Prague (Praha) city (state capital), education and culture - - Pictures
In addition to its cultural importance to the Czech Republic, Prague also made major contributions to European culture. The city served as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Charles IV. Prague flourished during the Czech national awakening in the l9th century and as the capital of the Czechoslovak Republic in the period between World War I and World War II. Bedrich Smetana and Antonin Dvorak are the city's best-known composers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived in Prague and wrote the opera Don Giovanni (1787) there. Franz Kafka, Jaroslav Hasek, and current Czech president Vaclav Havel are the city's best-known writers.
The city has a long tradition as a center of learning. Charles University, founded by Charles IV in 1348, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. The Czech Technical University; Prague University of Economics, formerly the Higher Economic School; the Institute of Chemical Technology; Czech University of Agriculture; the Academy of Performing Arts, the Academy of Fine Arts, and the Academy of Applied Arts are also in Prague. The Czech Academy of Sciences carries on the work of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences founded in 1952.
