Prague

Prague, is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of nearly 2.0 million. The city has a temperate oceanic climate with warm summers and chilly winters.
Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its 1,100 year existence. Founded during the Gothic and flourishing by the Renaissance eras, Prague was the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus then also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire and after World War I became the capital of Czechoslovakia. The city played major roles in the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War, and in modern history generally as the principal conurbation in Bohemia and Moravia whose second city is Brno.
Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of twentieth century Europe. Main attractions include the following: Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, the Jewish Quarter, the Lennon Wall, and Petřín hill. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
Prague boasts more than ten major museums, along with countless theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. A modern public transportation system connects the city. Also, Prague is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including the famous Charles University. Prague is classified as a Beta+ global city according to GaWC studies, comparable to Berlin, Rome, or Houston. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city receives more than 4.1 million international visitors annually, as of 2009. In 2011 Prague was the sixth most visited city in Europe.


Culture


Some of the significant cultural institutions include the National Theatre (Národní Divadlo) and the Estates Theatre (Stavovské or Tylovo or Nosticovo divadlo), where the première of Mozart's Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito was 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.
There are many world class museums in Prague 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, the National Library and the National Gallery
There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. Prague hosts Music Festivals including the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Prague Autumn International Music Festival and the Prague International Organ Festival. Film festivals include the Febiofest, the One World and Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Prague also hosts the Prague Writers' Festival, the Prague Folklore Days, Prague Advent Choral Meeting g, the Summer Shakespeare Festival, the Prague Fringe Festival, the World Roma Festival, as well as the hundreds of Vernissages and fashion shows.
Many films have been made at the Barrandov Studios. Hollywood movies set in Prague include Mission Impossible, xXx, Blade II, Alien vs. Predator, Doom, Chronicles of Narnia and Van Helsing. Other Czech films shot in Prague include Empties, EuroTrip, Amadeus and The Fifth Horseman is Fear. Also, the music video to "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West was shot in Prague, 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. Prague 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 Prague including Yuvraaj, Drona and Rockstar (2011 film).
Forbes Traveller Magazine listed Prague Zoo among the world's best zoos.
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.
Prague sites many buildings by renowned architects, including Adolf Loos (Villa Müller), Frank O. Gehry (Dancing House), or 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
International Astronomical Union General Assembly 2006
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


Around 200 girls and boys in Czech national costumes servers in Czech Beer Festival
The Prague restaurant Allegro received the first Michelin star in the whole of post-Communist Eastern Europe. Contemporary there are 2 Michellin-star restaurants in Prague (Alkrone and Degustacion Bohema). At Malá Strana, Staré Město, Žižkov or Nusle are hundreds of restaurants, bars and pubs, especially with a good Czech beer. Prague also hosts the Czech Beer Festival (Český pivní festival), it is the biggest beer festival in the Czech Republic held for 17 days every year in May. There you can taste more than 70 best brands of great Czech beer.
Prague is home of number of beer breweries:
První novoměstský restaurační pivovar (Praha1),
Pivovar U Fleků (Praha1),
Klášterní pivovar Strahov (Praha1),
Pivovar Pražský most u Valšů (Praha1),
Pivovarský Hotel U Medvídků (Praha1),
Pivovarský dům (Praha2) Jihoměstský pivovar (Praha4),
Sousedský pivovar U Bansethů (Praha4),
Pivovary Staropramen (Praha5),
Vyukový a výzkumný pivovar – Suchdolský Jeník (Praha6),
Pivovar U Bulovky (Praha8).


Economy


Prague's economy accounts for 25% of the Czech Republic's GDP 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 2 level region at 172 % of the EU-27 average.
The city is the site of the European headquarters of many international companies[citation needed].
Since 1990, Prague'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 services sector, most significant are financial services, commercial services, trade, restaurants and accommodations and public administration. Services account for around 80% of employment. There are 800,000 employees in Prague, including 120,000 commuters. 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% of the workforce, up from 131,132 in 2008. Approximately one-fifth of all investment in the Czech Republic takes place in Prague 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, Prague was a popular filming location for international productions and Hollywood, 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 East Europe for business.
In 2005 Prague was deemed among the three best cities in eastern Europe according to the Economist's livability rankings. 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.
In the Eurostat research, Prague ranked fifth among Europe's 271 regions in terms of gross domestic product per inhabitant, achieving 172% of the EU average. It ranked just above Paris and well above the Czech Republic as a whole, which achieved 80% of the EU average.
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