Informationen zum Autor Cynthia Paces is Professor of History at the College of New Jersey. She is the author of Prague Panoramas: National Memory and Sacred Space in the Twentieth Century and the co-editor of 1989: The End of the Twentieth Century. Klappentext This comprehensive political, social, and cultural history traces Prague's origins in the ninth century through the end of the Cold War. Highlights include the golden ages of Charles IV and Rudolph II; the religious conflicts of the Hussite and Thirty Years Wars; the rich culture of Europe's largest Jewish community; the rivalry between the city's German and Czech speakers; the World Wars and Nazi occupation; and the Communist era. Prague: The Heart of Europe highlights the complex culture of the city where Mozart premiered his magnificent Don Giovanni and where Franz Kafka wrote his foreboding tales. Zusammenfassung A sweeping and comprehensive history of Prague--from its origins in the ninth century to the present day--that traces its past as a political center and a city on the periphery of empires.Poets have called Prague the City of One Hundred Spires, Golden Prague, Magic Prague, and the Mother of Cities. Millions of tourists visit the Czech capital each year, awed by the blend of architectural styles and the dramatic landscape. St. Vitus's Gothic cathedral towers above the Charles Bridge and the Vltava River. Winding Gothic alleys lead to elegant squares lined with Renaissance palaces, Baroque statues, and modern glass structures. Yet, the city's beauty often obscures centuries of ethnic and religious conflict. In Prague's Jewish Quarter, the names of nearly 80,000 Holocaust victims are inscribed on the walls of Pinkas Synagogue, which stands as a reminder of a complex and violent past. Cynthia Paces traces the history of Prague since the late ninth century, when Slavic dukes built the first church and fortifications on the castle hill. Over the course of eleven centuries, Prague vacillated between a political center and a city on the periphery of empires. The Holy Roman Emperors Charles IV and Rudolph II transformed Prague into a European center of arts, politics, and pilgrimage, but centuries of religious conflict, the defenestrations of Prague, and the Thirty Years War threatened to destroy the city. In the twentieth century, Prague was hailed as a beacon of democracy, led by philosopher presidents T. G. Masaryk and Václav Havel, but its citizens also endured violent antisemitism, a Nazi occupation, and a repressive communist regime.While illuminating a millennium of political, cultural, and social developments, Prague: The Heart of Europe captures the lives of the men and women who have called the city home. Prague has housed Europe's largest Jewish community, a diverse population of German and Czech speakers, and artisans from all over Europe. This sweeping book highlights the manifold contributions of Prague's artists, architects, musicians, and writers. In doing so, it reveals why the city captivated so many creative men and women, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonín Dvorák, Oskar Kokoschka, the poet Elizabeth Weston, and the alchemist John Dee. As Prague native Franz Kafka once wrote, "Prague does not let go; this little mother has claws." Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgments A Note on Language Timeline of Prague History Introduction: All this is Prague Chapter 1: Prague's Foundations Chapter 2: The Imperial Capital of Charles IV Chapter 3: Faith and Violence in Wenceslas IV's Prague Chapter 4: Hussite Wars and New Dynasties Chapter 5: Rudolphine Prague Chapter 6: Revolt and Defeat in Habsburg Prague Chapter 7: Enlightened Prague Chapter 8: Creating a Czech City Chapter 9: Prague in a New Century Chapter 10: The Great War and the Birth of Czechoslovakia Chapter 11: Capital of the Republic Chapter 12: Prague under Nazi Rule ...

Autorentext

Cynthia Paces is Professor of History at the College of New Jersey. She is the author of Prague Panoramas: National Memory and Sacred Space in the Twentieth Century and the co-editor of 1989: The End of the Twentieth Century.

Klappentext

This comprehensive political, social, and cultural history traces Prague's origins in the ninth century through the end of the Cold War. Highlights include the golden ages of Charles IV and Rudolph II; the religious conflicts of the Hussite and Thirty Years Wars; the rich culture of Europe's largest Jewish community; the rivalry between the city's German and Czech speakers; the World Wars and Nazi occupation; and the Communist era. Prague: The Heart of Europe highlights the complex culture of the city where Mozart premiered his magnificent Don Giovanni and where Franz Kafka wrote his foreboding tales.

Inhalt

• Acknowledgments

• A Note on Language

• Timeline of Prague History

• Introduction: All this is Prague

• Chapter 1: Prague's Foundations

• Chapter 2: The Imperial Capital of Charles IV

• Chapter 3: Faith and Violence in Wenceslas IV's Prague

• Chapter 4: Hussite Wars and New Dynasties

• Chapter 5: Rudolphine Prague

• Chapter 6: Revolt and Defeat in Habsburg Prague

• Chapter 7: Enlightened Prague

• Chapter 8: Creating a Czech City

• Chapter 9: Prague in a New Century

• Chapter 10: The Great War and the Birth of Czechoslovakia

• Chapter 11: Capital of the Republic

• Chapter 12: Prague under Nazi Rule

• Chapter 13: Prague Winter, Prague Spring

• Chapter 14: Communism's Gray Zone

• Chapter 15: Post-Communist Prague

• Notes

• Bibliography

• index