Prague
prag, the capital of Bohemia. It is in size the third city of the Austrian Empire. It occupies a picturesque situation on the banks of the Moldau. It was known as a city of a hundred towers. The river is spanned by nine bridges. Karls-briicke, or Charles Bridge, dates from 1357. It is a stately structure. It is over 1,600 feet in length. It is guarded by a tower at each end. The buttresses are adorned with thirty statues and groups of saints. An inscription states that they were completed with money exacted from a Jew in 1606 as a fine for reviling the cross. The ancient walls of the town have been torn down to make room for boulevards and gardens. The city is divided into several quarters. One of these, known as the Altstadt, or Old City, is the chief seat of commerce. Another is known as the Jews' Quarter. There are important manufactures of embroidery, silk, woolen, cotton and linen cloths, boots, leather, soap, paper, hats, gloves, candles, musical instruments, porcelain, jewelry, and firearms. The city is celebrated for its breweries. Several religious festivals are held during the course of the year. The wool fair, which lasts for a week, is attended by dealers from all parts of Europe. The city is situated in a country of unusual fertility and close tillage, giving it the command of a large wholesale business.
Prague is of interest to the traveler. The University of Prague, the first in Germany, was established in 1348. The city was at this time the most important in Germany. Huss and Jerome were among the earlier professors. Two centuries later Copernicus and Tycho Brahe were connected with the astronomical observatory. There were at one time 10,000 students. It is still one of the most important universities in Christendom. There are over 300 professors and above 4,000 students. Instruction is carried on in duplicate. One faculty uses the German language; the other the Czech or Bohemian tongue. There is a library of 200,000 volumes, an astronomical observatory of the first rank, serviceable museums, botanical gardens, etc. While Prague possesses no single museum or art collection of the first class, it is still a city of unusual individuality. Quaint medieval carvings and sculptures can nowhere be seen to better advantage. The bridges, statues, monuments, cathedrals, the town hall, the old castle, and numerous palaces are interesting, not only from an artistic point of view, but on account of associations. A museum in one of the city parks gives an excellent picture of early peasant life among the Bohemians. There are models of the interiors of peasant cottages, with furniture, costumed figures of the country, and representations of the household arts--all instructive and interesting. The present population is about 230,000.