Are you looking for things to do in Prague Old Town? Try our tourist scavenger hunt to walk the old town while discovering its churches, museums, and other attractions!
It will take you from the Communism Museum to the Charles Bridge Museum through Old Town Square and Adria Palace. You’ll need to solve challenges at every step. Each challenge will tell you where you are going next and a bit of local history and advice.
Prague is the capital and most important city of the Czech Republic located on the Vltava River. It has a metropolitan population of 2.6 million.
You’ll see
- Powder Tower
- Charles Bridge
- Church of St.Salvator
- Estate Theater
- Municipal House
- Adria Palace
- Communism Museum
- Museum of Torture
- Astronomical clock
- Bethlehem Chapel
- Hybernia Theater
- Naprstek Museum
- And much more
We will visit Prague in the fall of 2019 and will test this circuit at this time.
- Starting point: Namesti Republiky Metro, New Town, 110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republique
- Distance: 3.5 km / 2.2 mi
- Duration: 3 hours
- Methode: walking
- Required:
- A fully charged smartphone with a data plan (WiFi is not enough)
- Suggested:
- Bottled water
- A local road or tourist map
Ancient History
This area was inhabited in the Paleolithic period, i.e. from 1306 BC onwards. The Celts appeared in this region between the 5th and 4th century BC. They were hunted by the Germanic tribes in the 1st century AD. Since that time that Prague has been the center city of Bohemia
In the 5th century, the collapse of the Roman Empire caused great migrations. The Germanic tribes moved west, and Slavic tribes settled here.
Prague Castle was begun in the 9th century, on fortifications dating back to the 7th century. Fort Vysehrad was founded in the 10th century.
The city flourished in the 14th century during the reign of King Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Bohemia. He transformed the city into an imperial capital. It became the 3rd largest in Europe after Rome and Constantinople.
In the 16th century, the Gypsies elected Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Bohemia and Hungary. He was also king of Croatia. These lands at the time included present-day Austria. Ferdinand 1st was a Habsburg.
In 1689, the city succumbed to widespread fire. This spurred reconstruction throughout the city.
Modern History
The 18th century saw the plague kill up to 13,000 inhabitants, then Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Bohemia.
Czechoslovakian nationalism began in the wake of the European revolutions of 1848. Before, German was the main language spoken, whereas after, with an infusion of Czechoslovaks, Bohemians, and Moravians, Czech became the dominant language.
In 1918, independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed, and Prague became its capital.
In 1934, when Hitler took power in Germany, many fled to Prague fearing the worst. But in 1939 Bohemia-Moravia was conquered by the Nazis. The population at that time included 55,000 Jews. Only 7,500 survived the Nazis at the end of the war. The city is otherwise little affected (bombing-wise) by the war.
After the war, the country fell under communist control from 1945 to 1989. In 1968, the Czechoslovak communist party liberalized by adopting freedom of the press, expression, and circulation. But this is quickly crushed by 400,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers (USSR version of NATO for the West). They aimed to normalize the Soviet regime.
In 1989, as the Berlin Wall fell, the country and the city regained their democratic freedoms with the Velvet Revolution.
