Enlightened viewers, welcome to today's episode of The World Around Us.
Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, is one of the most beautiful cities in central Europe.
Situated on the Vltava River, the city of Prague is also known as Zlata Praha (Golden Prague)
and is inhabited by approximately 1.3 million people.

HOST:
Historically, Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire during the reign of two Roman Emperors, Charles IV of the new Luxembourg dynasty in 1355 and Rudolf II, the elected King of Bohemia in 1576.
Most of the fascinating buildings and baroque architecture that exist today were built in large part during the reign of Charles IV.

Besides being the center of political, social, economical and cultural activity, the city of Prague also played an important role in the development of Christianity during the Middle Ages in central Europe.

HOST:
According to legend, the city of Prague was founded around the year 885 by Princess Libuše and her husband Premysl, founder of the Premyslid dynasty. It is believed that Princess Libuše
reigned from the fortress of Vyšehrad, which is one of the most important historical sites in Prague.

HOST:
The history of Prague begins at Vyšehrad, one of the two Prague castles. The Bohemian princess,
Princess Libuse protected the glory of Prague from here. The period of greatest fame
of Vyšehrad came during the rule of Charles IV, when its premises included 14 churches.
In the middle of the 17th century, the castle was changed into a citadel, forming part of Prague's new fortification system.

The strong and immense structure of Vyšehrad is the church of St. Peter and Paul.
Originally Romanesque, it was reconstructed in Gothic style by Czech King Charles the IV.
It acquired its present neo-gothic appearance during the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The oldest structure of Vyšehrad is the Saint Martin rotunda, dated probably from the end of the 11th century and renovated in 1878.

This type of round chapel with an apse was originally designed as the court sanctuary
of Princess Castle. Now it is the only intact part of Romanesque Vyšehrad.