Once a small place at a point where the Vltava river could be forded, where the salt and amber trade routes later converged, the little market grew into a hub of the European goods trade and became capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Charles IV in the 14th century. The citizens could afford to commission leading architects and artists.

This is how Prague became one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with its Baroque-style buildings, churches and its castle, which towers over the city. The city has been celebrated by great musicians, painters and writers. In 1784, what had been five independent districts merged into a unique complex of buildings from all periods and styles. In 1992, UNESCO recognized the historic center of the city as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

Today, it seems natural for Czech reformer Jan Hus to have pride of place in the center of the square. However, the Hapsburgs did not allow the monument to be erected until 1915, 500 years after his martyr's death.

The palace and religious buildings are grouped on a magnificent site. The approach to the Castle offers an incomparable view of Prague. The Gothic Cathedral of St. Vitus is at the center of the site. The Cathedral combines elements of the Renaissance and Baroque styles, as it took almost six centuries to build, with work finally being completed in 1929. Today, St. George's Monastery, which was consecrated in 973 and reconstructed in 1976, is part of the National Gallery. Although the claim that alchemists once attempted to increase the wealth of Rudolf II here is a myth, the especially picturesque Golden Lane has a magical attraction for tourists. In fact, Franz Kafka did actually live here.

The oldest religious building is the early Gothic “Old New Synagogue", built in 1270-1290 and a place where the faithful still gather today. Today, the Pinkas Synagogue is a memorial to the Jewish victims of National Socialism. The names of 77,297 victims from Bohemia and Moravia are listed on its walls.

Completed in the early 15th century after a period of construction lasting more than 100 years, its 16 arches supported on piles span the river, a distance of more than 1,700 feet. The bridge has an impressive width of 33 feet, enough to accommodate four coaches. In 1683, the citizens of Prague began to decorate the bridge railings with bronze statues and groups of figures of saints. St. John of Nepomuk, which was cast by Matthias Rauchmüller in Nuremberg in 1683, is both the oldest and the most popular figure, because the saint was thrown to his death from this bridge by Wenceslas IV in 1393. The Old Town Bridge Tower, with its sculptures, is an outstanding work of architecture.

Despite their classical façades, Gothic merchant houses have been preserved only on the south side of the Ring. Some of the cellar vaults are now home to cozy little bars.

In 1419, the place went down in history as a result of Prague's first defenestration, when supporters of the reformer Jan Hus, who had been publicly burned four years previously, threw the town councillors out of the windows, starting the Hussite Wars.

The splendid portal on the north side, with the relief scenes of Christ's suffering in the tympanum, is believed to originate from the stonemason's lodge of Peter Parler. Following a fire in 1679, the vault of the main nave had to be replaced in the early Baroque style. A large part of the interior decoration is also Baroque, while the chancel is still Gothic. The right nave shelters a Madonna created in about 1400. The marble plate behind a Gothic chancel conceals the grave of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who researched the basis of the calculations for the paths of the planets in around 1600 with Johannes Kepler.

Wenceslas Square has been at the center of good and bad times: in 1918, the citizens of Prague celebrated the birth of an independent Czechoslovakia here; 50 years later there were demonstrations against the invading Warsaw Pact forces. This is commemorated by a memorial to the victims of Communist rule.