Prague

Prague means 'ford'—the city exists because the Vltava River could be crossed here. That ancient crossing point, where Slavic traders waded through shallow water a thousand years ago, determined the location of what would become Central Europe's most persistent capital. Other cities have been built, destroyed, and rebuilt; Prague has simply accumulated. Gothic spires stand next to Baroque facades next to Art Nouveau balconies next to Brutalist housing blocks—each layer deposited by a different regime, none erased by the next.

The Přemyslid dynasty established Prague as a significant settlement in the 9th century, but the city's transformation into a European capital came under Charles IV, who became King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor in the 14th century. He founded Charles University in 1348—the oldest in Central Europe—and commissioned the Charles Bridge, the New Town, and St. Vitus Cathedral. Prague briefly became the largest city in Europe, with 40,000 inhabitants. The Hussite Wars of the 15th century, the Habsburg absorption of Bohemia, and the Thirty Years' War all scarred the city without destroying its institutional continuity. Even the Nazis, who occupied Prague in 1939, preserved its architecture—ironically, one of the few Central European capitals to survive World War II largely intact.

That physical preservation created a modern economic asset worth billions. Over 8 million tourists visited Prague in 2019, generating 130 billion CZK ($5 billion)—making tourism a structural pillar of the economy. But Prague is not a museum. Škoda Auto, whose origins date to 1895, makes the Czech Republic one of Europe's highest per-capita vehicle producers. The company builds over 1 million cars annually for export to 100 countries. Siemens, Honeywell, and a growing technology sector employ Prague's 351,000 foreign residents—a cosmopolitan workforce that has grown 30% since 2020.

The Czech Republic drinks 184.1 litres of beer per capita annually—the highest in the world—and Prague's brewery culture, from the 13th-century Pilsner tradition to a modern craft beer scene, is not mere tourism folklore but a genuine manufacturing heritage. Plzeňský Prazdroj (Pilsner Urquell) invented the style that 90% of the world's beer now imitates. The Czech GDP per capita exceeds the EU average, driven by manufacturing exports in automotive, electronics, and precision engineering. A fourth Metro line (Line D) is under construction, with completion expected by 2031, connecting the centre to southern suburbs.

Prague's challenge is the same one that preserved it: it cannot afford to change too much. The old town that survived the Nazis and the Communists generates the tourism revenue that funds modernization, but over-tourism threatens to hollow out the centre. The city accumulates another layer—this time, the question is whether the tourist economy will preserve or erode the substrate beneath it.