ABC for tourists

Several important dates from the history of the city

after 870 - foundation of the Prague Castle
after 926 - foundation of St. Vitus rotunda within the Prague Castle
10th century - foundation of the Vysehrad Castle on the opposite Vltava bank
965 - Prague first reported in the narration of Ibrahim Ibn Jakub, a merchant
973 - foundation of Prague bishopric
1085 - Prague becomes the residence of the first Bohemian king Vratislav I
1172 - construction of the Judita´s Bridge, the second stone bridge in Central Europe finished
after 1230 - establishment of the Old Town
1257 - foundation of the Lesser Town
1310 - 1346 - John of Luxembourg rules as the king of Bohemia
around 1320 - foundation of Hradcany
1338 - foundation of the Old Town Hall - the importance of the city increases
1344 - Prague bishopric upgraded to archbishopric, beginning of St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral (finished 1929)
1346-1378 - Charles IV epoch - Prague becomes the capital of the Bohemian Kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire
1348 - foundation of the New Town and the first university in Central Europe (Charles University)
1419-1437 - attempts of the clergy to reform the church result in the Hussite revolutionary movement (Jan Hus - the reform preacher and martyr)
1526 - Habsburg dynasty ascends the Bohemian throne (until 1918)
1583-1611 - Rudolf II becomes the king of Bohemia, and Prague the emperor´s residence, centre of social and cultural life
1618-1620 - defeat of the Czech nobles´ uprising; Czech language and Czech national consciousness begin to decline
1784 - union of the four hitherto independent Prague urban units (Hradcany, Lesser Town, Old Town and New Town)
1784-1848 - period of Czech national revival, beginning of the industrial revolution, establishment of Czech institutions
1918 - proclamation of independence of Czechoslovakia, Prague becomes the new state capital
1939-1945 - occupation by the Nazi Germany
1945 - the Prague uprising, liberation of Prague by Soviet army
1948 - seizure of power by KSC after the February putsch
1968 - Prague Spring - an attempt to reform socialism, intervention of 5 states of the Warsaw Pact
1989 - so called velvet revolution, Vaclav Havel elected the president
1993, January 1 - spliting up of the Federation, formation of the independent Czech Republic
1993, January 26 - Vaclav Havel elected the first president of the independent Czech Republic
1999, March 12 - the Czech Republic has become a member of NATO
2004, May 1, entry of the Czech Republic into EU
2007, December 21, integration of the Czech Republic to the Schengen Area