About Prague - Luxury Apartments in Prague - Luxury Apartment Rentals in Prague - Luxury Prague Apartments

Prague Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is one of the most scenic cities in the world. Its historical centre covers an area of 8.1 square kilometers and includes more than 2,000 monuments built between the 8th and 20th centuries. Nearly every architectural era, from the Romanesque period, through Gothic, to Baroque and Art Nouveau, is represented in and around Prague. The most ancient monuments show that the territory was inhabited as long ago as the Neolithic age.

Prague, with its 28 permanent theatres, 50 museums, over 120 state and city galleries and exhibition halls, plays host to over 300,000 overnight visitors and millions more day-trippers. In addition to the cultural institutions, there are hundreds of entertainment, recreation and sports venues in Prague.

Prague is not only known for its historical monuments and cultural establishments, but is also a place to have fun all day and well into the night. Renowned pubs spread the fame of Czech breweries. A vast range of quiet wine-bars and restaurants also serve excellent local and imported wines. There are cinemas, discos, clubs, and other places of entertainment to cater for every taste. If nightlife if your thing, Prague has some of the best dance clubs in the world, some open all night and well into the next day. For the explorer, Prague’s parks and gardens take up an area of 870 square hectares (2,159 acres). The Vltava River, with a maximum width of 330 meters, flows for thirty one kilometers through Prague, has ten islands, and is crossed by eighteen bridges. Consider spending an afternoon or evening on one of several riverboats.

Climate and Geography

Prague's geographical location in the northern part of central Europe allows for some fairly extreme weather patterns. There are marked differences between the seasons, with spring being warm and fairly dry, the summer hot and sunny and also quite wet, autumn cool and wet and winter cold with ice and snow. The average temperature in December and January is a cold 5° Celsius (41° Fahrenheit). In the hottest months, June and July, the temperature usually hovers at around 29° Celsius (84° Fahrenheit). The wonderful climate contrasts simply add to the romantic nature of this beautiful city, which is well equipped to keep visitors comfortable all year round.

Prague is situated at a latitude of 50° 05’ 19” N and a longitude of 14° 25’ 17” E, at an average height of 235 meters above sea level. Distances from some European towns are as follows, in km: Berlin 352, Leipzig 253, Nürnberg 273, Zürich 654, Munich 353, Salzburg 374, Wien 297, Bratislava 336, Warsaw 609.

Prague Castles

Over 2,000 castles, chateaux, keeps, and castle ruins have been preserved and can be found in the Czech Republic. This is the world’s highest castle per square kilometer for any country whose size is over 100 square kilometers. The Czech Republic is in the heart of Europe, and it has always been a major crossroads for trade routes, which created a demand for many castles. Forty years of communism kept most of the castles not only hidden, but also abandoned. Luckily many have been restored in recent years and are ready to wow visitors from all over the world.

The Prague Castle

The Prague castle is the biggest ancient castle in the world. The castle houses numerous buildings and sits on over seven hectares (17 acres) of land overlooking the famous Vltava River. The Prague Castle complex consists of the Saint Vitus Cathedral, several palaces, viewing towers, art galleries, and a monastery. The first known building on the site was erected in the 9th century. In the 12th century this was replaced by a Romanesque palace, and in the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style. A further reconstruction of the Royal Palace then took place under the Jagellons at the end of the 15th century. The builder, Benedikt Rejt, also added the now famous Vladislav Hall.

Following a fire in 1541, the Castle underwent further works during the 16th century. The Spanish Hall was added during the reign of Rudolf II and final alterations were made by Empress Maria Theresa, under the direction of the celebrated architect Nikolaus Pacassi. After World War I, the interior and gardens of Prague Castle were renovated by the architect Josip Plecnik.

Today, the Prague Castle is the seat of the President of the Czech Republic and serves as the historical and political centre for both city and state. The Changing of the Guard at the front gates takes place every hour. At noon the ceremony includes a fanfare.

The Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge is a most famous historical bridge that crosses the Vltava River in central Prague. Its? / ? construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river in Prague, Charles Bridge used to be the most important connection between the Old Town, and adjacent areas until 1841. Also this "Solid-Land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between east and west Europe. The bridge was originally called the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge but has been the "Charles Bridge" since 1870.

The bridge is 516 meters long and nearly ten meters wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700. The most popular being the statue of St. Nepomuk. It is believed that touching the relief in the column of the statue will bring good luck, and the shiny rubbed part shows how many people believe in it.

During the night Charles Bridge is a quiet witness of medieval times. But during the day it changes its face into a very busy place. Painters, owners of kiosks and other traders compete for the attention of numerous tourists crossing the bridge.

Prague Districts

Prague Districts The city of Prague is divided up into ten districts. The middle of Prague 1 is considered the city center. Most people visiting Prague prefer to stay in or near the center. Prague 1 is where most of the action is, and is considered the heart of the city, with grand architecture, cobblestone streets and most of the popular tourist attractions, including the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge. It is here where you will find the most dense concentration of restruants, bars, discos and shops. Prague 1 is divided down the middle by the Vltava River, with Old Town (Stare Mesto) and New Town (Nove Mesto) on one side and Lesser Town (Mala Strana) on the other. Prague 2 is also very nice and contains the popular cosmopolitian residential area, Vinohrady. Vinohrady is very similar to Prague 1 and has an abundance of fine and casual dining restaurants and popular bars and shops as well. Prague 1 can be very crowded with tourists in the summertime and Prague 2 may be a bit more relaxing. Vinohrady borders Prague 1 and is about a 15 minute walk or short tram or taxi ride from the center.

You will find that all of our luxury apartments are located in one of these two districts or along the river. It may be interesting to note that the central area of Prague is very small and may be deceiving when looked at on a map. To put this into perspective, it would only take about thirty five minutes to walk from the top of Prague 1, to the bottom of Prague 2 on the map above.

Helpful Tips

These helpful hints will help make you experience in Prague more enjoyable and allow you to tour Prague more like a local.

Building Floors - In Prague, as well as many other European cities, the ground floor of a building is zero, not one.

Dance Clubs - Places where you go to dance are referred to Dance Clubs or Discos. Brothels are referred to as Night Clubs.

Beer - Called "Pivo" in Czech. Prague is the beer drinking capital of the world, and when you taste any one of the local beers here, you will know why.