In Depth

Prague lies at the epicenter of Bohemia, which borders Germany to the north and west and Austria to the south. Slovakia to the east (which joined with the Czechs at the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 to form the Republic of Czechoslovakia) split with its Slavic neighbor in 1993 to form the independent Czech and Slovak republics in the "Velvet Divorce."

About 10.3 million people inhabit the Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia, with about 1.2 million living in the dozen districts comprising the Prague metropolitan area. A small percentage of Praguers live in the city center, which is most frequented by visitors, although that number is dropping as many buildings are bought and remodeled to satisfy the high-paying demand for quality office space.

Most Praguers actually live in the Communist-built housing estates (paneláky) ringing the city. In the high summer season, visitors outnumber locals two to one in most main areas in the city, taking away much of Prague's indigenous character.

Language--Bohemia, through good times and bad, has been under a strong Germanic influence, and throughout a great deal of its history, German was the preferred language of the power elite. The Czech language, however, stems from the Slavic family, which includes Polish, Russian, Slovak, and others, though German has altered many Czech words. Czech uses a Latin alphabet with some letters topped by a small hat called a hácek to denote Slavic phonic combinations like "sh" for s, "ch" for c, and, everyone's favorite, "rzh" for r. Slovak differs slightly from Czech, but Czechs and Slovaks understand each other's language.

English, however, has become the postrevolutionary foreign tongue of choice for Prague movers and shakers, though German is more abundant in border areas. Outside Prague, it's rare to find someone who speaks English fluently, so be patient, expect to be misunderstood, and cultivate a sense of humor. Many newer words in the Czech vocabulary derive from capitalist English, like marketink and e-byznys, or from pop culture (rokenrol).

Did You Know?

Charles University, central Europe's first post-secondary school, opened in Prague in 1348.

Albert Einstein was a professor of physics in Prague from 1911 to 1912.

The word robot was coined by Czech writer Karel Capek and comes from a Slavic root meaning "to work."

Contact lenses were invented by a Czech scientist.

The word dollar came from the Tolar coins used during the Austrian empire; the coins were minted in the western Bohemian town of Jáchymov from silver mined nearby.