed not only astrologers and magicians but also scientists, musicians, and artists. Rudolf was an art lover too, and Prague became the capital of European culture. This was a prosperous period for the city: famous people living there in that age include the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler, the painter Arcimboldo, the alchemists Edward Kelley and John Dee, the poet Elizabeth Jane Weston, and others.
In 1618, the famous second defenestration of Prague provoked the Thirty Years' War, a particularly harsh period for Prague and Bohemia. Ferdinand II of Habsburg was deposed, and his place as King of Bohemia taken by Frederick V, Elector Palatine; however his army was crushed in the Battle of White Mountain (1620) not far from the city. Following this in 1621 was an execution of 27 Czech leaders (involved in the uprising) in Old Town Square and the exiling of many others. The city suffered subsequently during the war under Saxon (1631) and Battle of Prague (1648).[31] Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000. In the second half of the 17th century Prague's population began to grow again. Jews had been in Prague since the end of the 10th century and, by 1708, they accounted for about a quarter of Prague's population.[32]
In 1689, a great fire devastated Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. In 1713–14, a major outbreak of plague hit Prague one last time, killing 12,000 to 13,000 people.[33]
In 1744 Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Bohemia. He took Prague after a severe and prolonged siege in the course of which a large part of the town was destroyed.[34] In 1757 the Prussian Prussian bombardment[34] destroyed more than one quarter of the city and heavily damaged St. Vitus Cathedral. However a month later Frederick the Great was defeated and to retreat from Bohemia.
The economy of the city continued to improve during the 18th century. The population increased to 80,000 inhabitants by 1771. Many rich merchants and nobles enhanced the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens full of art and music, creating a Baroque city renowned throughout the world to this day.
In 1784, under Joseph II, the four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město, and Hradčany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called Josefov, was included only in 1850. The Industrial Revolution had a strong effect in Prague, as factories could take advantage of the coal mines and ironworks of the nearby region. A first suburb, Karlín, was created in 1817, and twenty years later the population exceeded 100,000.
The revolutions in Europe in 1848 also touched Prague, but they were fiercely suppressed. In the following years the Czech National Revival began its rise, until it gained the majority in the town council in 1861. Prague had a German-speaking majority in 1848, but by 1880 the number of German speakers had decreased to 14% (42,000), and by 1910 to 6.7% (37,000), due to a massive increase of the city's overall population caused by the influx of Czechs from the rest of Bohemia and Moravia and also due to return of social status importance of the Czech language.
20th century[edit]
First Czechoslovak Republic[edit]
Main article: First Czechoslovak Republic
World War I ended with the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prague was chosen as its capital and Prague Castle as the seat of president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. At this time Prague was a true European capital with highly developed industry. By 1930, the population had risen to 850,000.
Second World War[edit]
Further information: German occupation of Czechoslovakia
Hitler ordered the German Army to enter Prague on 15 March 1939, and from Prague Castle proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. For most of its history, Prague had been a multi-ethnic city with important Czech, German and (mostly native German-speaking) Jewish populations.[citation needed] From 1939, when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany, and during the Second World War, most Jews were deported and killed by the Germans. In 1942, Prague was witness to the assassination of one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany – Reinhard Heydrich – during Operation Anthropoid, accomplished by Czechoslovak national heroes Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš. Hitler ordered bloody reprisals.
At the end of the war, Prague suffered several bombing raids by the US Army Air Forces. 701 people were killed, more than 1,000 people were injured and some of buildings, factories and historical landmarks (Emmaus Monastery, Faust House, Vinohrady Synagogue) were destroyed.[35] Many historic structures in Prague, however, escaped the destruction of the war and the damage was small compared to the total destruction of many other cities in that time. According to American pilots, it was the result of a navigational mistake.
On 5 May 1945, two days before Germany capitulated, an uprising against Germany occurred. Four days later, the 3rd Shock Army of the Red Army took the city, with fierce fighting until 11th May 1945. The majority (about 50,000 people) of the German population of Prague either fled or were expelled by the Beneš decrees in the aftermath of the war.
Cold War[edit]
Main article: History of Czechoslovakia (1948–89)
Prague was a city in the territory of military and political control of the Soviet Union (see Iron Curtain). The biggest Stalin Monument was unveiled on Letná hill in 1955 and destroyed in 1962. The 4th Czechoslovakian Writers' Congress held in the city in June 1967 took a strong position against the regime.[36] On 31 October 1967 students demonstrated at Strahov. This spurred the new secretary of the Communist Party, Alexander Dubček, to proclaim a new deal in his city's and country's life, starting the short-lived season of the "socialism with a human face". It was the Prague Spring, which aimed at the renovation of institutions in a democratic way. The other Warsaw Pact member countries, except Romania and Albania, reacted with the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the capital on 21 August 1968 by tanks, suppressing any attempt at reform. Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc committed suicide by self-immolation in January and February 1969 to protest against the "normalization" of the country.
After Velvet Revolution[edit]
In 1989, after the riot police beat back a peaceful student demonstration, the Velvet Revolution crowded the streets of Prague, and the Czechoslovak capital benefited greatly from the new mood. In 1993, after the split of Czechoslovakia, Prague became the capital city of the new Czech Republic. From 1995 high-rise buildings began to be built in Prague in large quantities. In the late 1990s, Prague again became an important cultural centre of Europe and was notably influenced by globalisation[clarification needed]. In 2000, IMF and World Bank summits took place in Prague. In 2002, Prague suffered from widespread floods that damaged buildings and its underground transport system.
Prague launched a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics,[37] but failed to make the candidate city shortlist. In June 2009, as the result of financial pressures from the global recession, Prague's officials also chose to cancel the city's planned bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[38]
Name[edit]
See also: Names in different languages
The Czech name Praha is derived from an old Slavic word, práh, which means "ford" or "rapid", referring to the city's origin at a crossing point of the Vltava river.[39] The same etymology is associated with the Praga district of Warsaw.[40]
Another view to the origin of name is also related to the Czech word práh (in the mean of a threshold) and a legendary etymology connects the name of the city with princess Libuše, prophetess and a wife of mythical founder of the Přemyslid dynasty. She is said to have ordered the city "to be built where a man hews a threshold of his house". The Czech práh might thus be understood to refer to rapids or fords in the river, the edge of which could have acted as a means of fording the river – thus providing a "threshold" to the castle.
Another derivation of the name Praha is suggested from na prazě, the original term for the shale hillside rock upon which the original castle was built. At that time, the castle was surrounded by forests, covering the nine hills of the future city – the Old Town on the opposite side of the river, as well as the Lesser Town beneath the existing castle, appeared only later.[41]
The English spelling of the city's name is borrowed from French. Prague is also called the "City of a Hundred Spires", based on a count by 19th century mathematician Bernard Bolzano, today's count is estimated by Prague Information Service at 500.[42] Nicknames for Prague have also included: the Golden City, the Mother of Cities and the Heart of Europe.[43]
Geography[edit]
Prague is situated on the Vltava river, at 50°05"N and 14°27"E.[44] in the centre of the Bohemian Basin. Prague is approximately at the same latitude as Frankfurt, Germany;[45] Paris, France;[46] and Vancouver, Canada.[47]
Climate[edit]
Prague has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). The winters are relatively cold with average temperatures at about freezing point, and with very little sunshine. Snow cover can be common between mid-November and late March although snow accumulations of more than 20 cm (8 in) are infrequent. There are also a few periods of mild temperatures in winter. Summers usually bring plenty of sunshine and the average high temperature of 24 °C (75 °F). Nights can be quite cool even in summer, though. Precipitation in Prague (and most of the Bohemian lowland) is rather low (just over 500 mm [20 in] per year) since it is located in the rain shadow of the Sudetes and other mountain ranges. The driest season is usually winter while late spring and summer can bring quite heavy rain, especially in form of thundershowers. Temperature inversions are relatively common between mid-October and mid-March bringing foggy, cold days and sometimes moderate air pollution. Prague is also a windy city with common sustained western winds and an average wind speed of 16 km/h (9.9 mph) that often help break temperature inversions and clear the air in cold months.
Culture[edit]
Historic Centre of Prague
Includes
Historic Centre of Prague and Průhonice Park
Criteria
Cultural: ii, iv, vi
Reference
616
Inscription
1992 (16th Session)
Area
1,106.36 ha
Buffer zone
9,887.09 ha
Prague Congress Centre has hosted the IMF-WBG meeting and NATO summit
The city is traditionally one of the cultural centres of Europe, hosting many cultural events. Some of the significant cultural institutions include the National Theatre (Národní Divadlo) and the Estates Theatre (Stavovské or Tylovo or Nosticovo divadlo), where the premières of Mozart's Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito were held. Other major cultural institutions are the Rudolfinum which is home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Municipal House which is home to the Prague Symphony Orchestra. The Prague State Opera (Státní opera) performs at the Smetana Theatre.
The city has many world-class museums, including the National Museum (Národní muzeum), the Museum of the Capital City of Prague, the Jewish Museum in Prague, the Alfons Mucha Museum, the African-Prague Museum, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the Náprstek Museum (Náprstkovo Muzeum), the Josef Sudek Gallery and The Josef Sudek Studio, the National Library and the National Gallery, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic.
There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. It hosts music festivals including the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Prague Autumn International Music Festival, the Prague International Organ Festival and the Prague International Jazz Festival. Film festivals include the Febiofest, the One World Film Festival and Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The city also hosts the Prague Writers' Festival, the Prague Folklore Days, Prague Advent Choral Meeting the Summer Shakespeare Festival,[55] the Prague Fringe Festival, the World Roma Festival, as well as the hundreds of Vernissages and fashion shows.
Many films have been made at Barrandov Studios and at Prague Studios. Hollywood films set in Prague include Mission Impossible, xXx, Blade II, Alien vs. Predator, Doom, Chronicles of Narnia, Hellboy, Red Tails, Children of Dune and Van Helsing.[56] Other Czech films shot in Prague include Empties, EuroTrip, Amadeus and The Fifth Horseman is Fear. Also, the romantic music video "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West was shot in the city, and features shots of the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock, among other famous landmarks. Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" video was filmed at Prague's Radost FX Club. The city was also the setting for the film Dungeons and Dragons in 2000. The music video "Silver and Cold" by AFI, an American rock band, was also filmed in Prague. Many Indian films have also been filmed in the city including Yuvraaj, Drona and Rockstar. Early 2000's europop hit "Something" by "Lasgo" was filmed at the central train station in Prague.
With the growth of low-cost airlines in Europe, Prague has become a popular weekend city destination allowing tourists to visit its many museums and cultural sites as well as try its famous Czech beers and hearty cuisine.
The city has many buildings by renowned architects, including Adolf Loos (Villa Müller), Frank O. Gehry (Dancing House) and Jean Nouvel (Golden Angel).
Recent major events held in Prague:
•International Monetary Fund and World Bank Summit 2000
•NATO Summit 2002
•International Olympic Committee Session 2004
•IAU General Assembly 2006 (Definition of planet)
•EU & USA Summit 2009
•Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2009
•USA & Russia Summit 2010 (signing of the New START treaty)
Cuisine[edit]
In 2008 the Allegro restaurant received the first Michelin star in the whole of the post-Communist part of Central Europe. It retained its star until 2011. As of 2016 there are three Michelin-starred restaurants in Prague: Alcron, La Degustation, Bohême Bourgeoise, and Field.
In Malá Strana, Staré Město, Žižkov and Nusle there are hundreds of restaurants, bars and pubs, especially with Czech beer. Prague also hosts the Czech Beer Festival (Český pivní festival), which is the largest beer festival in the Czech Republic, held for 17 days every year in May. At the festival, more than 70 brands of Czech beer can be tasted.
Prague is home to many breweries including:
•Pivovary Staropramen (Praha 5)
•První novoměstský restaurační pivovar (Praha 1)
•Pivovar U Fleků (Praha 1)
•Klášterní pivovar Strahov (Praha 1)
•Pivovar Pražský most u Valšů (Praha 1)
•Pivovarský Hotel U Medvídků (Praha 1)
•Pivovarský dům (Praha 2)
•Jihoměstský pivovar (Praha 4)
•Sousedský pivovar U Bansethů (Praha 4)
•Vyukový a výzkumný pivovar – Suchdolský Jeník (Praha 6)
•Pivovar U Bulovky (Praha 8)
Economy[edit]
Prague's economy accounts for 25% of the Czech GDP[57] making it the highest performing regional economy of the country. According to the Eurostat, as of 2007, its GDP per capita in purchasing power standard is €42,800. Prague ranked the 5th best-performing European NUTS two-level region at 172 percent of the EU-27 average.[58]
The city is the site of the European headquarters of many international companies.[citation needed]
Prague employs almost a fifth of the entire Czech workforce, and its wages are significantly above average (~+25%). In December 2015, average salaries available in Prague reached 35,853 CZK, an annual increase of 3.4%, which was nevertheless lower than national increase of 3.9% both in nominal and real terms. (Inflation in Prague was 0.5% in December, compared with 0.1% nationally.)[58][59] Since 1990, the city's economic structure has shifted from industrial to service-oriented. Industry is present in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, printing, food processing, manufacture of transport equipment, computer technology and electrical engineering. In the service sector, financial and commercial services, trade, restaurants, hospitality and public administration are the most significant. Services account for around 80 percent of employment. There are 800,000 employees in Prague, including 120,000 commuters.[57] The number of (legally registered) foreign residents in Prague has been increasing in spite of the country's economic downturn. As of March 2010, 148,035 foreign workers were reported to be living in the city making up about 18 percent of the workforce, up from 131,132 in 2008.[60] Approximately one-fifth of all investment in the Czech Republic takes place in the city.
Almost one-half of the national income from tourism is spent in Prague. The city offers approximately 73,000 beds in accommodation facilities, most of which were built after 1990, including almost 51,000 beds in hotels and boarding houses.
From the late 1990s to late 2000s, the city was a popular filming location for international productions such as Hollywood and Bollywood motion pictures. A combination of architecture, low costs and the existing motion picture infrastructure have proven attractive to international film production companies.
The modern economy of Prague is largely service and export-based and, in a 2010 survey, the city was named the best city in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for business.[61]
In 2005, Prague was deemed among the three best cities in Central and Eastern Europe according to The Economist's livability rankings.[62] The city was named as a top-tier nexus city for innovation across multiple sectors of the global innovation economy, placing 29th globally out of 289 cities, ahead of Brussels and Helsinki for innovation in 2010 in 2thinknow annual analysts Innovation Cities Index.[63] Na příkopě in New Town is the most expensive street in the whole of Central Europe.[64]
In the Eurostat research, Prague ranked fifth among Europe's 271 regions in terms of gross domestic product per inhabitant, achieving 172 percent of the EU average. It ranked just above Paris and well above the country as a whole, which achieved 80 percent of the EU average.[65][66]
Companies with highest turnover in the region in 2014:[67]
Name
Turnover, mld. Kč
ČEZ
200.8
Agrofert
166.8
RWE Supply & Trading CZ
146.1
Prague is also the site of some of the most important offices and institutions of the Czech Republic.
•President of the Czech Republic
•The Government and both houses of Parliament
•Ministries and other national offices (Industrial Property Office, Czech Statistical Office, National Security Authority etc.)
•Czech National Bank
•Czech Television and other major broadcasters
•Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty
•Galileo global navigation project
•Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
2 Healey Wood Road, Burnley, Lancashire.
A warehouse adjacent to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Probably early to mid C19.
Grade ll listed.
The Leeds & Liverpool Canal is the longest canal in Northern England at 127 miles long. The first of the trans-Pennine canals it took 46 years to build at a cost of five times the original budget, mainly because of the length and complexity of the route. It passes through 91 locks with a summit level of 487 feet at Foulridge. It was originally conceived in the 18th century to carry woollen goods from Leeds and Bradford and limestone from Skipton but in its 19th century heyday it carried stone, coal and many other goods. The impact of the railways was not as great as with other canals and commercial traffic continued along the main canal until 1964. Regular work stopped in 1972 when the movement of coal to Wigan Power Station ceased.
The kentish village of otford with its wonderful pond. www.adamswaine.co.uk
Otford
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For the town of this name in Australia, see Otford, New South Wales.
Coordinates: 51.30969°N 0.18657°E
Otford
Otford is located in Kent
Otford
Otford shown within Kent
Population 3,528 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference TQ525590
District Sevenoaks
Shire county Kent
Region South East
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Sevenoaks
Postcode district TN14
Dialling code 01959
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Sevenoaks
List of places
UK
England
Kent
Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent known for its classically English (Kentish) countryside. The village is located on the River Darent, flowing north down its valley from its source on the North Downs. The name is a contraction of Otterford, possibly derived from Offa, the King of Mercia who fought a battle at Otford against the Kentish Saxons in 776 at the Battle of Otford.
Notable landmarks are the Archbishop's Palace, the duck-pond roundabout, and the scale model of the Solar System which claims to be "the largest scale model in the world".
The Anglican parish church of Otford is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. Otford Methodist Church, Otford Evangelical Free Church and the Roman Catholic Church of the Most Holy Trinity also serve the village;[1] the buildings were registered for marriages in 1936,[2] 1959[3] and 1981[4] respectively.
According to the 2001 Census, the population of the Otford and Shoreham ward was 4,381, Otford's population being 3,528.[citation needed]
Otford was elected "Village of the year" in 2006
Stables at the rear of the house provided in 1866 for the Lagan Canal Company's manager adjacent to the four Union Locks in Lisburn. Once threatened with demolition, the buildings are now being restored for use by the Lagan Canal Trust.
The Nar Navigation provided a route for horse-drawn barges to trade up-river from King's Lynn as far as Narborough from 1759 until the coming of the railway saw the river trade collapse in 1884.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams tours the City's Asylum Seeker Resource Navigation Center in Manhattan on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Navigation Road signal box located by the Down Main line alongside Navigation Road level crossing in Altrincham. Saturday 28th January 1989
Navigation Crossing signal box opened in 1882 replacing an earlier signal box located on the opposite side of Navigation Road level crossing, and was a Saxby & Farmer type 9 design fitted with a 20 lever Saxby & Farmer frame built by signalling the contractors Saxby & Farmer for the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway. It was renamed Navigation Road in the early 1930s, possibly in conjunction with the opening of Navigation Road railway station 20th July 1931. A replacement 20 lever Railway Executive Committee frame was installed in June 1947 by the London Midland & Scottish Railway Company. The signal box closed on 6th July 1991, control of Navigation Road level crossing passing to Deansgate Junction signal box by means of closed circuit television although the equipment was not commissioned until 22nd July 1991
The signal box carries a British Rail corporate identity printed design nameplate
Ref no 09491
Vostok Navigation Console,
Each Vostok spacecraft was flown remotely from Mission Control on Earth - the cosmonauts did not control the flight. This console gave the spacecraft's position over the Earth - the small globe rotated as the spacecraft orbited.
[Science Museum]
Taken from the Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age exhibition at the Science Museum (September 2015 to March 2016).
Rocky navigational hazards near Paya Beach at Tioman Island.
Vacation with me in my blog: Tioman!
*Note: More pics of Sky and Scenery in my Sky and Scenery Album
Texture:www.flickr.com/photos/darkwood67/
Texture: www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/
Texture: www.flickr.com/photos/chrysti/
The Gold Coast Seaway or Southport Seaway is the main navigation entrance from the Pacific Ocean into the Gold Coast Broadwater and southern Moreton Bay and is one of Australia's most significant coastal engineering projects. It is located at the northern end of the Southport Spit where the Nerang River enters the Pacific Ocean. The channel was constructed between 1984 and 1986, primarily to facilitate the safe passage of sea-faring vessels.
The passage was previously known as the Southport Bar. The mouth of the Nerang River was once located further south in Broadbeach. The main driving force for this movement is the northward drift of sand along the coast.
Before the bypass system was implemented the mouth of the Nerang River moved northwards at a rate of 60 metres per year.[1] This northward drift was responsible for the unstable and shifting conditions of the bar, which made crossing it so hazardous for small boats.[1] The southern training wall of the Gold Coast Seaway is the northern end of the Gold Coast Oceanway.
The seaway is issued regular weather forecasts by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Coast_Seaway
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1990 heralded a new decade with momentous change and significant events unfolding internationally and at home in Queensland. German reunification was achieved following the ‘fall’ of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in turn declared their independence from the Soviet Union. Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa, and Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after more than 11 years in office. British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee created the first web server and web browser, and the Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the space shuttle ‘Discovery’.
The Australian Labor Party’s federal election campaign was launched in Brisbane in early March before Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s government was returned later that month for a historic fourth term. Andrew Peacock resigned the leadership of the federal Liberal Party after the election defeat and was replaced by Dr John Hewson. Earlier in March, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was founded. The inaugural Cape York Aboriginal Land Conference took place at Lockhart River in September, leading to the formation of the Cape York Land Council.
The nation’s first women Premiers were sworn into office this year, firstly Western Australia’s Carmen Lawrence in February followed by Victoria’s Joan Kirner in August. On the day of Kirner’s swearing in, the Hawke government announced Australia would join the international naval blockade of Iraq in the Persian Gulf. A specially convened ALP national conference in September endorsed the privatisation of Qantas and other assets, ahead of deregulation of the domestic aviation market in November. Near that month’s end, Treasurer Paul Keating declared Australia was enduring “the recession we had to have”.
The 1990s was a decade of transformation as infrastructure connected the state, the Internet changed how we worked and Agro was a prime-time star. These photographic highlights come from a collection of thousands of images captured by Transport and Main Roads, documenting the plans, programs and growth of Queensland throughout the decade.
Find this series in our catalogue: www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/series/S20086
The Transport and Main Roads Visual Resource Library collection contains over 200.000 photographs and other resources from the 1920’s to 2005 from the many and varied road, transport and maritime departments over that time. It is mostly the work of the Photographic Branch and Graphic Reproduction Services Unit between the 1930s and the 1990s. Photographers Les Dixon, Bob Reid, Ian Williams, Murray Waite and Ray Burgress recorded works and events of the Department.
Subjects covered include road construction projects, environmental science, road fittings, public transport and road users, people at work, community engagement, official openings, sod turnings, new structures (bridges, dams and Queensland University), awards, department initiatives, safety campaigns, exhibitions and displays.
Daffodils port hand navigation light. With the nights now drawing in, I'm using the lights more often.
The navigation lights mark the entrance to Nairn Harbour, and this is also where the River Nairn (Abhainn Narann) meets the Moray Firth.
Factory-installed GPS device made by Garmin in a brand-new black 2008 BMW 320i with piano black dashboard finish and black leather seat. Thanks to map providers, GPS navigation in Jakarta is accurate nowadays. Unfortunately the beemer isn't mine.
Church of St George, Dittisham Devon is sited at the heart of the village close to the main junction of lanes where the lane arriving from the main road splits to go either to the foot ferry or onward towards Cornworthy.
Together with the village it is built on a steeply sloping site and comprises of an aisled nave, chancel, south porch, vestry & western tower which is a landmark for boat traffic and was undoubtedly used as a navigational aid. The stone walls keep in the raised graveyard at the Lower Street end.
In 1086 Domesday times Dittisham was held by Baldwin the Sheriff and supported 12 ploughs as well possessing pasture and woodland with a lengthy list of livestock held.
It is assumed that there was an earlier Saxon building though no trace of it now remains. (In the year 755 Devon was conquered by the Saxons and a Saxon Chief settled on the banks of the River Dart. This settlement was part of the manor given by Edward the Confessor to Leofric, Bishop of Exeter, who is certain to have made sure there was a church in the settlement).
This church was replaced by a Norman one consisting of only a chancel and nave; the line of this roof can still be seen on the east wall of the tower. The list of rectors begins in 1224
In 1328 Bishop Grandisson of Exeter ordered an enquiry into the neglect of duties and of the church, which was now a ruin, by the rector, Sir Richard de Inkpenne who died soon afterwards.
The church was later restored and reconstructed between 1328 and 1333 by the next rector, Sir Richard de Gormersale and dedicated to St George by Bishop Grandisson on 4th October 1333. The bottom stage of the tower was built & the chancel enlarged and the side aisles added in late 14c / early 15c. when a two story porch was built on to the south wall with a priest’s chamber above which has a window into the church over the south door. The top stage of the west tower was also rebuilt about this time with a polygonal stair turret in the west angle. What is now the vestry on the north side of the chancel in the angle with the north aisle appears to be later than the chancel but possibly earlier than the north aisle.
Above the south door is the Royal Coat of Arms of Charles ll, granted at the time of his 1660 Restoration in gratitude to the people for their loyalty. The 12c font is Norman standing on a modern stone shaft and base. It is a solid, red sandstone bowl thought to have been buried to save it from destruction at that time, however the font cover is modern and was given by the children of the parish in 1928. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/S418yn95VL
The beautiful carved and painted stone wineglass pulpit dates from the 15c. The figures carved on it are thought to be of the saints, including St. John the Baptist.
The chancel screen is also 15c www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/9SW0D6894N – the groining and canopy were beautifully restored in 1954-55 by workmen in Exeter. The painted figures were damaged by Cromwell’s men who also burnt down the rectory destroying all the books and early church registers.
The windows in the north aisle were inserted c1846, they are a memorial to two former rectors, John Hutchings (1768 to 1802) and his son, Robert Sparke Hutchings (1805 to 1827). The windows in the South Aisle are of pressed glass which is now not made. The small, richly coloured window in the north side chapel may consist of remains from the original East Window.
On the outside of the west window can be seen the heads of Elizabeth ll & her son then Prince Charles
In 1830 it was noted that remains of the rood loft had been destroyed in 1810 when the church was repaired. Also in the early 19c there was said to be a gallery under the tower arch. In 1828 the pinnacles of the tower were removed and replaced with new pinnacles in about 1846 when the church was restored and the aisle windows were replaced under the direction of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. The church was restored again in 1883 and again in 1924-5.
The tower clock was presented in 1879. The five bells were cast in 1802 by Thomas Mears of London (bells were reported in 1553).
Glenn Bennett www.google.co.uk/search?q=dittisham+church+devon&sca_...