GUIDE
1.History
The area was inhabited by various Celtic and Germanic tribes before the arrival of the Slavs in the 6th century. It was from a Celtic tribe called Boii that Bohemia got its name, a name used for the western part of the Czech Republic. Eastern part is called Moravia.
A lot of rulers and kings ruled the people in Bohemia from the 7th to 19th centuries. Prague’s golden eras are connected with two of them especially : emperor Charles IV and emperor Rudolf II. Under the rule of Charles IV (1348-78), as king and Holy Roman Emperor, Prague grew into one of the Europe’s largest and most prosperous cities. Prague acquired its fine Gothic face and landmarks including the Karolinum (Charles University), Charles Bridge and St Vitus Cathedral. Under Emperor Rudolf II, in the second half of the 16th century, the city enjoyed great prosperity. Rudolf established great art collections and renowned artists, scholars and alchemists were invited to his court.
At the beginning of the 20th century Bohemia was a part of Austrian Empire. After World War I in 1918 Czechoslovakia declared its independence. The new republic had three parts: Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. The popular Tomáš Garrique Masaryk became the first president.
In October 1938 the Nazis occupied the Sudetenland, with the acquiescence of Britain and France, after the infamous Munich Agreement. In March 1939 Germany occupied all of Bohemia and Moravia, declaring the region a protectorate. Slovakia proclaimed independence as a Nazi puppet state.
In 1945 after the World War ll Czechoslovakia was re-established as an independent state.
In the 1946 elections the Communists became most dominant party with 36% of the popular vote and formed a coalition government. In 1948 the communists staged a coup d’état with the backing of the Soviet Union.
In the late 1960s, Czechoslovakia enjoyed a gradual liberalisation. But the brief “Prague Spring” was crushed by Soviet led invasion in August 1968. Czechoslovakia stayed under the Soviet influence.
The communist government resignated in November 1989 after a week of demonstrations known as the Velvet Revolution. The popular Václav Havel was elected president of the republic. At the end of 1992 Czechoslovakia split into Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia) and Slovak Republic (Slovakia). This peaceful splitting is called the Velvet Divorce.
Twelve years later, on May 1, 2004 Czech Republic became a part of the European Union.
Old Jewish Cemetery